SALEM, MA — New rules that go into effect in April will prohibit short-term rentals made popular by Websites like Airbnb from single-family residential zones in Salem. While the new rules passed by City Council on Thursday allow for short-term rentals in two-family residential zones, owners of the properties would need to register with the city and pay a $100 fee. The new rules essentially treat Airbnb and other short-term rentals as bed and breakfasts.
City Council was scheduled to hold a joint meeting with the Salem Planning Board Monday night to determine if short-term rentals where the property owner lives on-site would be grandfathered in under the new rules. Salem property owners who rented their houses, apartments and spare bedrooms through Airbnb collected $400,000 in revenue last October, the busiest month for tourism in Salem, according to the company.
