NAHANT – The City Council has finalized a draft of the city’s new short-term rental guidelines. Community members now have until Sept. 6 to provide feedback, which the Council has specifically encouraged.

After Nahant’s new zoning and general bylaws went into effect in April, City Manager Tony Barletta is working to establish rental policies for residents and businesses.

“The purpose of these rules and regulations is to protect the health, safety and welfare of not only tenants and residents of short-term rental housing units, but also first responders and the public,” the draft states. “These rules and regulations are also intended to ensure that the primary use of the property remains residential and that short-term rentals do not detract from the character and quality of life of the surrounding residential neighborhood.”

The bill defines numerous terms such as application, resident, owner, owner-adjacent unit, and both owner-occupied and non-owner-occupied short-term rentals. Two requirements are listed for short-term rental properties: that the owner must ensure the property complies with Nahant’s bylaws, and that the Board of Selectmen must have the ability to set the number of bedrooms allowed in the space, which indirectly determines the number of residents since the rules allow a maximum of two per bedroom.

The current deadline for property owners to obtain a rental certificate is January 1. Housing units used for short-term rental purposes are subject to regular inspections.

“We have been working on short-term rules and regulations for those who are legal in the city, for homeowners in residential neighborhoods, as well as for non-homeowners with special permits in commercial districts,” Barletta said.

Residents can send their feedback by contacting Administrative Assistant Kristin Taylor at (email protected).