Short-term rentals in Bar Harbor, explained properly.

Section 125-69(Y)(1)(a) says all registrations expire on May 31 of each year, and Section 125-69(Y)(2)(a) says any registration not renewed by May 31 is deemed expired and not eligible for renewal; an applicant whose registration has expired may apply for a new VR-1 or VR-2 and must meet all the requirements for a new one. Section 174-7(A) repeats the May 31 expiry and the Town's page says previously registered rentals must re-register on or before May 31 annually. Section 174-9(A) adds that registration renewals are subject to a life safety inspection every three years.

Section 125-69(Y)(1)(c) says the transfer of any short-term rental registration is expressly prohibited, and that a transfer of ownership occurs whenever the property is conveyed as shown on a Maine Real Estate Transfer Tax Declaration, or a controlling interest in an entity is conveyed as shown on a Maine Controlling Interest Transfer Declaration. Section 125-69(Y)(1)(a)[2] says that on a change of ownership mid-term the registration remains valid for the dwelling unit, or part of it, to which it was issued until it expires on the following May 31. A registration that is not renewed by May 31 is expired and not eligible for renewal; the owner may apply for a new registration under the requirements for a new VR-1 or VR-2.

Section 174-8(E) says VR-2 registrations are subject to a total cap, that the CEO shall maintain a waitlist for VR-2s, and that to be placed on it the owner must submit a complete registration application and pay the required fee. At the start of the calendar year the CEO determines whether slots are available and informs the applicant at the top of the list, who then has 120 days to secure the registration. If the applicant does not obtain it in 120 days for any reason, the slot is offered to the next owner on the list.

Section 174-8(C) says the nonrefundable registration fee must be paid at the time the application is filed. The Town's VR-1 application form (dated 2025-11 at the foot of the form) says all applications must be accompanied by the $275.00 non-refundable fee, payable by check to the Town of Bar Harbor. The amount appears only on the application form, not on a dated fee schedule, and the VR-2 application form was not captured, so the amount is for review.

Section 174-6(C)(1)(a) says no individual may have an ownership interest in more than one property with a VR-1 registration and no individual may register more than one property for a VR-1; a property is not eligible if anyone signing the application holds a VR-1 registration for a different property or is listed as a primary resident on one. The same paragraph says nothing in it prohibits a single property from having up to two VR-1 registrations, to the extent authorized by Chapter 125 (Section 125-69(Y)(1)(b) allows a maximum of two VR-1 registrations per Tax Assessor property identification number). Section 174-6(C)(1)(b) allows an individual to be listed as an owner on more than one VR-1 property if the additional interest is acquired by transfer from a parent, spouse or legal guardian for bona fide estate planning, inheritance or caregiving purposes, the individual claims only one primary residence and registration, and the same household does not actively operate more than one VR-1; the Town may deny, suspend or revoke a registration if it finds a transfer was made mainly to evade the limits.

Section 174-9(A) says an STR registration is subject to an initial life safety inspection by the CEO and that renewals are inspected every three years, and the CEO may conduct additional inspections. Section 174-5(F) says between inspection cycles the owner must attest in writing that the unit complies. Section 174-9(B) sets minimum standards for sleeping areas (habitable space only, minimum ceiling height of seven feet, egress openings, interconnected smoke and carbon monoxide alarms), annual servicing of fire protection systems by a licensed Maine contractor, a visible E-911 address, fire extinguishers sized under NFPA 10, GFCI receptacles, a Knox Box when a fire alarm or sprinkler system is installed, and the listed building, fire, fuel gas, chimney, plumbing and electrical codes as adopted by the Town or amended by the State.

Section 174-5(D) says the STR registration number issued by the CEO shall be included in all advertising, including but not limited to online platforms. The application form includes an attestation by the owner to post the registration number on all advertisements.

Section 174-5(C) requires the owner to complete and post the emergency information sheet provided by the CEO on or about the inside of the front or main door of the dwelling unit. It must include the registration number, the physical address and how to contact emergency responders, how to file a complaint about life safety requirements with the Town, the owner's name, mailing address, email and telephone number, and the name, email and telephone number of a local contact who is available to promptly respond to issues and emergencies. The Town's page adds that the registration card must be posted on the premises for convenient inspection by a rental occupant.

Section 174-5(E) says that at the time of issuance of a registration, the property taxes, Town water fees and/or Town sewer fees associated with the property to be rented as an STR shall not be in arrears.

