Barnstable County, Massachusetts Short-Term Rental Rules 2026

LawfulStay tracks short-term rental rules for 5 places in Barnstable County, Massachusetts. Each city and town sets its own rules, so select a place below for its permit, tax and other rules, or see all of Massachusetts.

3 Active 1 Conditional 1 Restricted

Barnstable County at a glance

Places tracked
5 places: 3 active, 1 conditional, 1 restricted
License or registration
Required in all 5 local places
Tax on stays
Applies in 2 of 5 local places
County law
No county record yet; each place below has its own page.

Barnstable County short-term rental questions

Are short-term rentals legal in Barnstable County?

In all 5 places we track in Barnstable County, short-term rentals are allowed, 2 of them with permit conditions or limits.

Do I need a license for a short-term rental in Barnstable County?

All 5 local places we track in Barnstable County require a license, permit or registration. Check your city's page for its rules.

Which places in Barnstable County have the strictest rules?

On our records: Provincetown.

Barnstable County Airbnb & Vacation Rental Regulation Overview

The short-term rental regulatory landscape in Barnstable County encompasses 5 tracked jurisdictions: 3 with active regulations, 1 where rentals are allowed with conditions, 1 with restrictions. Hosts operating on platforms like Airbnb, VRBO, and Booking.com should verify local requirements before listing, as rules vary significantly between cities and regions.

All 5 tracked jurisdictions in Barnstable County require some form of permit, license, or registration for short-term rental operations. Requirements range from simple online registration to comprehensive permit applications with inspections.

Tax obligations apply in 2 of 5 jurisdictions. Common taxes include occupancy taxes, tourist levies, and sales taxes. Many jurisdictions require hosts to register for tax collection, and some platforms like Airbnb collect and remit taxes automatically in select locations.

LawfulStay monitors Barnstable County STR regulations daily and updates this page as rules change. Each city page includes detailed permit requirements, fee schedules, tax rates, zoning rules, and penalty information sourced from official government websites.

Provincetown
Provincetown requires a Board of Health short-term rental certificate ($750 per unit a year), Massachusetts DOR registration, a building inspection and liability insurance of at least $1,000,000
Restricted
Barnstable (Cape Cod)
The Town of Barnstable requires annual short-term rental registration with its Health Division (Rental Properties)
Conditional
Brewster
Brewster requires property owners to register their short-term rental properties with the municipality
Active
Falmouth
Falmouth adopted a short-term rental bylaw at Town Meeting on April 7, 2026
Active
Sandwich
Allowed. The only duty is a notice or registration that nobody has to approve.
Active