Short-Term Rentals in Brookline, MA (2026)
6 verified short-term rentals rules for Brookline, Massachusetts, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Permit Requirements
Brookline requires STR operators to obtain a Certificate of Registration ($275 fee) through the Select Board. The unit must be the operator's primary residence (183+ days/year). STRs are banned in non-owner-occupied single-family homes.
Brookline Short-Term Rental Registration
Heavy RestrictionsNoise Rules
Short-term rental guests in Brookline are subject to all noise regulations under Article 8.15. No separate STR quiet hours exist; the background-noise-based limits and strong enforcement in this dense, progressive community apply to all occupants.
Brookline STR Noise Rules
Heavy RestrictionsTaxes & Fees
Brookline hosts collect and remit a 6% local occupancy tax plus the 5.7% Massachusetts state room occupancy excise under MGL c. 64G. State DOR registration and $1 million liability insurance are required.
Brookline Short-Term Rental Taxes
Some RestrictionsParking Rules
Brookline's STR By-Law explicitly states all short-term renters are subject to Town parking regulations. Overnight parking is limited to 1 hour between 2 AM and 6 AM without a permit. Only 325 resident overnight parking spaces exist for all of Brookline.
Brookline STR Parking Rules
Heavy RestrictionsMass. Gen. Laws Ch. 40A Sec. 3 (Zoning — Subjects Regulated)
Section 3. No zoning ordinance or by-law shall regulate or restrict the use of materials, or methods of construction of structures regulated by the state building code, nor shall any such ordinance or by-law prohibit, unreasonably regulate, or require a special permit for the use of land for the primary purpose of commercial agriculture, aquaculture, silviculture, horticulture, floriculture or ...
Occupancy Limits
Brookline's Short-Term Rental General By-Law (Article 17, approved at the May 2021 Annual Town Meeting) caps overnight occupancy at 2 guests per bedroom up to a maximum of 8 guests, and any occupancy above 3 persons not within the second degree of kindred to the operator must comply with State Building and Sanitary Code requirements for sleeping-room occupancy, ventilation, egress, and life-safety devices.
Brookline STR Occupancy Limits
Heavy RestrictionsBrookline General By-Laws Article 5.11.3.1.e (Short-Term Rentals — Eligibility/Applicability)
Occupancy (including long term renters on the property) is limited to the number of bedrooms multiplied by 2, up to a maximum of eight (8) guests provided, however, that any occupancy in excess of three (3) persons who are not within the second degree of kindred to the person conducting the Short-Term Rental must be in compliance with state and local law, regulations and code. In addition, a Sh...
Insurance Requirements
Brookline Short-Term Rental General By-Law Article 17 requires every STR operator to notify their insurer that the unit is being used as a short-term rental and to maintain liability insurance of not less than $1,000,000, mirroring the statewide minimum imposed on STR operators under MGL c. 64G as amended by 2018 Mass. Acts c. 337.
Brookline STR Insurance Requirements
Heavy RestrictionsMass. Gen. Laws Ch. 64G Sec. 14 (Local Regulation of Lodging Operators)
city or town, by ordinance or by-law, may regulate operators registered pursuant to section 67 of chapter 62C and impose penalties for the violation of such an ordinance or by-law. A city or town, by ordinance or by-law, may: (i) regulate the existence or location of operators under this section within the city or town, including regulating the class of operators and number of local licenses or...
Looking for Norfolk County county-wide rules?
County ordinances apply to unincorporated areas and may supplement Brookline city rules.
Short-Term Rentals in Norfolk County →