How to Start
Overview
Short-term rental (STR) refers to the rental of any dwelling unit or bedroom as a residential accommodation for a duration of less than 30 consecutive days. Short-term rentals are allowed within certain parameters, and there are rules and regulations you must follow to legally rent out your residence on a short-term basis. See Section 4.60 of the Cambridge Zoning Ordinance.
Click here to start a short-term rental application »
Requirements
The operator of a short-term rental must meet all of the following criteria in order to be eligible:
- The operator must be an owner of the dwelling unit, or a tenant of the dwelling unit (with permission of the owner and, in the case of a condominium unit, the additional permission of the condominium association) to offer a unit or room for short-term rental.
- The operator must live in the STR unit as a primary residence and may rent out up to a maximum of three legal bedrooms, called operator-occupied short-term rental;
AND/OR, the operator must live in a unit adjacent to the STR unit as a primary residence and own all the other units in a building which can only contain a maximum of four(4) residential dwelling units or less. An owner-adjacent short-term rental may only be rented as a whole unit, not as individual bedrooms.
Please refer to the Short-Term Rental Options document for an illustrated explanation of the distinction between an Operator-Occupied and Owner-Adjacent short-term rental unit.
Other eligibility requirements apply; refer to Section 4.60 of the Cambridge Zoning Ordinance.