Short‑term rental office reports drop from 1,100 listings in 2021 to 78; enforcement, software, and fees highlighted

The Revere short‑term rental office provided an update at the May 12 council meeting, reporting a sharp decline in listings since the program began and describing recent enforcement steps, software changes and fee revenues.

Vincent Argencio, who identified himself as representing the short‑term rental office, told the council the city has 78 short‑term rental properties currently identified; 65 of those are registered or are in the re‑registration process while 13 appear noncompliant or are “unidentified” (the software detected listings that may be outside Revere). Argencio said the city used an earlier software package that was projected to cost about $25,000 for the coming year and switched to a new provider that costs $9,950 annually.

Why it matters: The office said stricter registration rules, a higher annual registration fee and stepped‑up enforcement have reduced the number of short‑term listings from roughly 1,100 in February 2021 to the current 78. Councilors asked about inspections, occupancy limits, revenues and the extent of remaining noncompliance.

What the office reported

- Listings and compliance: “There’s 78 properties in total,” Argencio said. He reported 65 in the state of registration or re‑registration and about 13 that appear to be noncompliant or potentially misidentified as within Revere.

- Software and costs: The office switched to a lower‑cost platform, Argencio said, saving the city roughly $15,000 annually while retaining the property‑identification tools the office uses to detect listings and generate compliance notices.

- Enforcement and fines: Argencio said the city has issued about $30,000 in fines to date and has posted cease‑and‑desist notices at properties when necessary. The ordinance increase allows fines up to $490 per day for continued violations.

- Fees and revenue: Revere’s annual registration fee was increased to $300. With roughly 60 active registrations after the most recent enforcement work, Argencio estimated approximately $18,000 in registration fee revenue this year; he also said the software can now estimate state‑collected short‑term‑rental tax revenue and that the city’s conservative estimate of tax revenue is about $100,000 but that the feature is new and has not yet been reconciled with actuals.

Council questions and policy points

Councilors asked whether inspections would be required on renewal (Argencio said annual reinspection is performed for safety items such as smoke detectors and means of egress), whether owner‑occupancy rules remained in force (Argencio said the ordinance’s primary‑residence/owner‑occupied requirement is stricter under the new rules) and the occupancy limit (Argencio said the limit is two persons per bedroom). Several councilors expressed appreciation for enforcement that reduced neighborhood parties and other nuisances.

Rooming houses and interagency coordination

Councilors and Argencio discussed “rooming houses” (multiple private bedrooms with shared kitchens/baths). Argencio said the short‑term rental ordinance prohibits renting individual bedrooms with shared common spaces; where the office identifies advertising of individual rooms for rent for fewer than 30 days the city can take immediate enforcement action (cease‑and‑desist, fines) because the listing is public evidence. For properties advertised for longer than 30 days, Argencio said those are not covered by the short‑term‑rental enforcement tool and must be referred to inspectional services; he agreed to share data with the Revere Police Department to support safety responses and enforcement.

Next steps

Argencio said the office is continuing reregistration work, will share identified rooming‑house leads with police and inspectional services as appropriate, and expects to present a community‑impact fee package (a state‑authorized 3% fee) to the council in the near future.