Providence, RI Short-Term Rentals: Short-Term Rental Permits (2026)

Providence's zoning ordinance lets a dwelling unit in a multi-family or rowhouse building operate as a short-term rental, defined as renting all or part of a unit for a fee for fewer than 30 consecutive days. In the R-1A, R-1, R-3, and R-4 districts the property must be owner-occupied, and the owner must post egress diagrams in English and Spanish plus a visible fire extinguisher. Full-unit short-term rentals require a temporary use permit valid for one year; renting only a portion of the unit while the owner lives there the entire time is exempt from the permit requirement. Multi-family buildings approved by special use permit in the R-1A, R-1, and R-3 districts are barred from short-term rentals as a condition of that permit.