City Watch
Short-term rental rules in Kittery, ME
How Kittery 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.
- STR-specific license required for all short-term rentals
- Hard quota on non-owner-occupied (whole-home/absentee) licenses
- Non-owner-occupied cap frozen to a 2023 baseline, growing max 10% per year
- Owner-occupied license requires owner domiciled 183+ days per tax year
Based on: Kittery Town Code Ch. 5.12 (Short-Term Rental), enacted by Ord. No. 20-05 adopted July 27, 2020; amended eff. Jan. 24
Summary of the rule
The number of [non-owner-occupied] licenses issued in each subsequent calendar year may not exceed the total number of valid non-owner-occupied licenses as of December 31 of the preceding year plus 10%, rounded down. The baseline number of licenses available will be equal to the total number of valid non-owner-occupied licenses issued as of January 24, 2023, inclusive of valid applications on the waiting list as of this date.
View the ordinance source ↗✓ Verified
Last reviewed Sep 14, 2026 · Sources · Report an error
Pending legislation
Monitoring Kittery · 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.