On March 22nd, the Massachusetts House of Representatives approved legislation regulating short term rentals.
Prior to passage of the bill, an important amendment was offered by Representative Kevin Honan (D-Brighton) at the request of the Greater Boston Real Estate Board (GBREB) and adopted. The primary concern GBREB officials had expressed with the bill was that it appeared to confer tenancy rights on short-term occupants. GBREB believes that it is crucial that this statute clearly provide that licensees or lodgers are not to be treated as “tenants” and shall not be entitled to any rights or protections afforded pursuant to state law.
The adopted amendment clarifies the status of short term occupants and ensures that they are not inadvertently afforded tenancy rights. In addition, the amendment clarifies that an owner would not be responsible if a tenant were to use the premises for short-term occupancy. Rather, it would be the responsibility of the person offering the apartment for short-term use to collect the taxes and comply with the Statute. An amendment clarifying that provisions of chapters 186 and 239 relative to real estate and summary process would not apply to short term rentals was ultimately adopted.
Additionally, the Massachusetts Association of REALTORS®- which opposes the legislation- had offered two amendments which did not get accepted. The first amendment, sponsored by Dan Cahill (D-Lynn), would clarify language to ensure that REALTORS® who collect rent and taxes from renters would be able to pass those funds on to the owner, without incurring any tax filing obligations. The second amendment, sponsored by Representative Tackey Chan (D-Quincy), would strike a provision that would allow cities and towns to restrict short-term rentals by passing by-laws or ordinances that would include a limit on the number of days an owner may rent out a home or requiring that each home is an owner’s primary residence.