More towns are regulating short-term rentals in Maine’s touristy midcoast

When traveling along Maine’s midcoast, it’s easy to see what inspired the state’s self-bestowed nickname of “Vacationland.”

Tourism is a formidable industry along the rocky, pine-covered peninsulas and islands that make up the region, with local seafood, art galleries, lighthouses and other attractions drawing visitors each summer.

But while inns and hotels have long played a role in housing those tourists, a controversial form of lodging has gained popularity over the past decade: homes that have been converted into short-term rentals and — in many cases — made available on sites such as Airbnb and Vrbo.

Now, while supporters of the short-term rental industry say that it has given property owners an important source of income, there’s been a backlash from locals who worry that it’s driving up home prices and removing housing desperately needed by workers in the area.

In the midcoast, where there is almost no affordable housing , some communities have seen short-term rentals consume more than 15 percent of the summer housing stock, with Boothbay Harbor leading the pack at 27 percent, followed by Georgetown at 18 percent and Southport at 17 percent, according to research by the Midcoast Council of Governments .

Communities have started cracking down on these hard-to-track rentals, particularly when owners don’t live on the property. But they’ve faced pushback.

Six years ago, Rockland succeeded in starting a permitting system for short-term rentals and capping how many could be offered by owners who don’t live on the property. But this week, city councilors voted down a measure that would have gone further and phased out short-term rentals that are not occupied by their owners — after a similar measure failed in 2022.

Councilors opposed to the measure said while the city should continue to look for ways to remediate the housing crisis, the phase-out could have harmed the owners of the rentals. They argued for continuing to workshop the idea before taking such a drastic step.

Other municipalities have taken action as well. In June, Camden residents voted to require all short-term rentals to be licensed by the town. St. George also requires short-term rentals to be licensed. Harpswell, meanwhile, has started a task force to study the issue.

Housing advocates in the midcoast have been pushing for this kind of regulation for some time. Amy Files, who chairs Rockland’s Comprehensive Planning Commission, pressed for more regulation of non-owner-occupied short-term rentals at this week’s meeting.

“It’s time to revisit and ask yourselves, when facing an unprecedented housing crisis, is this the best use of our housing?” Files asked.

But Charlotte Nutt, who has studied housing issues for the Midcoast Council of Governments, said communities are often conservative with their regulations because the state offers no guidance on short-term rentals.

And the owners of short-term rentals often claim that they help to bring important tourism dollars into these towns during the busy warmer months.

“So you’re taking one house, and you’re taking away the money that people would spend when they come to my house in your town,” said Don Gray, who offers short-term rentals at four properties in Rockland, during Monday night’s council meeting.

Towns often lack data on the prevalence of short-term rentals that could help them make any kind of regulation, so many of them have started the process by collecting those numbers, according to Nutt.

Brunswick has hired a third-party company to keep tabs on the number of short-term rentals in town, according to Economic Development Director Sally Costello. The town still has not decided on regulating them after an initial count found short-term rentals take up just 132 of the total 8,000 housing units in town, Costello said.

Camden also hired a third party to come up with numbers before sending the proposed registry to voters. It found 210 short-term rentals in the town.

The extent to which short-term rentals are contributing to Maine’s housing crisis appears to vary based on the community. A state report last year found that properties used for them typically don’t compete with homes on the market — except when they’re in population centers or tourism destinations.

While regulating short-term rentals is one avenue midcoast communities can take, fixing the region’s dire housing crisis will take other solutions as well, according to Nutt, who noted that the housing shortage is greatest for people with middle incomes. One of the greatest needs is just for more homes to be built.

“There’s just so much to the housing shortage that it can’t be fixed just with short-term rental regulations,” Nutt said.