Lynn, MA Short-Term Rentals: Short-Term Rental Permits (2026)
Short-term rental permit rules in Lynn, MA, also called Airbnb permits, vacation rental licenses, or STR registration, list the application steps, fees, and operating requirements for hosting.
Key Facts
- Permitted districts
- R2, R3, R4, B1, B2, BC, M1, M2 (by right)
- Prohibited districts
- Civic, R1, MV, RT, IL, IH
- Enforcing agency
- Inspectional Services (ISD) with ITD
- Governing provision
- Zoning Ordinance § 9.E, adopted Dec. 9, 2025
- Ineligible units
- Affordable, no-sublease, or Problem Property units
Summary
Lynn allows short-term rentals only in zoning districts where the Table of Use Regulations marks the use 'P,' and only if the dwelling clears Section 9.E's eligibility screen. Income-restricted units, no-sublease units, and units tied to a Problem Property never qualify, no matter the district.
No dwelling unit shall be offered as a short-term rental except in compliance with the provisions of this subsection and any other applicable ordinance or regulation. 1. Ineligible dwelling units. The following dwelling units are not eligible to be offered as short-term rentals: a. Dwelling units designated as below market rate or income-restricted, that are subject to affordability covenants, or that are otherwise subject to housing or rental assistance under local, state, or federal law; b. Dwelling units subject to any requirement of local, state, or federal law that prohibits the leasing or subleasing of the unit or use of the unit as a short-term rental; c. Dwelling units that are located within properties designated as "Problem Properties" by the City's Problem Properties Task Force, or properties owned by property owners who own any property that is currently designated as a "Problem Property;"
Official source re-checked September 8, 2026: the cited page had not changed since it was quoted.
Full Breakdown
a: the R2, R3 and R4 residential districts and the B1, B2, BC, M1 and M2 business and mixed-use districts. It bars the use entirely in the Civic, R1, Medical Village, Riverworks TOD, Industrial Light and Industrial Heavy districts. 1: the unit cannot be income-restricted or subject to an affordability covenant, cannot be bound by a lease or state or federal restriction against subleasing, and cannot sit on a property the city's Problem Properties Task Force has designated a 'Problem Property,' nor be owned by an owner who owns any other currently designated Problem Property.
Inspectional Services, working with the city's IT department, keeps the Short-Term Rental Registry, the database of Operators cleared to offer units, and a companion Ineligible Units List of dwellings barred outright. The ordinance defines a short-term rental as residential occupancy for a fee for fewer than twenty-eight consecutive days, whether or not a booking platform is used, carving out contracted health-care and corporate housing stays of ten days or more.
Violations & Fines
The ordinance ties enforcement to the ineligibility list rather than a standalone fine schedule in Section 9.E itself: a dwelling with three or more findings of violations of the Zoning Ordinance, or three or more violations of any municipal ordinance or state law on excessive noise, improper trash disposal, disorderly conduct or similar conduct within six months, becomes ineligible for short-term rental use and drops off the registry. Operators lose their registry listing and their ability to relist that unit.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which Lynn zoning districts allow short-term rentals?
Who administers Lynn's short-term rental registry?
Can a below-market-rate unit be rented short-term in Lynn?
What disqualifies a Problem Property from short-term renting in Lynn?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Lynn
How Lynn compares: Most Airbnb-Friendly Cities in America·Compare Lynn to another location·View the Massachusetts short-term rentals overview
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