Portland does not impose a per-unit annual night cap (e.g., 90 nights/year) on short-term rentals, but it does impose strict citywide caps: 1.5% of registered long-term rental units for non-owner-occupied mainland STRs (starting 2026), a 40-unit annual cap on Peaks Island Year-Round Non-Owner-Occupied STRs, and a five-year sunset for ADUs used as STRs.
Rather than capping individual unit usage, Portland caps the total number of STR licenses citywide and by category. Beginning calendar year 2026, the Mainland Non-Owner-Occupied STR cap shifts from a fixed 400-unit ceiling to 1.5% of the total number of registered long-term rental units in the prior year — the Licensing and Registration Office releases the exact number each September 1. Peaks Island Year-Round Non-Owner-Occupied STRs are capped at 40 units citywide. Renewals filed by December 31 keep existing licensees in place; late or new applicants go on a waitlist. New Tenant-Occupied STRs are entirely prohibited beginning 2026 — only renewals of existing tenant-occupied licenses are allowed. A Mainland Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) may be licensed as an STR for up to five years from the Certificate of Occupancy date, after which the ADU must either join the non-owner-occupied waitlist or convert to a registered long-term rental. There is no statewide Maine night-cap on STR rentals; Portland's licensing model is structural rather than nightly.
Operating outside of the citywide cap (i.e., without an issued license) is a Chapter 6 violation enforceable by registration denial/revocation and civil penalties under 30-A MRS § 4452 of $100–$2,500 per day per violation. Failing to renew by December 31 forfeits the license; the unit goes on the waitlist and may not operate until a new license is issued.
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