Newton, MA Home Business: Zoning & Home Occupation Permits (2026)

3 defines a home business as commercial activity run by the residents inside the dwelling as an accessory use, listing examples such as an artist's or musician's studio, tutoring, tailoring, millinery, crafts, word processing, software development, telephone solicitation, a manicurist, a sales representative's office, or a physician, dentist, lawyer, architect, engineer, accountant, psychologist or social worker's office. Under the Standards in Sec. 1, the business must be clearly incidental and secondary to the residential use, must be located within the dwelling unit, and cannot change the home's residential character.

The space used cannot exceed 30 percent of the dwelling's ground floor area, or 30 percent of an individual apartment's gross floor area in a multifamily building. Only one nonresident employee is allowed in a secretarial or similar role, except a physician or dentist may add one technician on top of one secretary. No more than three customers, pupils or patients may be present at once, there can be no exterior display, storage or signage beyond one non-illuminated two-square-foot sign, and the business cannot generate noise, odor, glare or traffic beyond what is normal for the neighborhood.

Off-street parking must be provided at one stall per 200 square feet of business floor area, on top of the parking required for the residence, with the total reduced by one stall if more than one is required. Dwellings with an accessory apartment are limited to a single home business located in the principal unit. The City Council may grant a special permit under Sec. k to exceed the employee, floor-area or customer limits, or to allow a detached accessory building to be used for the business.