Key Takeaways
- Southwest Harbor is starting with a full count of its short-term and long-term rentals before deciding whether new rules are needed
- Nearby Tremont estimates roughly 329 of its 1,200 homes are short-term rentals
- Maine towns have until July 1, 2027 to update local housing rules under a new state density law
A small town in Maine near Acadia National Park wants to know exactly how many short-term rentals it has before deciding what to do about them.
Southwest Harbor, located on Mount Desert Island about 15 miles from Bar Harbor, directed its town manager on Aug. 11 to look into the town’s inventory of both short-term and long-term rentals.
The move doesn’t come with a new STR cap, permit system or licensing rule. At least not yet.
Instead, town officials say they want a clearer picture of how much of the local housing stock is being used as vacation rentals before deciding whether regulation is necessary.
Select Board member Natasha Johnson said nearby communities have already seen short-term rentals become a bigger issue, and she doesn’t want Southwest Harbor to fall behind.
“I feel like we have been unprepared for the amount of increased short-term rentals within those communities,” Johnson said, according to Bar Harbor Story.
Part of that concern comes from neighboring Bar Harbor, which adopted a short-term rental ordinance in 2021. Johnson said officials believe some rental activity may have shifted into surrounding towns after those rules took effect.
Nearby Maine town says about a quarter of its homes are STRs
Southwest Harbor officials don’t have a firm rental count yet, but nearby Tremont offers a glimpse at how quickly short-term rentals can become a sizable piece of a small-town housing market.
Tremont Town Manager Jesse Dunbar estimates the community has roughly 329 short-term rentals out of about 1,200 total dwellings.
That works out to a little more than one in four homes.
Tremont voters narrowly rejected a short-term rental licensing ordinance in May 2024 by just two votes. The Select Board is now looking at the issue again.
Related: Colorado mountain town considers neighborhood caps on short-term rentals
New Maine housing law adds another reason to take stock
The rental discussion is also happening as Maine communities prepare for changes to state housing law.
LD 2173, signed by Gov. Janet Mills on April 16, gives municipalities until July 1, 2027 to update local ordinances to allow more housing density, including additional dwelling units and accessory units on residential lots.
In Tremont, officials are considering whether short-term rental rules should be addressed at the same time those housing changes are made.
Southwest Harbor hasn’t gone that far.
For now, the Select Board has asked Town Manager Karen Reddersen to determine what would be required to create a rental registry, whether an ordinance would be necessary and whether the town could penalize owners who fail to register.
Any actual short-term rental regulations would still have to come later.
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