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

Sec. 7-251 of the Somerville Code of Ordinances defines a "shared unit" as a residential unit that is the operator's primary residence, where only part of the unit is offered as a short-term rental and the operator stays in the unit during the rental. Sec. 7-253(g) then sets the operating rule: an operator may offer a shared unit as a short-term rental 365 days a year, but only if one bedroom in the unit is reserved for, and occupied by, the operator during the entire term of the rental.

This is what distinguishes a shared unit from an "autonomous unit" under Sec. 7-253(h), where the operator is not present and the rental is capped at 90 days a year. The host-presence rule is enforced through ISD's registration process: under Sec. 7-254(b)(3), an operator must state on the registration application whether the unit is being offered as a shared unit or an autonomous unit, and ISD's pre-certificate inspection under Sec. 7-254(e) verifies that the stated arrangement matches the property. Because the classification determines whether a listing gets the unlimited-days shared-unit allowance or the 90-day autonomous cap, ISD treats a false shared-unit declaration, meaning a unit advertised as host-occupied but actually rented out whole, as a registration misstatement that can be enforced the same as an uncapped, unregistered autonomous rental.