Section 174-5(G) says no person shall be housed separately and/or apart from the dwelling unit in any tent, trailer, camper, lean-to, recreational vehicle, accessory structure or other structure of a similar nature. Section 174-5(H) says trash shall be removed on a weekly basis while the property is being rented as an STR.

Section 174-8(G) says that within 30 days of issuing a new registration the CEO sends a one-time notification of the STR to all property owners within 50 feet of the outer boundary of the property, mailed to the last known address in the Town tax records. The provision does not apply to registrations being renewed.

Section 174-10(D) sets the minimum fine for operating without a valid registration at $1,500; if the CEO finds a second violation within one year of the first, the owner is prohibited from applying for or obtaining a registration within 12 months of the second notice and may apply only after paying a fine of $3,000. The CEO may assess a penalty of three times the average nightly rental rate for each day of unlawful operation, based on documentation of advertised or actual rates, may waive some or all of the additional fines under an administrative consent agreement, and the Town may seek additional fines and injunctive relief under 30-A M.R.S. § 4452. Under Section 174-10(B), for a registered STR the CEO contacts the owner and allows up to seven days to correct a violation before written notice by certified mail; for an unregistered property written notice is given by certified mail. Under Section 174-10(C) an owner who has received a notice of violation may not register, renew or operate an STR on that property until the corrective action is taken and the fines cited are paid. Each violation is a separate violation and each day of violation after notification is a separate offense (Section 174-10(A)).

Section 174-10(E) lets the CEO, on reasonable suspicion of a violation or false or misleading information and after notice and an opportunity to be heard, suspend a registration pending investigation or corrective action, and suspend it for failure to correct a violation. Operating during a suspension is a violation carrying a penalty of three times the average nightly rental rate for each day. After notice and an opportunity to be heard the CEO may revoke a registration for continued violations. Separately, Section 174-10(E)(6) says a registration may be revoked if it was obtained or renewed on false, misleading or materially incomplete statements or documentation; that paragraph does not mention notice. Suspension or revocation is not an exclusive remedy.

36 M.R.S. § 1811(1)(D)(3) sets the rate at nine percent on the value of rental of living quarters in any hotel, rooming house or tourist or trailer camp for sales on or after October 1, 2019, and the Maine Revenue Services rates table shows Rentals of Lodging at 9% in each column from 10/01/2019 through the column effective 01/01/2026. Maine Revenue Services Instructional Bulletin No. 32 says it uses "hotel" to include a cottage, camp, condominium unit and vacation home, that the tax applies to casual rentals, and that every person who owns, manages or operates such a property in the regular course of business or on a casual basis, or who collects rental payments for the owner, must register for and collect the tax. The bulletin also says that in most cases a person with one rental unit who rents it fewer than 15 days in a calendar year is not a retailer, and that rent charged for 28 or more continuous days is exempt in listed cases (primary residence, education or employment, employer-rented). The copy of the bulletin saved here was last revised November 1, 2017 and a newer revision was not found, so the exemptions are given as that bulletin states them and are marked for review. Local lodging taxes and the treatment of booking platforms were not read for this layer.

22 M.R.S. § 2501 (exceptions to the lodging-place license) says private homes are not deemed lodging places subject to a license when not more than 5 rooms are let; such homes must post in a visible location in each rented room a card, in text of no less than 18-point boldface type, reading "This lodging place is not regulated by the State of Maine Department of Health and Human Services, Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention," and must give guests the same notice at check-in. The section adds that a license is not required from vacation rentals, and that rooms and cottages are not deemed lodging places subject to a license where not more than 3 rooms and cottages are let. The section does not define "vacation rentals" and the definitions in the chapter were not read, so how it applies to a particular property is for review. Town registration, zoning and fire-safety rules are separate (see each place's page).

McCallion v. Town of Bar Harbor, 2025 ME 58 (Docket Han-24-365, argued May 6, 2025, decided July 1, 2025) was an appeal from a Superior Court judgment upholding the Bar Harbor Board of Appeals' decision to uphold a 2023 short-term-rental registration for a VR-2 property whose renewal had been lost after a portal failure. The Court held the appeal moot because a 2024 registration had superseded the 2023 registration and was not appealed, and wrote that because it concluded the appeal is moot it did not reach the parties' additional arguments. The opinion therefore does not decide whether the Town's cap or its other short-term rental rules are valid. The opinion describes the Town's Code as of 2023 (Sections 125-69(Y), 125-109 and 174-4 in their 2023 versions), not the current Chapter 174.