Short-term rental permit rules in Portland, ME — also called Airbnb permits, vacation rental licenses, or STR registration — list the application steps, fees, and operating requirements for hosting.
Every short-term rental (any letting of a rental unit, in whole or in part, for less than 30 days) must be registered annually with the Portland Permitting and Inspections Department under Portland City Code Chapter 6, Article VI. The registration number must appear on every advertisement and listing.
Portland City Code Ch. 6, Art. VI, Sec. 6-151 requires registration of every short-term rental, defined in Sec. 6-150.1 as 'the letting of a rental unit, in whole or in part, for less than thirty (30) days.' Booking services (Airbnb, Vrbo, Booking.com) must include the city-issued registration number in all advertisements before accepting any charges or fees (Sec. 6-151(e)). Once issued, the Permitting and Inspections Department publishes the registration number and address of the unit on the city's website (Sec. 6-151(h)). Owners, registrants, agents, and booking services must respond to city inquiries about registration, rental history, and upcoming reservations within 48 hours (Sec. 6-151(e)). Annual fees are tiered under Sec. 6-152(c): owner-occupied/tenant-occupied/seasonal/island units start at $100 for the first unit and rise to $2,000 for the fifth; non-owner-occupied mainland units start at $200 and rise to $4,000 for the fifth. Maine's 9% state lodging tax under 36 MRS Sec. 1811 applies to every rental of less than 28 days and is collected by the platform under marketplace-facilitator rules at 36 MRS Sec. 1754-B.
Per Portland Code Sec. 6-155 and Sec. 6-1, operating an unregistered STR, failing to display the registration number, or failing to pay the registration fee is a civil violation. Providing false information on the registration carries a fixed penalty of $1,000.00 per Sec. 6-155(d). Failure to respond to a city inquiry within 48 hours is itself a separate violation under Sec. 6-155(f). Listings without a registration number expose the booking service (platform) to enforcement under Sec. 6-151(e).
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