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Poll results

The debate around short-term rentals continues to affect cities and towns in Maine.

Portland has had an ordinance since 2017 that requires short-term rental units to be registered with the city; the registration must be renewed every year. Bar Harbor, which has a shortage of workforce housing, enacted regulations in 2021, with a cap on the number of rentals allowed by non-resident landlords. South Portland, Freeport, Kennebunkport, Falmouth and Cape Elizabeth are among the municipalities that have enacted some type of regulation, including but not limited to registration. A number of smaller towns are looking at how to regulate short-term rentals.

Should short-term rentals be regulated?
Yes, I favor a ban on short-term rentals (7%, 26 VOTES)
Short-term rentals should be regulated by the local municipality (53%, 185 VOTES)
No, short-term rentals are vital part of the hospitality industry and should be unregulated (36%, 126 VOTES)
Not sure (4%, 14 VOTES)
Poll Description

The debate around short-term rentals continues to affect cities and towns in Maine.

Portland has had an ordinance since 2017 that requires short-term rental units to be registered with the city; the registration must be renewed every year. Bar Harbor, which has a shortage of workforce housing, enacted regulations in 2021, with a cap on the number of rentals allowed by non-resident landlords. South Portland, Freeport, Kennebunkport, Falmouth and Cape Elizabeth are among the municipalities that have enacted some type of regulation, including but not limited to registration. A number of smaller towns are looking at how to regulate short-term rentals.

  • 351 Votes
  • 3 Comments
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3 Comments

  • May 29, 2024

    This is another government overreach. Who empowered these bureaucrats to tell us what we can do with our private property? How about we use the money we pay these government workers to fund low-income housing?

  • May 29, 2024

    Tourism is the number one industry in Maine, and seasonal rentals are an important and necessary part of our economy. That said, local municipalities need to establish licensing and standards to regulate the rental industry, but should not otherwise restrict seasonal rentals. The shortage of affordable housing in Maine is an entirely different matter, which can be resolved through land use and zoning reform along with incentives for developers to build more affordable housing.

  • Robert Feller
    May 28, 2024

    Anything government gets involved with dies a slow death; less government in any aspect of life is more of what Maine used to be all about.