Short-term rental (Airbnb) rules in Barnstable, Massachusetts
Yes, but in the ordinance text we reviewed, Barnstable requires every rental, including short-term rentals, to be registered with the Board of Health before you rent or advertise it. The certificate costs $250 per unit and is renewed each December 31. Under the 2021 ADU zoning rules we reviewed, a home with an ADU, or the ADU itself, can only be rented for 12 months or more.
| Registration | Required with the Board of Health before renting or offering to rent [1] |
| Renewal | Each December 31 [2] |
| Fee | $250 per certificate; $250 per additional unit at the same address [3] |
| Front-yard parking limit | No more than 25% of the front yard and 20 feet of frontage [5] |
| Fine | Up to $300 per violation; each day can be a separate offense [7] |
| ADU properties: minimum rental term | 12 consecutive months [8] |
Registration with the Board of Health
Chapter 170, Rental Properties, applies to any rental of a dwelling or part of a dwelling, with no exception for short stays. You must register with the Board of Health before renting or even offering the property for rent. The Board sets how many bedrooms and occupants the unit may lawfully hold [1]. The certificate of registration is renewed each December 31 [2]. The fee is $250, plus $250 for each additional unit you own at the same address (amended December 2025) [3]. You must post the certificate conspicuously inside the unit, showing the allowed bedrooms and occupants [4].
Owner duties
You must tell each occupant about Chapter 170 and the town's noise ordinance (Ch. 133) when they arrive. You must also keep a register of all current occupants' names for two years and show it to the Board of Health or police on request [6]. Give the Board your home address and phone number. Owners who live outside Massachusetts must name an in-state resident agent. Test smoke and carbon monoxide alarms at each new lease term or annually, whichever is more often. Units are subject to reasonable inspections by town staff.
Parking
Occupants may use no more than 25% of the front yard and 20 feet of frontage for parking or driveway [5].
Penalties
Fines are up to $300 per violation, and each day can count as a separate offense [7].
Properties with an ADU
If the property has an accessory dwelling unit, the 2021 version of the ADU zoning rules we reviewed limits rentals of the ADU and the main house to at least 12 consecutive months, and only one of the two may be rented at a time [8]. That rules out short-term rentals on those lots.
What we didn't review
We didn't review Barnstable's zoning ordinance or any newer short-term rental ordinance. The town has considered a separate short-term rental ordinance; ask whether one has been adopted. State registration and room-occupancy taxes also apply (see the state section).
Next steps
- Register the rental with the Barnstable Board of Health (Health Division) and pay the $250 registration fee before listing it.
- Post the certificate of registration inside the unit and keep a register of occupants' names for two years.
- Test smoke and carbon monoxide alarms and give guests notice of Chapter 170 and the noise ordinance (Ch. 133).
- Register with the Massachusetts Department of Revenue for the room occupancy excise.
- Ask the town whether a newer short-term rental ordinance or zoning rule applies to your property.
Common questions
- Are short-term rentals allowed in Barnstable, Massachusetts?
- Yes, but in the ordinance text we reviewed, every rental, including short-term ones, must be registered with the Board of Health before you rent or advertise it. The page didn't review zoning or any newer short-term rental ordinance.
- How much does it cost to register a short-term rental in Barnstable, Massachusetts?
- The certificate costs $250 per unit, plus $250 for each additional unit at the same address. It is renewed each December 31.
- Can I short-term rent a home with an ADU in Barnstable, Massachusetts?
- No. Under the 2021 ADU zoning rules we reviewed, a home with an ADU, or the ADU itself, can only be rented for 12 months or more.
- What are the fines for unregistered rentals in Barnstable, Massachusetts?
- Fines are up to $300 per violation, and each day can count as a separate offense.
Massachusetts' short-term rental law
Since July 1, 2019, M.G.L. c. 64G has taxed and regulated short-term rentals: stays of 31 days or less in a home, apartment, condo or room booked in advance.
