Pursuant to the authority of MGL c. 64G, the Town establishes
these regulations to balance private, neighborhood, and municipal
interests. These regulations are intended to:
A. Enable residents to earn extra money from their properties to better
afford to live here, maintain their properties, and contribute to
the community.
B. Minimize public safety and health risks.
C. Deter commercial interests from buying housing to use primarily as
short-term rental businesses.
For this chapter, the following terms shall have the definitions
indicated:
OWNER
Any person who alone, or severally with others, has legal
or equitable title or beneficial interest in any dwelling unit; a
mortgagee in possession; or agent, trustee or person appointed by
the courts. An owner can be a single person, a marital unit, a group
of people, LLC or a trust. The owner may also be referred to as the
operator, or the host.
SHORT-TERM RENTAL
The rental of a whole or a portion of a residential or secondary
dwelling unit, in exchange for payment, as residential accommodations
for not more than 30 consecutive days, excluding a hotel, motel, or
lodging house or tourist home for transient guests as defined and
permitted under the Zoning Bylaw.
The Selectboard shall have the authority to create a registration
application form, set registration fees, and adopt rules, regulations,
policies or procedures to implement the provisions of this chapter.
The registration process shall require an owner to include the address
of the unit to be registered, to list the names of all organization
members if owned by a legal entity, and to provide verifiable documentation
of the owners or members of that legal entity.
If any provision in this chapter shall be held to be invalid
by a court of competent jurisdiction, then such provision shall be
considered separately and apart from the remaining provisions, which
shall remain in full force and effect.
The provisions of this bylaw, "Short-Term Rental of Residential
Properties," shall take effect on January 1, 2023.