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

Lowell does not set a per-night guest count for short-term rentals because it has no short-term rental use category. Instead, occupancy is governed by the zoning definitions and accessory-use rules. Section 4.3.5(1) of the Zoning Ordinance limits a resident owner, in all districts, to renting rooms to 'not more than two (2) non-transient roomers or boarders' as an accessory use. Once a dwelling lets lodgings to four or more unrelated persons, it meets the Zoning Ordinance definition of a 'Boarding or Lodging House': 'a house where lodgings are let to four or more persons not within second degree of kindred to the person conducting it, and shall include fraternity houses and dormitories of educational institutions.' That use requires a special permit where allowed and a lodging house license under G.L. c. 140, Sec. 23. General habitability and overcrowding limits also apply under the State Sanitary Code, 105 CMR 410 (minimum square footage per occupant), and Lowell's Housing Standards (Chapter 176). For taxable short-term stays under state law, the relevant duration definition is occupancy of a short-term rental 'normally used for sleeping and living purposes for a period of not more than 31 consecutive calendar days' (G.L. c. 64G, Sec. 1).