Short-term rentals in Cambridge, explained properly.

Sec. 4-95(d) makes registration under Sec. 4-42 a condition of a permit for a non-owner occupied residential dwelling unit, and says failure to maintain the registration after issuance may be grounds for suspension or revocation of the permit. Sec. 4-42 itself was not read for this page, so its fee and process are not shown.

Under both types a sleeping area must include at least the shared use of a full bathroom, and the property must have no outstanding City-issued violations affecting the health, safety or welfare of occupants, including property maintenance or building code violations (Sec. 4-98). A Type 1 STR may include the rental of less than an entire dwelling unit. An agent is an individual at least 21 years of age designated by the operator as the 24-hour emergency contact. A lessee may be an operator only when expressly authorized in writing by the owner (Sec. 4-93).

Sec. 4-99(a) applies to every permitted STR. A narrative of the available parking is part of the permit application (Sec. 4-95(a)(3)), and the house notice must show the location of required off-street parking and the prohibition on parking on landscaped areas (Sec. 4-99(e)).

Sec. 4-99(b). The permit application includes an attestation that the owners have met and will continue to meet the article's standards, including maintenance of insurance coverage (Sec. 4-95(a)(5)).

Sec. 4-99(c). STRs and their premises must also conform to all applicable state and local laws and regulations, including this Code. The Maryland statewide short-term rental safety law is shown in the state section of this page.

Sec. 4-99(e). Operators must also inform occupants of relevant City laws and of the occupants' liability for violations (Sec. 4-99(d)(1)). Excessive noise or other disturbance outside the STR is subject to the penalties set in the Code (Sec. 4-99(d)(2)).

Sec. 4-101(c). After a second complaint during a stay, the owner or operator must take appropriate steps under the lease or house rules to prevent further complaints. Failure to give the City updated agent information is a violation of the section.

Sec. 4-100.

Sec. 4-99(f). The article names VRBO, Expedia and Airbnb as examples of management applications. No City lodging tax rate is shown on this page. The Maryland state sales tax is shown in the state section.

Sec. 4-101(a), (b) and (d). Operating without a valid current permit is a violation, as is failing to operate in accordance with the permit. Civil or criminal penalties under other state and local law are in addition (Sec. 4-101(e)). Fines and application fees go to a special fund for economic development and beautification projects (Sec. 4-105).

Sec. 4-101(c) provides for revocation on three or more confirmed citations for different occupants within six months. Sec. 4-102 also lets the City suspend or revoke a permit issued in error or on incorrect information, or where the premises violate the article or other law and the violation has not been abated to the City's satisfaction, after written notice to the owner and operator. Sec. 4-103 makes the City's decision final unless the owner files a written appeal with the city manager within ten business days; the city manager's decision is final.

Section 11-101 of the Tax-General Article defines a short-term rental as the temporary use of a short-term rental unit (a residential dwelling unit or part of one, including a house, apartment, condominium or cooperative) to provide accommodation to transient guests for lodging purposes in exchange for consideration, and lists both an accommodation (a right to occupy a room or lodgings as a transient guest) and a short-term rental as tangible personal property. Section 11-104(a) sets the general sales and use tax rate at 6 cents for each exact dollar of the taxable price. The Comptroller of Maryland's 2016 tax alert on accommodations says that individuals who rent out their homes or rooms are accommodations providers who must register with the Comptroller and collect the tax, that the tax does not apply to monthly or permanent residents, and that all rentals in resort areas for terms of 4 months or less are subject to the tax. Local room or hotel taxes are shown on each place's page.

Section 11-101 defines a short-term rental platform as an Internet-based digital entity that advertises short-term rental units and is paid for facilitating reservations or processing booking transactions for the owner, operator or manager, and lists a short-term rental platform as a vendor. Section 11-403(a)(5) says sales include a booking transaction made through a short-term rental platform, and 11-403(b) requires a vendor to collect the sales and use tax from the buyer. Under 11-101(l)(5), when a platform facilitates a stay, the taxable price is the full amount the guest pays, not counting any tax remitted to a taxing authority; a commission paid by the host after the booking is not included. The Comptroller's 2016 alert says hosting platforms that collect payments on behalf of an owner must register and collect the tax, and that an owner's duty to collect is waived only when the platform gives the owner a resale certificate. A 2025 law (Chapter 638) rewrites these definitions from July 1, 2027 so that an accommodations intermediary includes a short-term rental platform. The sources read do not say whether a host who books through a platform that collects must still file returns; check with the Comptroller.

Chapter 9 of the 2026 Laws of Maryland (House Bill 1221) added Public Safety Article sections 9-1101 to 9-1106, effective October 1, 2026. They apply only to a short-term rental unit offered for less than 30 consecutive days. The host must conspicuously post an evacuation diagram identifying all exits and a list of emergency numbers for police and fire rescue, and provide a working fire extinguisher and working smoke and carbon monoxide alarms. Booking services must electronically notify hosts of these requirements and require each host to provide the inspection confirmation for each unit. By July 1, 2028, each county and Baltimore City must, by local law or regulation, require annual inspections of all short-term rental units for these requirements (this does not apply to a county that prohibits short-term rentals) and may charge an inspection fee. The law does not require a county or Baltimore City to allow short-term rentals and does not preempt other local measures. In the 2026 session, House Bill 993 (local rules on short-term rentals run by tenants) passed the House; its last action shown, on April 13, 2026, was Second Reading Passed in the Senate, and it has no chapter number.