[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of the City of Amesbury
as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 10-12-2021 by Bill No. 2021-093]
The Amesbury City Council does hereby accept all provisions,
criteria, and language as specified in this Short-Term Rental License
Article for the annual licensure of short-term rentals in the City
of Amesbury.
If a homeowner owner intends to use their residential property
as a short-term rental in the City of Amesbury, whether it is offered
for rent through a professional or third-party agency or by themselves
directly, they must first apply for and obtain a license from the
City of Amesbury and the property must meet and maintain the requirements
set forth in this Short-Term Rental License Article and its related
Short-Term Rental Bylaw[1] and remain in compliance with all applicable laws, rules,
and regulations governing short-term rentals in the City of Amesbury
and State of Massachusetts including those specified for short-term
rentals in MGL c. 64G.
[1]
Editor's Note: The Short-Term Rental Bylaw is on file in the
City offices.
The provisions of this Short-Term Rental License Article to
establish a licensing process for short-term rentals of dwellings
in the City of Amesbury are as follows:
A.
Short-term rental licensing.
(1)
All properties being considered for short-term rental licensure must
meet the qualifying regulations specified in the Short-Term Rental
Bylaw.
(2)
Licensed properties are subject to an annual licensing application
fee, payable by the property owner to the City of Amesbury. The fee
price is subject to the same approval process as other business licensing
fees in the City of Amesbury.
(3)
All short-term rental agreements that the property owner engages
in must be reported to the City of Amesbury for the purpose of Board
of Health records and local and state excise tax purposes.
B.
Process. The annual licensing process is as follows:
(1)
No property owner shall offer or use a dwelling as a short-term rental
without submitting an annual license application, paying the annual
license fee, and receiving notice (in writing) that the annual short-term
rental license has been approved by the licensing board (or their
designated staff member or department).
(2)
A license for operation of said short-term rental shall be valid
for one year from the date that a license is issued.
(3)
As part of the application for a short-term rental license, the property
owner shall also certify under penalty of perjury that he/she is aware
of all applicable laws, rules and regulations and will abide by and
comply with all the requirements of the license, and any applicable
laws, ordinances, rules and regulations, including without limitation
this article and the City's Zoning Bylaw.
(4)
A property owner who obtains a license to use his/her dwelling as
a short-term rental shall be issued a registration number by the licensing
board. The registration number shall be recorded with the license
application in the City's Short-Term Rental Registry. Note: The registration
number may match or otherwise be associated with the short-term rental
registration number that the homeowner has secured through the MA
Department of Revenue (DOR) when they register or registered with
that entity, as is required under MGL c. 64G.
(5)
The licensing board shall make each addition to the Short-Term Rental
Registry available electronically via the City of Amesbury website
within 30 days of such addition.
(6)
Each potential short-term rental shall receive a health and safety
inspection by the Amesbury Inspectional Services Department and Amesbury
Board of Health. If the short-term rental is a bedroom in a dwelling,
the entire dwelling needs to pass the health and safety inspection.
(7)
A separate short-term rental license shall be required for each short-term
rental. If a property includes more than one short-term rental (i.e.,
individual bedrooms), each short-term rental shall be required to
be licensed individually.
(8)
No short-term rental license shall be granted without the applicant
signing an agreement that they have read this article as well as the
related Short-Term Rental Bylaw.
C.
Application components. Each short-term rental license application
shall include all the following information, none of which may be
waived by the licensing board:
(1)
Name of property owner applicant (also known as "homeowner").
(2)
Evidence that the applicant is the property owner of record or in
the case of a trust or entity, that the applicant is authorized to
act for that trust or entity in applying for that license.
(3)
Address of the dwelling, including any appropriate unit numbers or
letters.
(4)
Contact information for the property owner and his/her designee (if
applicable) that can be contacted in case of emergency.
(5)
Evidence that the dwelling is the property owner's primary residence.
(6)
Registered Massachusetts Department of Revenue (DOR) identification
number for the short-term rental.
(8)
Interior layout plan(s), highlighting:
(a)
The bedroom(s) proposed for use by short-term rental guests,
the property owner, and any other person in the dwelling.
(b)
Fire and carbon monoxide detection for the short-term rental,
including, but not limited to, the location of all smoke and carbon
monoxide detectors, the location of all fire extinguishers, and any
other information deemed necessary by the compliance officer and/or
Fire Prevention Officer to establish compliance with applicable building
and/or fire safety codes.
(9)
A copy of the property's liability insurance policy.
(10)
A copy of the health and safety inspection report.
(11)
Proof that there are no outstanding fines, local taxes, fees,
assessments, betterments or other municipal charges owed to the City
regarding the property.
A licensing fee of $200 per short-term rental shall be due with
each annual application.
Each short-term rental must be relicensed/reregistered by the
property owner annually prior to its license and registration expiration
date. An application for a license renewal shall include all information
required to be provided with an original application for a license.
The property owner shall provide each guest with a community
information card that provides contact information for the Amesbury
Police and Fire Department, the general noise policy of the community,
the allowed parking parameters for the property, the location of smoke
and carbon monoxide detectors, and information about trash and recycling
disposal and pickup.
While Amesbury does not currently have a codified general noise
ordinance, a common rule of thumb on quiet hours is between 10:00
p.m. and 7:00 a.m.
A.
Noise or nuisance issues that constitute license violations may subject
the property owner to license revocation.
B.
In addition to the parking requirements of this article, the use
of the short-term rental shall be in compliance with the Amesbury
Traffic and Parking Regulations, which are available on the Amesbury
Traffic and transportation Committee webpage at https://www.amesburyma.gov/traffic-transportation-committee.
