New Britain, CT Short-Term Rentals: Night Caps (2026)

New Britain's zoning code treats short-term rentals as a conditional use citywide, not a by-right activity. Before any property can list nightly or short-term, the owner must obtain a special exception from the Zoning Board of Appeals under Zoning Ordinance § 270-40-40.300.10. Only after that approval can the operator get the required annual zoning permit from the Zoning Enforcement Officer; a first permit issues one year after the special exception is granted, and it expires and must be renewed every year under § 270-40-40.300.10.10. The night-cap mechanism sits inside the special exception itself: § 270-40-40.300.20 lets the Board condition its approval on a limit on the number of days per year the rental can operate, so the actual cap is set case by case in the Board's decision rather than as one citywide number in the text.

Operators do not need a fresh special exception at each annual renewal unless the Zoning Enforcement Officer finds a significant change, defined in § 270-40-40.300.10.30 to include a change of owner or manager, a change in the approved number of consecutive rental days, a prior revocation for nuisance, or an expansion of the operation. Because short-term rentals are treated as temporary and periodic, § 270-40-40.300.10.50 strips any claim to nonconforming-use rights for rentals predating the December 18, 2024 ordinance. Violations of a conditioned day limit route through general zoning enforcement, with fines under Code of Ordinances § 1-15.