Short-Term Rental Registration Process; Certifications; Fee.
Boston Municipal Code § 9-14.6
in effect9-14.6 Short-Term Rental Registration Process; Certifications; Fee.
(A) Registration process.
(1) An operator who wishes to offer his or her residential unit as a short-term rental shall register with ISD, online or in a paper form prescribed by ISD, to be listed on the Short-Term Rental Registry. A registration shall be valid for a one-year term, from January 1 through December 31 of each year or for such alternative 12-month period as the Commissioner shall determine. An operator shall provide information to be listed on the Registry, including: operator name, address of residential unit, operator’s relationship to the unit, whether residential unit is being offered as a limited share, home share or owner-adjacent unit and other information as required by ISD. The operator shall also certify that he or she and the residential unit comply with the requirements of this Section. An operator who successfully registers his or her residential unit as a short-term rental shall be issued a registration number.
(2) Upon submission, and on an on-going basis as necessary, registration information shall be compared to information managed and maintained by City Departments, including, but not limited to, DoIT and DND, in order to efficiently and effectively verify compliance with the provisions of this Section. ISD shall make submissions to the Short-Term Rental Registry, or data contained within such submissions, available electronically within 30 days.
(B) Fees. Units shall be annually recorded in the Short-Term Rental Registry pursuant to the following.
(1) The annual registration fee for limited share units shall be $25.
(2) The annual registration fee for home share units shall be $200.
(3) The annual registration fee for owner-adjacent units shall be $200.
(C) Re-registration upon unit turnover. A registration shall be tied to both the residential unit and the operator and will not automatically transfer upon the sale of the unit. New operators are responsible for ensuring that they re-register with ISD to obtain a new registration number if they wish to continue to list the residential unit on the Short-Term Rental Registry.
(D) Amending registration upon change in primary residence. If an operator offering a registered residential unit ceases to be a primary resident of the unit, the operator shall immediately notify ISD to remove the unit from the Short-Term Rental Registry.
(E) Bulk registration by booking agent. Nothing herein shall prohibit a booking agent from entering into an agreement with the city to provide registration services for short-term rental operators.
(Ord. 2018 c. 5 § 1)
Source: City of Boston, Massachusetts, Boston Municipal Code and City Charter (American Legal Publishing, codelibrary.amlegal.com)URL: https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/boston/latest/boston_ma/0-0-0-6407Fetched: 11/8/2026