Cumberland County, ME Short-Term Rentals: Extended Home Share (2026)

Maine Revenue Services applies the 9% lodging tax under 36 MRS § 1811(1)(D) only to short-term rentals of living quarters; longer-term residential rentals (28 days or more) fall outside the lodging-tax category and into the residential-tenancy framework. This means that an 'extended home-share' arrangement of a month or longer with one occupant: (a) is not subject to the 9% lodging tax, so Airbnb/Vrbo will typically not collect it; (b) creates an implied warranty of habitability under 14 MRS § 6021-A obligating the host to keep the premises fit for human habitation (heat, hot water, weathertight, etc.); (c) is subject to the security-deposit caps of 14 MRS § 6028 (maximum two months' rent; 21-day return for tenancy-at-will, 30 days otherwise; treble damages for wrongful retention); (d) requires the eviction process under 14 MRS § 6000 et seq. if the host wants the guest out before the agreed term — a 7-day notice for non-payment, 30-day notice otherwise. Cumberland County has no ordinance modifying this framework, and the County's role is limited to the Sheriff's Office serving forcible-entry-and-detainer process. Municipalities within Cumberland County similarly limit their STR ordinances to stays under 30 days (Portland's Code § 6-241 defines 'short-term rental' as a residential unit rented for under 30 consecutive days), so 30-day-plus stays escape municipal STR registration as well — though Portland's separate rental-housing registration program (Code Ch. 6 Art. VIII) applies to all long-term residential rentals.