Short-term rental (Airbnb) rules in Lexington, Massachusetts
Only if it's your primary residence (or the second unit on a two-unit lot where you live in the other one), and only after you register with Lexington's Building and Zoning Office, pass an inspection and pay the registry fee. Accessory apartments can't be used as short-term rentals, and stays when you aren't home are capped at 120 days a year.
| What counts as a short-term rental | Rental of a unit or bedroom for less than 30 consecutive days [1] |
| Who may operate | Operator-occupied (your primary residence) or operator-adjacent (other unit on your 2-unit lot) [2] |
| Registration | Certificate of Registration with the Town, renewed annually [7] |
| Inspection | Building and Zoning Office inspects before issuing or renewing [8] |
| Fee | Annual registry fee set by the Select Board [9] |
| Accessory apartments | May not be used as short-term rentals [3] |
| Max guests | 2 adults per bedroom or 10 per dwelling, whichever is less [4] |
| Parking | 1 vehicle per lawful bedroom, max 4 on the lot [5] |
| Cap when operator is absent | 120 days per calendar year [6] |
What's allowed
Lexington's Zoning Bylaw §6.10 defines a short-term rental as renting a dwelling unit or a bedroom for less than 30 consecutive days [1]. Only two kinds are allowed, as an accessory use to a home [2]:
- Operator-occupied: your own primary residence, either the whole unit or individual bedrooms (no more than one unit or two bedrooms rented to one party at a time).
- Operator-adjacent: the other unit on a lot with exactly two dwelling units, where you live in one. It must be rented whole to one party at a time.
A house you don't live in (other than an operator-adjacent unit) can't be used as a short-term rental. Also excluded: accessory apartments under §6.7, affordable or income-restricted units, units on lots with three or more units, and units in violation of the State Sanitary Code [3].
Operating limits
- No more than 2 adult guests per bedroom or 10 per dwelling, whichever is less [4].
- Parking for one vehicle per lawful bedroom, with no more than 4 vehicles on the lot [5].
- No hourly rentals or stays shorter than 10 consecutive hours.
- If you're away for 7 or more consecutive days, an operator-occupied rental may only be rented as a whole unit.
- Rentals while you're not occupying the unit are capped at 120 days per calendar year in total [6].
- You must be current on town taxes, water and sewer charges, and carry liability insurance.
Registration, inspection and fees
You must register with the Town and get a Certificate of Registration before renting, and renew it every year and whenever the operator or owner changes [7]. The Building and Zoning Office inspects each unit or bedroom before issuing or renewing [8], and units are recorded annually in the Short-Term Rental Registry for a fee set by the Select Board [9]. Separately, the state requires registration with the Department of Revenue.
The ban on renting accessory apartments short-term is consistent with state ADU law, which lets towns restrict short-term rental of ADUs.
See how Lexington compares with 8+ other Massachusetts towns on short-term rentals (airbnb / vrbo) →
Next steps
- Confirm the unit is your primary residence, or the second unit on your two-unit lot, and isn't an accessory apartment.
- Apply to the Building and Zoning Office (781-698-4530) for a Short-Term Rental Certificate of Registration and pay the registry fee.
- Schedule and pass the town inspection; have proof of liability insurance and paid-up taxes, water and sewer bills.
- Register with the Massachusetts Department of Revenue (MassTaxConnect) for the room occupancy excise.
- Renew the town registration every year.
Common questions
- Are short-term rentals allowed in Lexington, Massachusetts?
- Only if it's your primary residence (or the second unit on a two-unit lot where you live in the other one), and only after you register with the Building and Zoning Office, pass an inspection and pay the registry fee.
- Can I rent out my accessory apartment on Airbnb in Lexington, Massachusetts?
- No. Accessory apartments can't be used as short-term rentals.
- How many days a year can I rent short term in Lexington, Massachusetts?
- Stays when you aren't home are capped at 120 days a year.
- How many guests can a short-term rental have in Lexington, Massachusetts?
- At most 2 adults per bedroom or 10 per dwelling, whichever is less.
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
- §6.10.2 Definitions, Short Term Rental bylaw extract (Zoning Sec 6.10, amended ATM 2024), p. 1
Short-term rental: Any rental of a dwelling unit, or of a bedroom within a dwelling unit, in exchange for payment, as residential accommodations for a duration of less than thirty (30) consecutive days, but not a bed-and-breakfast home, hotel, or motel.
- §6.10.3, Short Term Rental bylaw extract (Zoning Sec 6.10, amended ATM 2024), p. 1
6.10.3 REQUIREMENTS. Operator-occupied, and operator-adjacent short-term rentals are permitted as an accessory use to a permitted principal residential use, subject to the following requirements:
- §6.10.3(2), Short Term Rental bylaw extract (Zoning Sec 6.10, amended ATM 2024), p. 2
ii. Accessory Apartments as defined in Section 6.7; iii. Dwelling units on lots containing three (3) or more dwelling units.
- §6.10.3(4), Short Term Rental bylaw extract (Zoning Sec 6.10, amended ATM 2024), p. 2
No more than two (2) adult guests per bedroom or ten (10) per dwelling, whichever is less, are permitted in a short-term rental.
- §6.10.3(5), Short Term Rental bylaw extract (Zoning Sec 6.10, amended ATM 2024), p. 2
5. A short-term rental shall be limited to parking of one (1) vehicle per lawful bedroom in the short-term rental and no more than 4 vehicles on a lot.
- §6.10.3(11), Short Term Rental bylaw extract (Zoning Sec 6.10, amended ATM 2024), p. 3
11.Short-term rentals shall not exceed in the aggregate, one-hundred-twenty (120) consecutive or nonconsecutive days per calendar year when the short-term rental operator is not occupying the dwelling unit during the entire term of the short-term rental.
- §6.10.5(2), Short Term Rental bylaw extract (Zoning Sec 6.10, amended ATM 2024), p. 3
2. The short-term rental operator must renew its Certificate of Registration on an annual basis and upon change of operator or owner.
- §6.10.5(3), Short Term Rental bylaw extract (Zoning Sec 6.10, amended ATM 2024), p. 3
3. Prior to issuing or renewing a Certificate of Registration, the Building and Zoning Office shall conduct an inspection to verify that each dwelling unit, or bedroom within a dwelling unit, to be rented to short-term renters meets the requirements of this Section 6.10.
- §6.10.5(4), Short Term Rental bylaw extract (Zoning Sec 6.10, amended ATM 2024), p. 3
4. Units shall be annually recorded in the Short-Term Rental Registry for a fee set by the Select Board.