Short-Term Rental Rule Changes in NH, MA and VT, 2025 to 2026

How to Read This List

Each entry gives the date the source states, what changed and who it affects. Where a source gives only a month, we give only the month. We list a change only if we could open the source on 7 October 2026 and confirm it; items we could not re-confirm are left out rather than guessed at.

Three kinds of change show up again and again:

• Town rules. A bylaw or ordinance that adds registration, inspection, occupancy or parking limits, or caps on licenses.
• Local taxes and fees. In Massachusetts, a local room occupancy excise or a community impact fee; in Vermont, a 1% local option rooms tax.
• State bills. Proposals that would change the rules statewide. In New Hampshire, the 2026 proposals died, which is itself worth knowing.

If your town is not here, that does not mean nothing changed. It means we did not find a published change. Ask your planning, zoning or code office before you list. For the bigger picture, start at our guide to renting your home on Airbnb in New England.

2026

September 2026

• Montgomery, VT (Jay Peak area): registry takes effect September 1, 2026. The Selectboard adopted a Short-Term Rental Registry Ordinance on June 15, 2026. Its effective-date section says it takes effect September 1, 2026. It sets an initial application fee of $300 per dwelling unit, and rentals operating on the effective date (or in the 12 months before it) have 60 calendar days after that date to apply. The town's adoption notice describes it as requiring owners of most short-term rentals to register annually and meet basic health, safety and welfare requirements.

July 2026

• Londonderry, VT: amended ordinance effective July 1, 2026. Londonderry's short-term rental ordinance, first adopted December 19, 2023, was amended again on April 20, 2026, effective July 1, 2026. As posted, licenses expire June 30 each year, and a property licensed as an unhosted rental for the first time may not exceed 50 rental nights in a calendar year.
• Scituate, MA: 3% community impact fee from July 1, 2026. The state's Division of Local Services (DLS) databank lists the fee effective July 1, 2026. It applies to professionally managed units and certain owner-occupied two- and three-family homes, not usually to a single vacation home you own yourself.
• Vermont: new 1% local option rooms taxes from July 1, 2026. The Department of Taxes lists Bolton, Bristol, Fair Haven, Mendon, Morristown, Pittsfield, Pomfret, Swanton, Vergennes, Waitsfield and West Windsor as starting the local option meals, rooms and alcohol tax on July 1, 2026, and Peru starting its rooms tax the same day. In those towns a short-term rental now carries 13% (9% rooms tax, 3% short-term rental surcharge, 1% local). Platforms collect these on their bookings. Details are on our Vermont rules and taxes page.

June 2026

• Cambridge, MA: tighter rules proposed, not adopted. On June 22, 2026 the City Manager sent the City Council proposed amendments to the short-term rental ordinance. They include a new "Autonomous Unit" category, a cap of 90 days per calendar year, new definitions for booking platforms and updated registration requirements for operators and platforms. As of October 2026 this is a proposal; watch the Council before you plan around it.

April 2026

• Falmouth, MA: first short-term rental bylaw, effective January 1, 2027. On April 7, 2026, Falmouth town meeting voted Article 17 as amended, adding Chapter 173, "Operation of Short-Term Rentals," to the town code. The text voted says it takes effect January 1, 2027, and the amendment sets the license occupancy limit at two times the number of bedrooms plus two persons, as determined by the Board of Health. See our Cape Cod short-term rental rules for the town-by-town picture.
• Scituate, MA: local room excise rising to 6% on January 1, 2027. The DLS databank lists Scituate's current 4% local excise (since October 1, 2020) and a new 6% rate effective January 1, 2027, voted at the April 2026 town meeting.
• New Hampshire: statewide bills die. HB 1068, which the House rewrote to tax stays under 30 days but not over 30 days under the Meals and Rooms Tax, passed the House on March 11, 2026; the Senate sent it to interim study on April 9, 2026, so it did not become law. SB 634, which would have let cities and towns charge an occupancy fee of up to $2 a day, was killed in the Senate. The state picture is unchanged: see New Hampshire short-term rental laws.

March 2026

• Gilford, NH: amendments on the ballot. Gilford's March 2026 town ballot carried Planning Board amendments to Article 22, Short-Term Rental: one letting homeowner associations require short-term rental operators in their association to get a conditional use permit from the Planning Board, and one requiring the property address on the posted notice. We could not find a published result, so confirm with the Department of Planning and Land Use. Our Lakes Region rules page covers Gilford's permit in full.

