City officials in Bangor are considering new regulations that would create a system for registering and inspecting short-term rental units.
A recent survey of units listed on sites such as Airbnb and Vrbo revealed 82 unregulated short term rentals in Bangor.
“We know that there are short-term rentals operating within the city,” Bangor Community and Economic Development Director Tanya Emery, said Tuesday evening at a business and economic development committee meeting. “We have had concerns from some folks in neighborhoods that it is impacting neighborhoods. We've also had concerns from some folks who say we want you to allow this more broadly, because this is a great option in the community. It's an income stream.”
Not all cities regulate short term rental units. Emery acknowledged the short term units could pose challenges for the city and its affordable housing goals.
“It does have an impact on your traditional long-term housing,” she said. “The more units that are taken out of the housing stock for short-term units for the 22 nights a year that there are concertgoers and shows at the Penobscot Theatre, those units are not on the market for the new teacher who just moved in and is going to be teaching at Cohen [School].”
The city is also considering new regulations for short term rentals downtown and in the waterfront district. Bangor officials are looking to other cities in Maine, including Portland and Bar Harbor, for advice on regulating short-term rentals.
