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I am wondering if a rental permit is required for a vacation rental property on the Cape. I have a friend who has a property in the town of Barnstable and is planning to rent out a few weeks in the summer.
I am wondering if a rental permit is required for a vacation rental property on the Cape. I have a friend who has a property in the town of Barnstable and is planning to rent out a few weeks in the summer.
Thanks....
A believe rental permit is not required for short vacation rentals through services like AirBnB or HomeAway. However I'm not entirely sure what the minimum rental period is that requires a rental permit. Honestly I would not bother to get a rental permit, chances are nothing will happen.
Homeowners insurance allows for up to 12 weeks of rental per year I believe.
@Mike: The issue is not the money but the hassle of yearly inspections and what not. I think if everyone else is doing it, it makes sense to just get the permit.
Study up. Unlicensed vacation rentals have been watched by the WA town I live in for a while, partly because no sales tax is collected.
In response to this situation playing out in other towns also, AirBnB announced that they will be collecting tax on WA listings.
I guess that's why city suddenly wants to allow vacation rentals of non-owner-occupied houses! They get to say, "Homeowner you can now legally rent it without being there yourself...if you buy a permit of course. So scofflaws beware, now you have no excuse for NOT registering and paying taxes." Here come the fines.
For the record, I have no financial interest in the matter, but I do have a quality-of-life interest.
@Mike: The issue is not the money but the hassle of yearly inspections and what not. I think if everyone else is doing it, it makes sense to just get the permit.
Is a once a year inspection really that big of a hassle? Your friend should book the inspection for a Friday or Monday and go down to the Cape for a long weekend. Now it's a vacation not a hassle.
Is a once a year inspection really that big of a hassle? Your friend should book the inspection for a Friday or Monday and go down to the Cape for a long weekend. Now it's a vacation not a hassle.
It can certainly be a hassle depending on whether the house meets code or not. Do all the bedrooms have fire egress? Smokes in every bedroom? Working GFCI in the bathrooms and kitchen? Not on the Cape but I know people who bumped into thousands of dollars of remediation to bring a rental property up to code. Fire egress from older casement windows can be expensive.
It can certainly be a hassle depending on whether the house meets code or not. Do all the bedrooms have fire egress? Smokes in every bedroom? Working GFCI in the bathrooms and kitchen? Not on the Cape but I know people who bumped into thousands of dollars of remediation to bring a rental property up to code. Fire egress from older casement windows can be expensive.
That's a lot cheaper than when someone sues you because there's an electrical fire in your rental because you don't have GFCI outlets and someone dies because they couldn't get out the window.
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