A.
Complaints shall be made to the Inspectional Services Department,
and investigation shall commence within 30 days. Violations may, at
the compliance officer's discretion, result in a warning or the maximum
appropriate fine. Three or more complaints within a six-month period
will result in the dwelling or bedrooms in the dwelling no longer
being eligible to that property owner for use as a short-term rental
for a period of six months following the most recent violation.
B.
Violations may include but are not limited to:
(1)
Offering an ineligible dwelling or bedroom for lease.
(2)
Violation of any applicable law, ordinance, rule, or regulation.
(3)
Failure to observe the limitation of days per year.
(4)
Failure to include required parking information.
(5)
Violation of parking requirements.
(6)
Noise complaints.
(7)
Trash complaints.
(8)
Failure to furnish a community information card to guests or furnishing
one without the required minimum information.
(9)
Failure to remit any required excise tax or surcharge as required
by law.
(10)
Failure to pay property taxes or surcharges on the property.
C.
Property owners who are found to be out of compliance with the requirements
of this licensing article and/or its related Short-Term Rental Bylaw
by the enforcement agent or their designee are subject to fines and
penalties, including immediate revocation of their short-term rental
license, and one or more of the following:
D.
Should the short-term rental license be revoked, the property may
not be in any way used as a short-term rental until a new license
is applied for and granted by the licensing board. No such license
shall be granted so long as the property is in violation of any requirement
of this article or any applicable law, ordinance, rule, or regulation.
For a dwelling to be offered as a short-term rental it shall
not be subject to any outstanding municipal liens; building, sanitary,
zoning, or fire code notices of violation; orders of abatement; enforcement
orders; stop-work orders; or be in violation of any other, laws, ordinances,
rules or regulations applicable to the property. If a notice of violation
or other order is duly issued after the dwelling has been listed in
the City's Short-Term Rental Registry database, the licensing board
or its designee, shall suspend the license of the short-term rental
until the corresponding violation has been cured or such order is
otherwise resolved to abate any violations of law or regulation. For
ease of enforcement, any City officer or department issuing said notice
of violation or other order shall notify the licensing board or their
designee in writing of the nature of the violation and its resolution,
if any, within five business days of such issuance and/or resolution.
Property owners who obtain a short-term rental license shall
comply with all applicable federal, state and local laws, ordinances,
rules and regulations, including, but not limited to, the Fair Housing
Act, state and local equivalents and regulations related to fire codes,
health codes, zoning ordinances, and all other regulations applicable
to dwellings, including MGL c. 64G.
The property owner shall retain and make available to the licensing
board, or its designee, upon written request, records to demonstrate
compliance with all provisions of this short-term rental article,
including but not limited to: documentation of the number of days
that property owner has resided during the past year and/or will reside
in the dwelling in the year of registration; legal instruments evidencing
that the property owner is the record owner of the dwelling offered
as a short-term rental; and documentation of the number of days during
the year of registration that the dwelling was offered and actually
used as a short-term rental. The property owner shall retain such
records for a period of three years from expiration of the annual
license to which they relate.
[Adopted 10-19-2021 by Bill No. 2021-107]
With respect to each qualifying resident of a parcel of real
property classified as class one, residential in the City of Amesbury
there shall be a rental assistance credit available to qualifying
residents in an amount to be based on the circuit income tax credit
under MGL c. 62, § 6(k), as adjusted annually by the Department
of Revenue.
For the purposes of this article, the following terms shall
have the meanings indicated:
A unit of real property as defined by the Board of Assessors
under the deed for the property and shall include a condominium unit.
Applicants shall qualify for the rental assistance under § 376-12 if all the following criteria are met:
A.
The applicant is domiciled as a primary residence in a qualifying
property in Amesbury;
B.
The applicant or at least one of the joint applicants has been domiciled
in a rental residence as a home in the City of Amesbury for at least
five consecutive years preceding the filing of an application for
the rental assistance credit;
C.
The applicant is a person who qualified and received the circuit
breaker income tax credit the previous year under MGL c. 62, § 6(k);
D.
The applicant is at least age 65 or older at the close of the previous
year or jointly by persons either of whom is age 65 or above at the
close of the previous year and if the joint applicant is 60 years
of age or older; and
E.
The Office of Community and Economic Development or designee(s) of
the Mayor have approved the application.
A.
The Amesbury Housing Trust shall annually set the maximum rental credit amount provided for in § 376-12, provided that the amount of the credit shall not exceed a 150% match, and not less than a 50% match, of the amount of the circuit breaker income tax credit under MGL c. 62, § 6, Credits [subsections (k)(1) through (k)(9), inclusive] for which the applicant received in the previous year.
B.
The Amesbury Housing Trust shall annually set the maximum aggregate
appropriation for this program from its own funds. The rental assistance
funded by this article shall be funded with funds under the care and
control of the Amesbury Housing Trust. The total appropriation may
be supplemented by funds from the general budget as determined by
the Mayor with approval of the City Council. Funding may also be supplemented
from grants and fundraising. Rental assistance shall be available
from total appropriated funds on a first-come, first-serve basis.
A person who seeks to qualify for the rental assistance under § 376-12 shall, before the deadline established by the Office of Economic and Community Development, file an application, on a form to be adopted by the Office of Community and Economic Development, with the supporting documentation of the filed income tax return of the applicant showing the Circuit Breaker tax credit. The application shall be filed each year for which the applicant seeks the rental assistance.
