City Watch
Short-term rental rules in Bar Harbor, ME
How Bar Harbor regulates short-term rentals: the rules that apply, their sources, and pending changes.
Rules here limit which homes may operate as short-term rentals, how many, where, or for how many nights a year.
- Hard numeric cap (9%)
- Waitlist
- Non transferable
- Inspection required
- Judicially upheld
Based on: Bar Harbor Land Use Ordinance Ch. 125 (VR-1/VR-2; referendum 2021-11-02; new regs eff 2025-12-18)
Summary of the rule
VR-2 (non-owner-occupied whole-house) capped at 9% of total dwelling units townwide; waitlist once binding; non-transferable
View the ordinance source ↗✓ Verified
Active litigation / open question
Maine Sup. Jud. Ct. (Law Court) — Brooks v. Town of Bar Harbor, 2024 ME 21 — upheld the ordinance/cap; struck the supermajority-requirement challenge Source ↗
Reported as fact only, reflecting the code as currently in effect — not legal advice, and not a prediction of the outcome. Verify current status before relying on it.
Last reviewed Sep 8, 2026 · Sources · Report an error
Pending legislation
Monitoring Bar Harbor · system last checked Oct 25, 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.