PROVIDENCE – A new short-term rental ordinance is scheduled to go into effect Nov. 30, affecting units in Providence residential areas, the city said Tuesday.
The ordinance says that only owner-occupied dwellings may be offered as short-term rentals, barring non-owner occupied short-term rentals in R1, R1A, R2 or R3 zoning districts.
Short-term rentals are defined as properties that are available for a fee for less than 28 consecutive days. The ordinance was passed in May by the Providence City Council with a six-month delay to allow renters to fulfill booking obligations, the city said.
The rules will affect short-term rental platform users, such as those renting on Airbnb, VRBO HomeAway or others, as well as more traditional short-term renters.
The ordinance dictates that if an entire unit is being used as a rental, it is required to have a temporary use permit from the city Department of Inspection and Standards. Those permits will be reviewed annually.
Short-term rental units will also be required to post diagrams of all exits to the unit in both English and Spanish, as well as have clearly marked fire extinguishers.