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North Adams Developing Short-Term Rental Regulations

The seal of the the city of North Adams, Massachusetts
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North Adams

The city of North Adams, Massachusetts is moving to draft short-term rental regulations.

City councilor Keith Bona says a meeting with the North Adams building inspector revealed that most of the short-term rentals being advertised in the Northern Berkshire community are illegal according to state law. Dwellings bought specifically for such rentals, where the owner does not live, violate Massachusetts codes – and Bona says North Adams is not currently enforcing those codes.

“There’s councilors that clearly expressed that they’re concerned about the safety, because right now, short-term rentals are not inspected and people can pretty much do what they want. The other thing is, there has been the discussion of gentrification, which came up during election. And that is also, are we going to be losing too many apartments to short-term rentals?”

The city’s Community Development team is working on the new regulations and expects to have a draft to the council by summer.

Josh Landes has been WAMC's Berkshire Bureau Chief since February 2018, following stints at WBGO Newark and WFMU East Orange. A passionate advocate for Western Massachusetts, Landes was raised in Pittsfield and attended Hampshire College in Amherst, receiving his bachelor's in Ethnomusicology and Radio Production. His free time is spent with his cat Harry, experimental electronic music, and exploring the woods.
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