Westwood, Mass., Code of Bylaws ch 330 § 330-6
Eligibility (Westwood Short-Term Rental)
Operative Text
Any Short-Term Rental Operator (STR Operator) seeking to establish a Short-Term Rental Unit (STR Unit) must apply for and receive a STR Certificate of Registration, following the procedure set forth in § 330-8 . The following eligibility requirements shall apply to applicants seeking a Certificate: A. The STR Unit must be compliant with all applicable state and local codes, including building codes, fire codes and health codes. B. The STR Unit shall not be subject to any outstanding violations, including but not limited to violations of building, sanitary, zoning, or fire codes, orders of abatement, stop-work orders, or other requirements, laws or regulations that prohibit the Operator from offering the dwelling unit as a STR Unit. C. The STR Unit shall not be restricted for below market rate housing nor subject to any local, state, or federal income-eligible or income-restricted program. D. The STR Operator shall not have been subject to the suspension or revocation of a STR Certificate of Registration, either associated with the subject property or with any other property in the Town of Westwood, pursuant to § 330-11 within the immediately prior twenty-four month (24-month) period.
Westwood, Mass., Code of Bylaws CH. 330 § 330-6 establishes who may legally operate a short-term rental in Westwood. Before listing or renting a unit on a short-term basis, an operator must obtain a Certificate of Registration, and the unit itself must be free of outstanding code violations, compliant with building, fire, and health standards, and not designated as income-restricted or below-market-rate housing. Additionally, any operator whose prior STR Certificate was suspended or revoked within the past 24 months — at any Westwood property — is ineligible to apply during that period.
Plain English — not legal advice.
Property owners and managers operating short-term rentals in Westwood should be aware that § 330-6 sets out mandatory eligibility criteria that must be satisfied before a Certificate of Registration is issued. Compliant operators generally ensure their units are current on all building, fire, sanitary, and zoning requirements, confirm the unit is not subject to any income-restriction programs, and verify that no prior STR Certificate associated with any of their Westwood properties was suspended or revoked within the preceding 24 months. Operators who cannot meet all four eligibility criteria under § 330-6 are not permitted to proceed with registration until those conditions are resolved.
General guidance for property managers — not legal advice for your specific situation. Consult an attorney for advice on your case.
Under § 330-6 of the Westwood Code of Bylaws, tenants and community members can look to the eligibility requirements as a baseline standard for any lawfully registered short-term rental unit in town. If a unit appears to be operating as a short-term rental without meeting these requirements — for example, if it has known code violations or is subject to an income-restriction program — that information may be relevant to a complaint filed with the appropriate local authority overseeing short-term rental compliance. Tenant-rights organizations and local housing offices can be useful resources for understanding how these eligibility rules interact with tenant protections in Westwood.
General guidance for tenants — not legal advice for your specific situation. Consult a tenant-rights organization or attorney for advice on your case.
Generated November 11, 2026 — auto-generated, not yet human-reviewed. See /transparency for methodology.
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