Short-Term Rental Laws in Ocean City, Maryland

Ocean City's 2023 ordinance restricts non-owner-occupied STRs (rentals shorter than 31 days) to designated zoning districts — primarily the Downtown (DMX), Bayside, Boardwalk Commercial, Inlet, and Mobile Home Resort zoning districts plus all condominium/hotel-zoned high-rise areas. Single-family residential zones (R-1, R-2 north-end neighborhoods west of Coastal Highway) face occupancy and frequency caps — rentals limited to a maximum guest count per bedroom and a minimum rental period of 4 nights in summer months in some R-1 sub-overlays.

Ocean City's zoning map is the key gate. Most beachfront condominium towers and Boardwalk-area lodging are STR-permitted by default. The bayside / north-end single-family neighborhoods (e.g. Caine Woods, Montego Bay — wait, Montego Bay is mostly in unincorporated Worcester) carry tighter rules. Single-family detached homes in R-1 face a 4-night minimum stay in peak season (Memorial Day → Labor Day) under the 2023 ordinance. Confirm parcel zoning + any peak-season minimum-stay overlay before any offer.

Operators must hold a short-term rental permit before listing. See the official permit portal.

Ocean City Planning + Zoning + Code Enforcement administer the program. Annual STR license required, plus the standard Worcester County Room Tax registration. Operating without a license: stop-rental order + per-day administrative fines + back-tax assessment. Ocean City employs a dedicated STR enforcement officer in peak season — complaint-driven enforcement (noise, trash, occupancy violations) is active and platform-data cross-referencing is routine.

Combined short-term lodging tax in Ocean City is approximately 10.500% of gross nightly revenue (state sales + state TRT + local TRT + applicable resort/city options).

Maryland State sales tax 6% + Worcester County Room Tax 4.5% — combined ~10.5% on transient lodging (Ocean City's economy is heavily lodging-tax-dependent)

Verify the current combined rate via the Utah State Tax Commission before remitting — rates drift quarterly.