In general
Print Sources
Employee benefits for the contingent workforce, Tax Management, 2016.
“[A]ddresses the employee benefits-related questions and issues that arise in connection with the employment of contingent or alternative workers.”
Practicing law in the sharing economy: Helping people build cooperatives, social enterprise, and local sustainable economies, by Janelle Orsi, American Bar Assn, 2012.
Information on drafting agreements, navigating employment regulations, managing risk, and other legal issues pertaining to the sharing economy.
Working for yourself: Law & taxes for independent contractors, freelancers & gig workers of all types by Stephen Fishman, 13th ed., Nolo, 2025. (eBook available with library card).
Home sharing & short-term rentals
Massachusetts law
MGL c. 62C, § 16(g½) Filing tax returns for short-term rentals
MGL c. 64G Room excise tax
Includes short-term rentals. Properties rented fewer than 14 days per year are exempt under § 3.
MGL c. 175, § 4F Liability insurance for short-term rentals
Massachusetts regulations
400 CMR 4 Public registry of lodging operators
830 CMR 62G Room occupancy excise. Regulates taxes for short-term rentals
City ordinances
Boston: An Ordinance allowing short-term residential rentals in the city of Boston
Cambridge: Zoning Ordinance 4.60 Short-term rentals
Somerville: General guidelines for short term rental (Airbnb) listings in Somerville. Includes links to the ordinance and FAQs.
For other cities and towns, you can search ordinances by town at City and Town Ordinances and Bylaws.
Selected case law
Airbnb v. City of Boston, U.S. Dist. Ct. Mass. 386 F.Supp.3d 113 (2019)
Airbnb, Inc. seeks a preliminary injunction barring the enforcement of certain provisions in a City of Boston ordinance aimed at regulating short-term residential rentals in Boston.
Heath-Latson v. Styller, 487 Mass. 581 (2021)
In a civil action alleging, inter alia, wrongful death arising from the shooting of the plaintiff's decedent at a house party held by third parties at the defendant's house, which they had rented for the weekend, the judge properly granted the defendant's motion to dismiss the complaint, where the complaint alleged no facts suggesting that the defendant had a duty to protect the decedent from the wrongdoing of a third party…
Styller v. Lynn Zoning Board of Appeals, 487 Mass. 588 (2021)
"This court concluded that the plaintiff's use of his property, which was zoned for single-family residential use, for occasional short-term rentals did not qualify as one of the 'additional' uses allowed under the town's zoning bylaw[.]"
Web sources
Register a short-term rental, City of Cambridge.
Provides the procedure and necessary forms for registering a unit as a short-term rental.
Room occupancy frequently asked questions, Mass. Department of Revenue.
Provides information on the law that expanded room occupancy excise to include short-term rentals and changes that apply to traditional lodging establishments.
Short-term rentals, Cape Cod and Islands Association of Realtors, September 2020.
Includes an overview of the law, the latest updates, major provisions of the law, and more.
Print sources
Every Airbnb host's tax guide by Stephen Fishman, 7th ed., Nolo, 2025. (eBook available with library card)
Massachusetts Airbnbs, MCLE, 2024.
What all real estate lawyers need to know about short-term rentals, MCLE, 2021.
Ride sharing
Massachusetts laws
St. 2024, c. 252 An act giving transportation network drivers the option to form a union and bargain collectively (Enacted as Question 3 on November 5, 2024 by Massachusetts voters)
MGL c. 159A-1/2 Transportation network companies (ride sharing companies)
MGL c. 175, § 228 Transportation network drivers insurance requirements (rideshare and gig drivers); minimum insurance requirements, may be held by the company, driver or combination
Massachusetts regulations
220 CMR 274 Transportation network companies
540 CMR 30 Annual inspection of transportation network company (TNC) vehicles
Selected case law
Boston Taxi Owners Association, Inc. v. City of Boston, U.S. Dist. Ct. Mass, 223 F.Supp.3d 119 (2016)
M.G.L. c. 159A-1/2 "preempts local regulation of [transportation networking companies].”
Kauders v. Uber Technologies, Inc., 486 Mass. 557 (2020)
"This court concluded that the terms and conditions contained in the defendants' cellular telephone application did not constitute an enforceable online contract with the plaintiffs, where there was no reasonable notice to the plaintiffs of the terms (i.e., reasonable users might not understand that, by simply signing up for future services over the Internet, they had entered into a significant contractual relationship governed by wide-ranging terms of use), and where the interface obscured the manifestation of assent to those terms (i.e., a user could create an account without ever affirmatively stating that he or she had agreed to the terms and conditions or even viewing them)."
Mass. Port Authority v. Turo, Inc., 487 Mass. 235 (2021)
The first numbered paragraph of the order currently prohibits Turo from '[l]isting or permitting motor vehicles to be listed on Turo's website, or by means of any other Turo application, as available for pickup or drop-off at Logan Airport.' On its face, the language “or permitting motor vehicles to be listed” could be understood to obligate Turo to monitor and potentially to remove its hosts’ noncompliant content, an obligation that would appear to be prohibited by the CDA. In order to preclude any possible confusion, the first numbered paragraph of the injunction must be modified to affirmatively restrain only Turo's conduct.
Web sources
Department of Public Utilities Transportation Network Company Division
Agency responsible for overseeing rideshare companies and drivers in Mass.
Electrify your rideshare, Ride Clean Mass.
"Ride Clean Mass helps Uber, Lyft, and taxi drivers in Massachusetts switch to electric vehicles (EVs). We offer rebates up to $6,500 on top of other state and federal incentives and provide support to make this transition easy."
Rideshare companies, Mass. Department of Public Utilities.
Learn how Massachusetts regulates rideshare companies or transportation network companies (TNCs).
Rideshare company drivers, Mass. Department of Public Utilities.
Learn how Massachusetts regulates the drivers using rideshare companies' or transportation network companies' (TNCs) digital network or platform.
Uber and Lyft litigation and frequently asked questions, Office of the Attorney General.
This page providers answers to frequently asked questions regarding the Attorney General Office's litigation against Uber and Lyft, which was settled in June of 2024.
Print sources
Ridesharing law and liability, ABA, 2020. (eBook available with library card)
Contact
Online
| Last updated: | June 12, 2025 |
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