State regulators are planning to gradually roll out new rules for short term rentals in Maine's unorganized territories.
Short term rental owners would first be required to register their properties with the Land Use Planning Commission. Eventually, property owners will have to comply with a set of parking, wastewater disposal and other standards, which state regulators said they plan to address with a second round of rulemaking.
There would be no fee to register using an online platform. Commissioners said during a meeting Wednesday that the registration requirement will allow them to reach short-term rental owners and help them prepare for the upcoming regulations.
The decision comes after regulators spent more than a year collecting feedback from property owners and residents in unorganized territories.
Some residents had expressed concerns about noise and trash disposal. A two-year-old study found there were nearly 600 short-term rentals in Maine's unorganized territories, but regulators say that the registration will give them a more accurate count.
The LUPC is expected to finalize the new registration requirements sometime next year.
