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Short-Term Rental Rules by Town in Greater Portland, Maine
Drive from Portland to Cape Elizabeth and you cross a line that costs a thousand dollars.
In Portland, registering an owner-occupied short-term rental costs 100 dollars for your first unit. Ten minutes down Route 77, Cape Elizabeth charges 500 dollars if you apply between December 1 and February 1, and 1,000 dollars if you apply any other time of year. Same coastline, same guests, same Airbnb listing photos. Ten times the fee.
That is the actual shape of short-term rental regulation in Greater Portland: not a regional policy, but nine towns that each decided separately, in different years, using different definitions of what a short-term rental even is. Portland, South Portland, Falmouth, Freeport and Cape Elizabeth all draw the line at fewer than 30 consecutive days. Scarborough, whose ordinance is the newest in the region, draws it at fewer than 28.
Everything below came from each municipality's own live pages and ordinance documents, checked in late July 2026. Where a town does not publish a number, this guide says so rather than guessing, because a wrong fee is worse than an honest gap.
Portland: the most complicated program in Maine, and it changed for 2026
Portland runs the region's only genuinely complex system, and the rules that took effect for the 2026 license year moved several things at once.
New tenant-occupied short-term rentals are no longer allowed. If you hold one, you can renew it, but you must renew by December 31 each year. Miss that date and the license is revoked and cannot be brought back.
The mainland non-owner-occupied cap moved off a fixed number. It used to be 400 units. It is now 1.5 percent of the registered long-term rentals as of September 1 of the previous year, and the Licensing and Registration Office publishes the resulting number on that date each year. This is the single most misreported fact about Portland short-term rentals. If you read a number anywhere, including the widely repeated figure of 293, check the date it was published. The cap is now a moving target by design.
A mainland single-family home or condo can only be licensed if it is owner occupied, which Portland defines as the owner living there more than six months of the year. Condo and homeowners association units also require a signed attestation from the association confirming short-term rental use is allowed under its governing documents.
Island rules split into four categories: Outer Island (Cliff, Cushing, Great Diamond, House and Little Diamond), Peaks Island Seasonal, Peaks Island Year Round Owner Occupied, and Peaks Island Year Round Non Owner Occupied. That last one carries its own yearly cap of 40 units, with late and new applicants going to a waitlist.
Fees escalate steeply by unit count. Owner-occupied, tenant-occupied and island units run 100, 250, 500, 1,000 and 2,000 dollars for the first through fifth units. Non-owner-occupied mainland units run 200, 500, 1,000, 2,000 and 4,000 dollars. Discounts exist for sprinklers, monitored fire alarms and a no-smoking lease, capped at 20 dollars per unit total.
One thing to know before you rely on the paperwork: the city's own 2026 FAQ and its downloadable registration application disagree on how many short-term rentals a multi-unit building may hold. The FAQ lists a four-unit building at two rentals; the application form, stamped Version 10/20/22, lists it differently. The FAQ is the 2026 document. Call the Permitting and Inspections Department at 207-756-8131 before you count on either. Registrations open November 1 each year and are due January 1.
Cape Elizabeth: the strictest rules in the region
Cape Elizabeth adopted its regulations in April 2021 and they took effect that July. They are the most restrictive in Greater Portland and it is not close.
You may operate exactly one short-term rental per property, in exactly one of four types per calendar year. Primary Residence Hosted allows two rentals per seven-day period. Primary Residence Unhosted allows one rental per seven days and no more than 42 days per year. A lot of seven acres or more gets 182 days. Short Term Rental Adjacent, where the owner lives on the same or an abutting lot, gets 105 days.
Unless your lot is seven acres or larger, you must hold a homestead exemption on the property to qualify at all. That single requirement rules out most investor-owned units, which is plainly the point. If you are new to Maine and unsure where you stand, our guide to the Maine homestead exemption covers the 12-month residency catch that trips up first-year owners.
Occupancy is capped at two tenants per bedroom plus two more for one additional sleeping space. On a lot of 30,000 square feet or less, the ceiling is eight tenants and four on-site parking spaces, and on-street parking by guests is prohibited outright. The owner or a designated contact must respond to a guest within 30 minutes during the tenancy.
Enforcement has teeth. A first substantiated complaint can bring a 30-day suspension. A second brings a mandatory six-month suspension. A third revokes the permit for three years. Operating without a permit costs double the permit fee.
Permits expire December 31. Code Enforcement is at 207-799-0881, and inspections, which are required, are scheduled at 207-799-1619.
Scarborough: brand new, and almost everything online about it is out of date
This is the one that matters most this year. On May 26, 2026, the Scarborough Town Council approved Chapter 1020, a new Short-Term Rental Registration Ordinance, along with amendments to the Chapter 405 Zoning Ordinance and a new Coastal Beach Overlay Zone. Until this spring Scarborough was the notable Greater Portland holdout, and most national short-term rental guides still describe it that way.
All operators must register with the town by December 31, 2026, and annually after that. New registrations also require a safety inspection, which the town schedules within six months of the initial registration period specifically so it does not disrupt seasonal rentals.
Scarborough defines a short-term rental as fewer than 28 consecutive days, not 30. If you rent a 29-day stay in Portland it is a long-term tenancy. In Scarborough it is a short-term rental.
Where you can operate now depends on the zoning changes that passed alongside the ordinance. Owner-occupied rentals need Special Exception approval in residential districts unless the property sits in the Coastal Beach Overlay Zone, and are allowed by right in Village and Commercial districts. Non-owner-occupied rentals are not permitted in residential districts at all unless they are in the overlay zone; they need a Special Exception in the Village and Running Hill districts and are allowed by right in Commercial districts.
