City Watch
Short-term rental rules in Edgartown, MA
How Edgartown regulates short-term rentals: the rules that apply, their sources, and pending changes.
Short-term rentals here are subject to registration, a lodging tax, or a small number of operating rules.
- ADU short term rental carveout
- Commercial events cap
Based on: Town of Edgartown Zoning Bylaw (2021 recodification); April 2025 Annual Town Meeting ADU + commercial-events amendments
Summary of the rule
As of 2026-09-14 Edgartown has NO municipal short-term-rental license, registration, cap, or primary-residence requirement in force; STR operators register only through the state DOR (MassTaxConnect) room-occupancy system, and STR operates townwide as a residential use (726 STR units registered with the state since 2019). The sole adopted STR-specific municipal device is the April 8, 2025 Annual Town Meeting amendment to Zoning Bylaw §2.1.B providing that accessory dwelling units may not be used as short-term rentals; a separate commercial-events bylaw caps large events at five per lot per year by special permit. No STR registration bylaw is on an Edgartown warrant; the town STR committee is studying the local market ($80,000 study, committee still meeting June 2026) with nothing adopted or scheduled to a dated vote.
View the ordinance source ↗✓ Verified
Last reviewed Sep 14, 2026 · Sources · Report an error
Pending legislation
Monitoring Edgartown · system last checked Oct 26, 2026
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City Watch provides good-faith summaries of publicly available information as of the review date shown. Rules, enforcement, and permit availability can change, and summaries may contain errors or omissions. Ratings describe the general regulatory environment; they do not establish whether a particular property or stay is permitted. This is general information, not legal advice. Before buying, listing, or hosting, verify applicable requirements with the responsible authorities and review any HOA, condominium, deed, or lease restrictions.