January 2026

• Hull, MA: new 6% local excise and 3% impact fee. The DLS databank lists both effective January 1, 2026, on top of the 5.7% state excise.
• Dennis and Orleans, MA: 3% community impact fee. The DLS databank lists a 3% community impact fee effective January 1, 2026 in both towns. Our Massachusetts room occupancy tax page explains who pays the fee and who collects it.

2025

November 2025

• Sandwich, MA: short-term rental bylaw adopted. At the Monday, November 17, 2025 Special Town Meeting, residents approved adopting a short-term rental bylaw, as reported by The Enterprise.
• North Bennington, VT: village ordinance. VTDigger reported on September 20, 2026 that the village adopted a short-term rental ordinance in November 2025, with a $100 annual fee and registration due by July 1 each year through the village clerk.

October 2025

• Conway, NH (North Conway): rental permit fees. The town's Rental Property Certificate Program fee schedule, approved by the Board of Selectmen on October 4, 2025, lists a $50 permit fee for a one- or two-family dwelling and $50 plus $25 per unit for larger buildings.

September 2025

• Conway, NH: rental program opens. The town's Chapter 72 Housing Standards Program FAQ says registration opened September 2, 2025, with inspection requests through the Housing Standards Office. Our North Conway page has the background, including the 2023 Supreme Court case.

August 2025

• Ludlow, VT: registry hearing, nothing adopted. At a public hearing on August 12, 2025, the boards discussed proposed fees of $300 for a hosted and $600 for an unhosted short-term rental. When we checked the town's ordinance list on 7 October 2026, it included no short-term rental or rental registry ordinance. See our Ludlow page.

July 2025

• Vermont: new local option taxes. The Department of Taxes lists Ludlow (home of Okemo), Marlboro and Springfield as starting the 1% local meals, rooms and alcohol tax in July 2025, and Putney a rooms-only local tax the same month. Short-term rentals in those towns carry 13%.
• Londonderry, VT: earlier amendment. Londonderry's ordinance lists an amendment of April 21, 2025, effective July 1, 2025.

June 2025

• Wolfeboro, NH: permit fees adopted. On June 4, 2025 the Select Board voted 5 to 0 to adopt fees for the short-term rental conditional use permit: a $300 application fee and a $150 public hearing notice fee, $450 in total.

January 2025

• Sandwich, MA: registration required. The town's registration page says that as of January 1, 2025, owners renting short-term must register online, with registration due by July 1, 2025. The fee is $250 the first time ($150 annual registration plus $100 first inspection), and an annual inspection is required.
• Berlin, VT: local option tax. The Department of Taxes lists Berlin's local sales and meals, rooms and alcohol taxes as starting January 2025.

What to Do with This List

1. Find your town. If it appears here, read the source and the matching page in our regulations section.
2. Check the effective date. Several changes, like Falmouth's bylaw and Scituate's higher excise, start in 2027. Price future stays with the new rates in mind.
3. Check who a fee applies to. Massachusetts community impact fees often hit professionally managed units, not a single owner-run home.
4. Call the office. Ballot results, administrative policies and Attorney General approvals of Massachusetts bylaws are not always posted promptly.

New England Host Co manages short-term rentals in parts of New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Vermont, and permit and registration fees stay the owner's cost. If a rule change has you rethinking your plans, our contact page is the place to start.

FAQ

Did New Hampshire Pass a Statewide Short-Term Rental Law in 2026?

No. As of October 2026, HB 1068 went to interim study in the Senate and SB 634 was killed. Towns still regulate through zoning, and the Meals and Rooms Tax rules are unchanged.

Which Massachusetts Towns Added Short-Term Rental Fees in 2026?

The DLS databank lists new community impact fees in Hull, Dennis and Orleans from January 1, 2026, and Scituate from July 1, 2026. Hull also added a 6% local excise, and Scituate's rises to 6% on January 1, 2027.

Does Falmouth Require a Short-Term Rental License Now?

Not yet. Chapter 173, voted April 7, 2026, takes effect January 1, 2027. You still need your state Department of Revenue registration today.

Which Vermont Towns Added a Local Rooms Tax?

In July 2025, Ludlow, Marlboro, Springfield and Putney (rooms only). In July 2026, Bolton, Bristol, Fair Haven, Mendon, Morristown, Pittsfield, Pomfret, Peru, Swanton, Vergennes, Waitsfield and West Windsor. Berlin started in January 2025.

This page is general information as of October 2026, not legal or tax advice; check with your town or a professional before you list.