The Coastal Beach Overlay Zone covers property roughly half a mile inland from the coastline, including Pine Point, Prouts Neck, Ferry Beach, Higgins Beach and properties along Spurwink Road. If you already operate, the adoption language includes transitional provisions that may let you skip the Special Exception process, which is worth asking about before December.
Scarborough does not publish a registration fee on its short-term rental page. The Town Clerk is at 207-730-4020.
Falmouth, Freeport and South Portland: simpler, cheaper, still mandatory
Falmouth's ordinance took effect January 1, 2022. The annual registration fee is 300 dollars and renewals are due on or before January 1. You cannot advertise, operate or rent without registering first.
Worth knowing before you trust the page: as of late July 2026 Falmouth's live registration page still tells you the form for 2025 registrations is now open and that new registrations after November 1, 2024 count as 2025 registrations. It also links a list of registered units whose link text says September 10, 2025 while the file itself is named for May 1, 2025. None of that means the 300 dollar fee is wrong, but it does mean you should call 207-699-5335 or email str@falmouthme.org rather than reading dates off the page. If you are weighing Falmouth generally, our guide to moving to Falmouth covers the wider tradeoffs.
Freeport adopted its ordinance on April 27, 2021 as Chapter 61. The fee is 100 dollars per application, the late fee is 200 dollars, and you need a copy of your property deed. Town Clerk, 207-865-4743 extension 123. Note that Freeport's linked town fee schedule currently serves a document headed "Effective 06/18/2024" even though search listings describe a 2026 version, so confirm the fee when you apply.
South Portland has required registration since January 1, 2019, under an ordinance last updated August 27, 2019. Less than 30 consecutive days is the threshold. As of July 1, 2025 the city moved to a new online portal, so returning operators need to create an account rather than reuse old credentials. Applications are due annually with payment and typically take about two weeks to clear all approvals, so nothing is issued the same day. South Portland does not publish its registration fee on either of its short-term rental pages. Licensing Administrator, 207-767-7628.
The four towns with no registration program at all
Yarmouth, Cumberland, Westbrook and Gorham have no municipal short-term rental registration or permit program that appears anywhere on their own websites.
The clearest confirmation is Westbrook, whose City Clerk page enumerates every municipal license the city issues: food service establishments, food trucks, pushcarts, tobacco, tattoo, massage, movie theatres, towing, commercial hauling and secondhand dealers. Short-term rentals are not on that list. Yarmouth's Town Clerk licensing page is similar, covering hunting and fishing, dogs, liquor, DBA filings, special amusement, peddlers and shellfish, with no short-term rental line.
Do not read that as permission to do whatever you like. No registration program is not the same as no rules. Zoning still applies, and towns like Gorham use permissive zoning, meaning a use that is not explicitly listed as permitted or as a special exception is not allowed. Nuisance, noise and parking ordinances apply regardless. Call the code enforcement office in the town before you list, and get the answer from a person rather than from a listing platform.
A warning about searching for this
Every one of these towns has a namesake somewhere else that will contaminate your search. Yarmouth, Massachusetts publishes its own short-term rental FAQ, and Yarmouth, Nova Scotia has been in the news for regulating rentals. A prominent search result about Gorham selectmen and short-term rental permits is Gorham, New Hampshire. Falmouth, Massachusetts and Portland, Oregon remain the two most persistent traps in any Maine search.
Confirm the state on every result. Then confirm the date, because these ordinances have changed in five of the last six years.
FAQ
Which Greater Portland towns require short-term rental registration?
Six: Portland, South Portland, Falmouth, Cape Elizabeth, Freeport and, as of the ordinance adopted May 26, 2026, Scarborough. Yarmouth, Cumberland, Westbrook and Gorham have no registration program listed on their own municipal websites.
How much does it cost to register a short-term rental near Portland, Maine?
Freeport charges 100 dollars per application. Portland starts at 100 dollars for a first owner-occupied unit and 200 dollars for a first non-owner-occupied mainland unit, escalating to 2,000 and 4,000 dollars respectively at five units. Falmouth charges 300 dollars annually. Cape Elizabeth charges 500 dollars if you apply between December 1 and February 1 and 1,000 dollars otherwise. South Portland and Scarborough do not publish their fees online.
What counts as a short-term rental in Maine?
It depends on the town, which is the trap. Portland, South Portland, Falmouth, Freeport and Cape Elizabeth all use fewer than 30 consecutive days. Scarborough's 2026 ordinance uses fewer than 28 consecutive days. Maine has no single statewide definition that overrides these local ones.
Can I buy an investment property near Portland and run it as an Airbnb?
In most of these towns, not easily. Portland caps mainland non-owner-occupied units at 1.5 percent of registered long-term rentals and allows single-family homes and condos to be licensed only when owner occupied. Cape Elizabeth requires a homestead exemption unless the lot is seven acres or larger. Scarborough bars non-owner-occupied rentals from residential districts outside the Coastal Beach Overlay Zone. The towns without registration programs still have zoning.
When are short-term rental registrations due?
Portland opens registration November 1 and requires renewal by January 1, with a hard December 31 deadline for tenant-occupied and capped categories. Falmouth renews on or before January 1. Cape Elizabeth permits expire December 31, and the cheaper application window is December 1 to February 1. Scarborough's first deadline is December 31, 2026.
Is the 400-unit Portland cap still accurate?
No. Portland replaced the fixed 400-unit mainland non-owner-occupied cap with a formula of 1.5 percent of registered long-term rentals, measured as of September 1 of the prior year and published annually on that date. Any source quoting a fixed number is quoting a snapshot, not the rule.
Where do property taxes fit into this?
Separately, and they vary as widely as the rental rules do. Our property tax comparison by town covers what each Greater Portland town actually charges and why the mill rate alone is misleading.