NAHANT — The Board of Selectmen has finalized a draft of the town’s new short-term rental policies. Community members now have until Sept. 6 to provide feedback, which the board has strongly encouraged.
With Nahant’s new zoning and general bylaws having gone into effect in April, Town Administrator Tony Barletta has been working to establish the rental guidelines for both residents and businesses.
“The purpose of these rules and regulations is to protect the health, safety, and welfare of not only the renters and residents of short-term rental housing units, but also the first responders and the general public,” the draft reads. “These rules and regulations are also aimed at ensuring that the primary use of the property remains residential, and that short-term rentals will not be a detriment to the character and livability of the surrounding residential neighborhood.”
The draft defines numerous terms such as application, occupant, owner, owner-adjacent unit, and both owner-occupied and non-owner-occupied short-term rentals. Two requirements are listed for short-term rental properties — that the owner must ensure that the property is in compliance with Nahant’s bylaws, and that the Board of Selectmen must be allowed to determine the number of bedrooms allowed in the space, which indirectly determines the amount of occupants, as the rules allow for a maximum of two per bedroom.
The current deadline for property owners to obtain a rental certificate is Jan. 1. Dwelling units that are being used for short-term rental use are subject to periodic inspections.
“We’ve been working on the short-term rules and regulations for those that are legal in town, the owner-occupied in residential districts, as well as non-owner-occupied with special permits in business districts,” Barletta said.
Residents can send their feedback by contacting Administrative Assistant Kristin Taylor at [email protected].
