Portland does not require a host to be physically present during a guest stay, but to qualify for the lower owner-occupied fee tier and avoid the non-owner-occupied cap, the registrant must occupy the rental unit as their primary residence as defined in Sec. 6-150.1.
Sec. 6-150.1 distinguishes 'Owner-Occupied' (registrant owns and occupies the unit as primary residence) from 'Tenant-Occupied' (registrant is not the owner but lawfully occupies as primary residence with owner's permission) and 'Non-Owner Occupied' (registrant does not occupy as primary residence). The Code does not require physical co-presence of the host during a guest's stay - only that the registrant maintain primary residence at the property. This is significant because Sec. 6-152(c) charges $100 for the first owner-occupied STR vs $200 for the first non-owner-occupied mainland STR, and the citywide 1.5% cap under Sec. 6-153(b) applies only to non-owner-occupied mainland units. Sec. 6-153(h)(f) allows owners to register up to five owner-occupied units (separate bedrooms or spaces) within a single primary residence. Tenant-occupied STRs are frozen: Sec. 6-153(d) prohibits any new tenant-occupied STR registrations beginning January 1, 2026 - only those validly registered as of December 31, 2025 may renew.
Misrepresenting owner-occupied status to qualify for the lower fee tier or avoid the 1.5% cap is 'providing false information' under Sec. 6-155(d), penalty $1,000.00 per occurrence. Operating without a registration, or under the wrong category, is enforceable under Sec. 6-155(a) and (e) per general penalties in Sec. 6-1.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
Portland, ME
Portland does not prohibit residential artificial turf. The Landcare Ordinance (Chapter 34, Sec. 34-5(a)(4)(iii)) specifically carves out 'Hadlock Field appl...
Portland, ME
Portland's Landcare Ordinance (Chapter 34) explicitly references the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry Natural Areas Program invasiv...
Portland, ME
Maine does not restrict private rainwater collection from rooftops, and Portland has no ordinance prohibiting rain barrels or cisterns. The city encourages r...
Portland, ME
Portland's Landcare Ordinance (Chapter 34) bans synthetic pesticides on virtually all public and private property, with the notable exception that prohibited...
Portland, ME
Portland Code Chapter 16 (Parks and Recreation) governs conduct in city parks but does not list a dedicated drone prohibition. Drone flights from or above pa...
Portland, ME
Portland has no separate commercial-drone permit. All commercial small UAS flights in the city (real estate, photography, inspection, surveying, delivery) ar...
See how Portland's host presence rule rules stack up against other locations.
Help us keep this page accurate. If you notice an error or outdated information, let us know.