Methuen, MA Short-Term Rentals: Host Presence Rule (2026)

The only host-presence language in the Methuen zoning text sits in the Article II definition of a bed-and-breakfast establishment in § 2.2. Three conditions are built into that definition. First, the owner of the establishment must reside there, so an absentee owner renting out rooms does not fit the definition. Second, no more than six bedrooms can be occupied by bed-and-breakfast guests. Third, the stay is for guests on intermittent visits, and the ordinance says outright that the rooms shall not be used as long-term rental units or apartments.

Parking is part of the definition too: all parking for residents and guests shall be off-street. Article VIII's § 8.1 separately requires that no land be used unless off-street parking conforming to that article is provided.

The ordinance also defines a lodging unit in § 2.2 as one or more rooms for the semi-permanent use of one, two or three individuals not living as a single housekeeping unit and not having cooking facilities, and it names bed-and-breakfasts among the places where lodging units are found. A boardinghouse is a separate defined term: lodging provided by the owner or operator to at least three, but not more than six, boarders.

Which districts allow a bed-and-breakfast, and whether by right or by special permit, is set by § 5.4 through the Table of Use Regulations, which the codifier prints only as an attachment to the chapter. Section 5.1 makes the table decisive: any use not listed is prohibited. Section 5.2 adds that there shall be no use variances, and § 10.4 repeats that the Board of Appeals shall not grant use variances. The Building Commissioner administers the ordinance under § 10.2. This page covers only the owner-residence, bedroom, stay-length and parking terms the zoning text prints for bed-and-breakfasts.