Everett, MA Short-Term Rentals: Occupancy Limits (2026)

The occupancy rule for short-term rentals in the City of Everett, Massachusetts (Middlesex County) sits in the definitions of Section 12-1012 of the Revised Ordinances. A limited share unit is the operator's primary residence with a portion rented while the operator is present, and occupancy is limited to three (3) bedrooms including the bedroom of the operator. The cap is counted in bedrooms, not guests. Division 12 of Chapter 12, read from Section 12-1011 through Section 12-1021, prints no per-guest headcount limit.

The same definitions set what counts as a short-term rental: use of a residential unit for residential occupancy for a fee for a period fewer than thirty-one (31) consecutive calendar days. Section 12-1014(b)(2) and (d)(3) add that individual rooms within home share units and non-owner-occupied units cannot be offered as separate short-term rentals, so those units rent as a whole.

Building-level caps come from Section 12-1013(b)(5). No new construction can be built for the sole purpose of short-term rentals, and in a large scale residential building a 20% maximum of condos or rental units can be used as short-term rentals, allocated first come first serve in each building.

Section 12-1014(g) requires the operator to conspicuously post a sheet for tenants showing means of egress, fire extinguisher locations, fire exits and pull fire alarms where they exist, parking requirements or limitations, and trash and recycling rules including pickup days and bin locations. Section 12-1014(j)(6) bars parking passes for short-term renters: parking must be supplied by the owner, and renters must be told of that policy in writing. Listings must also state the quantity of off-street parking and whether the address sits in a resident-parking zone, including the Lower Broadway resident-parking zone.