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

Fall River's STR ordinance, adopted as Ordinance No. 2025-07, sets a hard local occupancy ceiling on top of the statewide STR registration regime. Under the ordinance, a Short-Term Rental in Fall River is limited to a maximum of eight guests, with a per-room formula of two guests per bedroom, and the unit must be rented to one party at a time rather than as separate rooms to multiple parties. This is a local rule that goes beyond the Massachusetts state registration requirements. State law layered on top includes MGL c.64G (as amended by Chapter 337 of the Acts of 2018), which requires every operator of a property rented for 31 days or fewer to obtain a Certificate of Registration through the Massachusetts Department of Revenue STR Registry under MGL c.62C, §67 via MassTaxConnect. Operators in Fall River must also file a sworn annual certification of compliance with Inspectional Services and provide notice of the registration to abutters and to owners directly opposite the property within 30 days of registration, with annual notice thereafter. 105 CMR 410 (the State Sanitary Code, Chapter II - Minimum Standards of Fitness for Human Habitation) sets the floor on sleeping-room dimensions: 70 square feet for one occupant and 50 square feet per additional occupant. 780 CMR (the Massachusetts State Building Code) defines bedrooms by minimum dimensions and emergency-egress windows. Where four or more unrelated lodgers occupy the unit, MGL c.140, §§22-32 may also trigger lodging-house licensing.