Short-Term Rentals in Portland, ME (2026)

8 verified short-term rentals rules for Portland, Maine, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.

Verified from official government sources

Short-Term Rental Permits

Portland requires every short-term rental to register annually with the Permitting and Inspections Department before renting begins. Registration is due by January 1st each year, or within 14 days of a unit entering the market, and isn't complete until fees are paid and the city allows an inspection. Owners, managers, and tenants operating an STR must each hold a valid, non-transferable registration.

Portland, ME Short-Term Rental Registration Rules

Significant Restrictions

Portland Code of Ordinances § 6-151(a) (Rev. 12-15-2025)

(a) Registration of Ownership. 1. Rental units must be registered in accordance with this article by January 1st of each year; Rental units entering the rental housing market must be registered within fourteen days. Registration must be renewed annually, on or before January 1st, including updating all changes in previously submitted registration information. ... 3. Each owner, manager, and per...

Full ordinance details →Official source ↗

Noise Rules

Portland treats a short-term rental as a 'disorderly house', and enforces against it, once police respond to noise complaints like loud music, boisterous parties, or sounds audible outside the building a set number of times within 30 days, per Section 6-200 of the Code of Ordinances. The threshold scales with building size, from 3 visits in a 5-unit building up to 5 visits in an 11+-unit building.

Portland STR Noise & Disorderly House Rules

Some Restrictions

Portland Code of Ordinances § 6-200(b)(1) (Rev. 4-4-2011)

(b) A "disorderly house" is any building which: (1) The police have visited a minimum number of times in any thirty (30) day period, as set forth in paragraph (3) below, in response to situations which are created by the owner, tenants, or owner's or tenants' cohabitees, guests or invitees and which would have a tendency to unreasonably disturb the community, the neighborhood or an ordinary ind...

Full ordinance details →Official source ↗

Taxes & Fees

Portland charges short-term rental registrants a tiered annual fee that climbs with the number of units one owner registers, from $100 for a first owner-occupied unit up to $4,000 for a fifth non-owner-occupied unit, plus late fees for missed deadlines.

Portland Short-Term Rental Registration Fees

Some Restrictions

Portland Code of Ordinances § 6-152(c)

Owner Occupied Short Term Units, Seasonal Short Term Units, Tenant Occupied Short Term Units, Peaks Island Short Term Units, Outer Island Short Term Units: 1st Unit - $100; 2nd Unit - $250; 3rd Unit - $500; 4th Unit - $1,000; 5th Unit - $2,000. Non-Owner Occupied Short Term Units: 1st Unit - $200; 2nd Unit - $500; 3rd Unit - $1,000; 4th Unit - $2,000; 5th Unit - $4,000.

Full ordinance details →Official source ↗

Occupancy Limits

Portland caps overnight guests at any short-term rental at two people per bedroom plus two additional guests. Sec. 6-153(a) sets the formula citywide, applying equally to owner-occupied, non-owner-occupied, and island short-term rentals once registered under Article VI.

Portland Short-Term Rental Guest Occupancy Cap

Some Restrictions

Portland Code of Ordinances § 6-153(a)

Occupancy Limit. Overnight short term rental guest occupancy in each rental unit will be limited to two (2) guests per bedroom plus no more than two (2) additional guests.

Full ordinance details →Official source ↗

Night Caps

Portland limits, not nightly stays, but the number of non-owner-occupied short-term rentals it will register. Sec. 6-153(b) capped mainland units at 400 in 2025 and now allows only 1.5% of prior-year long-term registrations annually, while Sec. 6-153(c) caps Peaks Island at 40 non-owner-occupied units.

Portland Caps Non-Owner-Occupied STR Units

Significant Restrictions

Portland Code of Ordinances § 6-153(b), (c)

For calendar year 2025, no more than 400 non-owner occupied mainland short term rental units shall be registered. Beginning in calendar year 2026 and for each year thereafter, non-owner occupied mainland short term rental units shall be limited to no more than 1.5% of the total number of registered long-term rental units in the prior year. This limit shall be set annually on September 1 beginni...

Full ordinance details →Official source ↗

Primary-Residence-Only Rule

Portland's short-term rental code defines 'Owner-Occupied' as a unit the registrant actually owns and occupies as their primary residence, and bars registering a short-term rental in any mainland single-family home unless it is owner-occupied or tenant-occupied with the owner's permission, per City Code §§ 6-150.1 and 6-153(f).

Portland Owner-Occupied Short-Term Rental Rule

Significant Restrictions

Portland Code of Ordinances §§ 6-150.1, 6-151(c)(2)(a), 6-153(f)

Owner-Occupied shall mean a rental unit owned and occupied by the registrant as their primary residence. A short term rental unit in an owner-occupied multi-unit building, where the unit is not the primary residence of the owner, shall be counted as a non-owner occupied unit. Accessory dwelling units are not considered owner-occupied units for purposes of short term rental registration and regu...

Full ordinance details →Official source ↗

Repeat Violator Strikes

Portland's short-term rental ordinance imposes an escalating two-strike penalty on properties designated a 'disorderly house.' Under Section 6-156(c) of the Code of Ordinances, a first disorderly-house designation that isn't remedied costs the property a 12-month STR registration revocation; a second designation triggers a permanent ban on operating that address as a short-term rental.

Portland STR Repeat-Violator Registration Strikes

Significant Restrictions

Portland Code of Ordinances § 6-156(c)

(c) Any short term rental at a property that is designated by the City as a disorderly house and fails to remedy the disorderly house as required by section 6-202, shall, at the discretion of the City Manager or his or her designee, have its registration revoked and be ineligible for registration for a period of twelve (12) months. Any registration after revocation shall be considered a new reg...

Full ordinance details →Official source ↗

Host Platform Liability

Booking services such as Airbnb or Vrbo cannot take a fee for a Portland short-term rental unless the listing already displays the unit's city registration number. Platforms must also turn over registration and reservation data to the City on request within 48 hours.

Portland Booking Platforms Must Post STR Numbers

Significant Restrictions

Portland Code of Ordinances § 6-151(e)

All booking services shall include a short term rental's registration number in all advertisements or listings for a short term rental before accepting any charges or collecting or receiving any fees in connection with a short-term rental. Upon request by the City, at any time, all owners, registrants, and agents of short term rental units must provide the City with their registration informati...

Full ordinance details →Official source ↗