FITCHBURG — The Legislative Affairs Committee approved last week a petition which would require most short-term rental units, like an Airbnb, to register and have regular inspections to ensure safety.
The petition, which was originally filed in 2018, was unanimously approved by committee members, who added an amendment waiving the inspection fee for short term rentals of fewer than three rooms.
Councilor Anthony Zarrella said the amendment would ensure that the city doesn’t put an undue burden on smaller operations.
The petition will go before the City Council after the License Commission gives its approval on the regulations.
Building Commissioner Mark Barbadoro said the petition allows for the creation of an application, which lists all the state and local regulations.
“The rules that we’ve collected here are all existing rules that are currently on the books,” said Barbadoro. “Except that, if you are a homeowner renting one to four rooms and you are owner occupied, you would now need to annually have your exits checked and your smoke detectors checked.”
The properties would need to be up to fire and building code, follow local zoning, have the necessary licenses for business operation, and comply with health code for operations that serve food, he said.
There are currently 12 active short-term rentals operating through Airbnb in Fitchburg, according to the company’s website.
Josiah Richards, an Airbnb host in the city, asked the committee to consider leniency when adopting rules for private homeowners who operate short term rentals.
The petition comes on the heels of a similar state regulation signed into law by Gov. Charlie Baker on Dec. 28, 2018, and took effect on July 1, 2019.
This required short-term rentals to pay the same 5.7% state tax as hotels and to register with the state. They will also need to have liability insurance for at least $1 million, but properties renting for no more than 14 nights a year were exempt from the regulations.
The state will maintain a registry of the street names and municipalities where short-term rentals are located. Cities like San Francisco, Seattle, and New Orleans have regulations for short-term rentals and registries, as do multiple countries.
Municipalities can collect up to 6 percent tax and can impose a “community impact fee” up to 3 percent that can be used for affordable housing or infrastructure.
The state law says municipalities can regulate short-term rentals by ordinance or bylaws, like where they can be located, the number of licenses that can be issued to operate them, and how many days operators can rent out accommodations during the year.
They can also require operators to make sure their properties meet fire, health, housing, or zoning codes and undergo inspections.
Last year, Worcester County had about 27,000 guests, which earned hosts a total of $4 million, according to the company.
Statewide, Airbnb hosts had about 1.3 million guest arrivals and earned $284.4 million in 2019, according to an Airbnb press release.
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February 03, 2020 at 06:21PM
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Fitchburg moving forward with short term rental regulations - Sentinel & Enterprise
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