Everett, MA Short-Term Rentals: Insurance Requirements (2026)

Section 12-1015(b) of the Revised Ordinances of the City of Everett, Massachusetts, enacted by the Everett City Council and amended 5-12-2025 by Ord. No. C0055-25, makes liability insurance a condition of offering a unit for short-term rental. The ordinance prints no dollar limit of its own. It points to MGL c. 175 § 4F as the standard, so the coverage terms come from that statute and not from a figure in the city code.

The insurance duty is one piece of the registration process run by the building commissioner, who is the director of the Inspectional Services Department. An operator completes an application, submits it online or on paper, and certifies under Section 12-1015(a)(4) that he or she and the residential unit comply with the requirements of the division. The insurance requirement is one of those requirements, so the certification covers it.

All applications for short-term rental registrations, initial or renewal, must also be accompanied by a certificate of good standing recording local tax status, a REAP attestation from the Massachusetts Department of Revenue, ISD approval based on a current building inspection, and fire approval based on a current fire safety code inspection by the city's fire prevention bureau. A registration is valid for a one-year term from April 1 through March 31, or for such alternative twelve-month period as the building commissioner determines.

Records are a separate duty. Section 12-1014(i) requires the operator to retain, and make available to ISD and the health, police and fire departments upon written request, records demonstrating compliance, including but not limited to residency and ownership records, and to keep them for three (3) years from the date the unit is last registered for a certificate of fitness inspection. Operators in the City of Everett, Massachusetts should keep their policy documents ready for the building commissioner.