Medford, MA Short-Term Rentals: Repeat Violator Strikes (2026)

Section 94-8.4.7 of the Medford Revised Ordinances bars any residential unit with outstanding building, sanitary, zoning, or fire code violations, abatement orders, stop-work orders, unpaid taxes, or water/sewer or tax liens from operating as a short-term rental at all. Subsection 1 requires that, the moment such a violation or order issues, the operator terminate short-term rental use until the violation is cured or otherwise resolved. Subsection 2 imposes the repeat-offender penalty: if a property receives three or more violations within a six-month period, whether under the short-term rental section itself or under any municipal ordinance, state law, or building code, every residential unit on that property becomes ineligible to be used as a short-term rental for six months from the date of the third or subsequent violation.

This six-month bar attaches to the property, not just the offending unit, so a multi-unit building with violations tied to one apartment loses short-term rental eligibility building-wide. The building department tracks compliance through the registration database created under § 94-8.4.13 and the operator recordkeeping required by § 94-8.4.9. Enforcement runs through § 94-8.4.14, which allows noncriminal disposition under M.G.L.A. c. 40, § 21D, penalties under § 1-13 of the Medford Code, and injunctive relief sought by the commissioner, with each day of a continuing violation treated as a separate offense.