Did you know that many towns on the Cape and Islands require vacation rental owners to register their homes and pay a fee? Listed below are the towns and required fees as of November 2022.
In most cases, you can download the registration application from the town’s website. Note that we are simply passing along this information. We are not involved in this process in any way.
- All Barnstable villages – Barnstable Village, West Barnstable, Marstons Mills, Cotuit, Osterville, Centerville, Hyannis: $90 annually; additional units are $25 each annually
- Dennis: $50 annually
- Eastham: $75 annually; $55-$60 water test annually
- Falmouth: $25 annually
- Harwich: $50 annually
- Mashpee: $100 ($25 for registration and $75 for the inspection)
- Nantucket: $250 annual fee (As of Jan. 1, 2023)
- Plymouth – $75 annually
- Provincetown: $750 annually (As of Jan. 19, 2023, and formerly $300 for 3 years)
- Truro: $200 annually
- Wareham and Onset: $100 annually for registration and inspection
- West Tisbury – $190 annually ($115 registration fee and $75 inspection fee)
- Yarmouth: $80 annually by check, $70 with credit card/online
The fees above are subject to change, so you may want to check with your town. In addition, some towns have a strict requirement regarding the number of occupants allowed.
Note: homeowners are responsible for complying with all required fees, applications, and inspections.
Lynn,
You are right on target with your comments.
Politicians raising taxes will force landlords to increase rents to survive. Eventually, high rents will drive tenants to rent in other locations rather than expensive Cape Cod. Less tenants and visitors will translate into less business for restaurants, retail stores, etc.
What are they thinking by raising fees? The solution is for governements to spend less and reduce fees and taxes to encourage landlords and bring more tenants to the Cape.
Express your concern and vote for those who understand the economic view point.
As an owner of a Dennis vacation home we have not heard of a registration tax. I assume this is in addition to any percentage tax that may be approved by the state. We have received nothing from the Town of Dennis regarding this tax. It seems in the 8+ years we have been renting our home that there are so many extra expenses that keep rising plus the many other homes now on the market for rent, We haven’t raised our rental fee in years. We feel, at this time, that we have reached the max for the area. We have also seen a downturn in the requests for information plus we have had 3 commitments for the summer that all canceled. I think there are too many available properties at this time. I guess another rental tax would be the icing on the cake. I always felt it would be better to have the house occupied than sitting empty. If another tax is added we will have to reconsider.