Short-term rental (Airbnb) rules in Belmont, Massachusetts
Belmont's Zoning By-Law has no short-term rental registration or licensing system, but it bans short-term rentals in accessory dwelling units. Renting rooms in your home (up to three rooms, no more than four unrelated people) for daily or weekly stays needs a special permit in residential districts.
| Short-term rentals in an ADU | Prohibited [1] |
| Room rentals for daily or weekly periods (residential districts) | Special permit (SP) in Single Residence, General Residence and AH districts [3] |
| Room rentals for longer periods | Allowed (Y) in Single Residence and General Residence [3] |
| Lodging and boarding limit | Up to 3 rooms without separate cooking facilities; no more than 4 unrelated persons [4] |
| Local STR registration or fee | None found in the Zoning By-Law [2] |
No general short-term rental bylaw
We didn't find a Belmont short-term rental registration, license, fee, or day cap in the Zoning By-Law. The only provision that names short-term rentals is in the ADU section: short-term rentals, as defined in the state law M.G.L. c. 64G [2], are prohibited in accessory dwelling units [1]. So you can't list an ADU on Airbnb or VRBO for stays of 31 days or less. State law specifically allows towns to restrict short-term rentals of ADUs.
Renting rooms in your house
The by-law regulates "lodging and boarding": renting up to three rooms without separate cooking facilities as an accessory use within a dwelling, if it doesn't result in more than four unrelated people on the premises [4]. The use table splits this into two lines [3]:
- Daily or weekly periods: special permit (SP) in the Single Residence A-D, General Residence and AH districts.
- Longer periods only: allowed (Y) in Single Residence and General Residence.
Special permits under the Zoning By-Law are generally decided by the Zoning Board of Appeals after a public hearing. A typical Airbnb room rental for a few nights would fall under the daily-or-weekly line.
Renting the whole house
The by-law doesn't directly address renting out an entire single-family home for short stays. Because zoning lists only permitted uses, ask the Building Division how it treats whole-home short-term rentals before listing.
State requirements still apply
Whatever the local answer, Massachusetts requires short-term rental operators to register with the Department of Revenue and collect room occupancy tax (see the state rules section).
See how Belmont compares with 8+ other Massachusetts towns on short-term rentals (airbnb / vrbo) →
Next steps
- If the space is an ADU, don't list it for stays of 31 days or less; it's prohibited.
- To rent rooms in your home for nightly or weekly stays, ask the Building Division (617-993-2650) about applying to the Zoning Board of Appeals for a lodging and boarding special permit.
- Before renting a whole house short term, ask the Building Division in writing how the Zoning By-Law treats it.
- Register the property with the Massachusetts Department of Revenue (MassTaxConnect) before taking bookings.
Common questions
- Are short-term rentals allowed in Belmont, Massachusetts?
- The Zoning By-Law has no short-term rental registration or license, but it bans short-term rentals in accessory dwelling units. Renting rooms in your home for daily or weekly stays needs a special permit in residential districts.
- Can I rent a room on Airbnb in Belmont, Massachusetts?
- It needs a special permit. Renting up to three rooms for daily or weekly periods is a lodging and boarding use requiring a special permit in the residential districts, with no more than four unrelated people on the premises.
- Can I rent my whole house short-term in Belmont, Massachusetts?
- It depends. The by-law doesn't directly address renting an entire single-family home for short stays, so ask the Building Division how it treats this before listing.
- Do I need to register a short-term rental in Belmont, Massachusetts?
- No local registration was found in the Zoning By-Law, but Massachusetts requires operators to register with the Department of Revenue and collect room occupancy tax.
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
- §6.14.4(b) Prohibitions, Zoning By-Law (as amended through March 3, 2025; approved July 2, 2025) - complete town PDF, p. 108
b) Short-Term Rentals, as defined in Section 6.14.2 above, are prohibited in ADUs.
- §6.14.2(i) Definitions, Zoning By-Law (as amended through March 3, 2025; approved July 2, 2025) - complete town PDF, p. 107
i) Short-Term Rental – Occupancy of a Short-Term Rental, as those terms are defined in M.G.L. c. 64G, § 1.
- §3.3 Schedule of Use Regulations, Accessory Uses, Zoning By-Law (as amended through March 3, 2025; approved July 2, 2025) - complete town PDF, p. 39
Lodging and Boarding for daily or weekly periods SP SP SP Y Y Y Y N for longer periods only Y Y N Y Y Y Y N
- §1.4 Definitions, Lodging and Boarding, Zoning By-Law (as amended through March 3, 2025; approved July 2, 2025) - complete town PDF, p. 15
Lodging and Boarding - Rental of not more than three rooms without separate cooking facilities, as an accessory use within a dwelling, if not resulting in more than four unrelated persons being accommodated on the premises.