State requirements:
- Register with the Department of Revenue (DOR) on MassTaxConnect and get a Certificate of Registration for each property. Post it in the unit.
- 14-day exemption: if you rent a property 14 days or fewer in a calendar year, no tax is due. You still have to register and file DOR's declaration by January 15 each year. Go over 14 days and you owe tax on every day, including the first 14.
- State room occupancy excise: 5.7% of rent (including cleaning and booking fees).
- Local taxes on top, if your town has adopted them: a local excise of up to 6% (6.5% in Boston), and a community impact fee of up to 3%. The fee applies to "professionally managed" units (an operator with 2 or more units in a town, other than units in the owner's own 1 to 3 family home) and, by separate vote, to units in an owner-occupied 2 or 3 family house. Barnstable County towns add 2.75% for a regional water fund.
- Insurance: at least $1 million liability coverage per unit, unless the booking platform provides equal coverage (c. 175, §4F).
Towns may go further (c. 64G, §14). They can require local licenses and inspections, cap the number of days or units, limit where rentals are allowed, or ban them entirely.
What the bylaw says
- Ch. 170, Registration (A), Chapter 170: Rental Properties (registration with Board of Health/Health Division) (eCode360), p. 1
No person shall rent or lease, or offer to rent or lease, any dwelling or any portion of a dwelling to be used for human habitation without first registering with the Board of Health, which shall determine the number of bedrooms and the number of persons such dwelling or portion of a dwelling may lawfully accommodate under the provisions of any state or local health and safety ordinance or regulation.
- Ch. 170, Registration (B), Chapter 170: Rental Properties (registration with Board of Health/Health Division) (eCode360), p. 1
The Board of Health shall, pursuant to the above subsection, issue a certificate of registration which shall be renewed on the following December 31, provided that the certificate may be renewed each year.
- Ch. 170, Fee [Amended 12-11-2025 by Order No. 2026-064], Chapter 170: Rental Properties (registration with Board of Health/Health Division) (eCode360), p. 1
There shall be a fee of $250 to procure a certificate of registration. The fee for a certificate of registration for any additional units owned by the same owner at the same address shall be $250 per unit.
- Ch. 170, Posting of certificate, Chapter 170: Rental Properties (registration with Board of Health/Health Division) (eCode360), p. 1
No person shall rent or lease, or offer to rent or lease, any dwelling or any portion of a dwelling to be used for human habitation without first conspicuously posting within such dwelling or portion of a dwelling a certificate of registration provided by the Board of Health specifying the number of bedrooms and the number of persons such dwelling or portion of a dwelling may lawfully accommodate.
- Ch. 170, Parking (A), Chapter 170: Rental Properties (registration with Board of Health/Health Division) (eCode360), p. 1
The occupant of a dwelling shall use, or allow to be used, no more than 25% of the front yard and no more than 20 feet of frontage as a parking area and/or driveway.
- Ch. 170, Register of occupants, Chapter 170: Rental Properties (registration with Board of Health/Health Division) (eCode360), p. 1
The owner(s) shall be responsible for keeping a register containing all names of current occupants in the dwelling. The register shall be retained for a period of two years and shall be made available to the Board of Health, the Director of Public Health, a health inspector, a police officer, or the Town's licensing agent upon request.
- Ch. 170, Penalties (A), Chapter 170: Rental Properties (registration with Board of Health/Health Division) (eCode360), p. 1
Any person who violates any provision of this chapter shall be subject to a fine not to exceed $300. Any owner of a rental property found to have two documented violations within any twelve-month period shall pay a fine of $300. Each day of continued violation may be deemed to be a separate offense.
- § 240-47.2(C)(11), Accessory Dwelling Unit zoning ordinance (Town Council order 2021-174, approved version 07-15-2021), p. 3
The rental period for an ADU and for a principal dwelling shall not be shorter than 12 consecutive months. Either the principal dwelling or ADU, but not both, may be rented at any given time.