Step 2 · Where you can legally operate close to home
Short-Term Rental Rules in Seattle and Every Eastside City
Page author
Adriano Tori
Designated Broker, Founder & CEO — RexMont Real Estate · WA Lic. #27660
Adriano leads RexMont Real Estate — the most-reviewed real estate brokerage in Seattle and the Eastside. 1,200+ closed transactions, $1B+ in production, and 1,241 five-star Google reviews.
Written and reviewed by Adriano Tori, Designated Broker, WA Lic. #27660 · last reviewed September 19, 2026 · RexMont Real Estate, 1,241 five-star Google reviews, $1B+ closed across 1,200+ transactions. Not tax, legal or lending advice.
The short answer
Seattle lets an owner run short-term rentals in two units at most: the primary residence plus one other dwelling, with a $75-per-unit annual operator license. Licenses do not transfer at sale, and legacy multi-unit status ends when ownership changes.
Bellevue does not allow an entire single-family home to be used for stays under 30 nights; short-term stays are limited to multifamily or planned-unit-development units, capped at five per building and 20% of a development. Kirkland requires the owner to live in the home. Redmond licenses any unit for $153 a year with no occupancy rule as of January 1, 2026.
Sammamish, Issaquah, Bothell, Kenmore, Mercer Island and unincorporated King County have no dedicated short-term rental ordinance, so state law (RCW 64.37), general zoning and any HOA covenants control. That is not a green light: check the CC&Rs before you write.
Most Seattle and Eastside investors start their short-term rental search a few miles from home and discover the rules are stricter, and more uneven, than they expected. Seattle has a full licensing regime. Bellevue effectively bars whole-house rentals. Kirkland and Newcastle tie the use to an owner who lives there. Redmond went the other way and adopted a light license with no occupancy requirement. Several cities have written nothing at all, which leaves the state statute, the zoning code's definition of a dwelling, and the homeowners association as the real rule-makers.
This page is the reference RexMont uses when a client asks whether a specific house can be an Airbnb. Every line was checked against the current municipal code, the city's own licensing page or a director's rule, and the date we checked is in the byline. Codes change; the pattern of the last two years has been more regulation, not less. Before you remove an inspection contingency, we re-verify the exact section for that address.
The statewide layer applies everywhere below. RCW 64.37 defines a short-term rental as a dwelling unit offered for fewer than thirty consecutive nights, requires operators to remit lodging and sales taxes unless the platform does it, to carry at least $1,000,000 in liability coverage or rely on equivalent platform coverage, and to post the address, emergency contacts, an exit plan and the occupancy limit inside the unit. The Department of Revenue treats stays under 30 days as transient lodging, subject to retail sales tax, local lodging taxes and, in King County, the convention and trade center tax.
Seattle: two units, a license in your name, nothing transfers
Seattle's short-term rental program has two parts: the land-use rule in SMC 23.42.060 (effective January 2018) and the license code in SMC 6.600 (effective January 1, 2019). The city's short-term rental licensing page states the core limit plainly: most operators may operate two units, the operator's primary residence and one secondary unit. Rooms inside your home without their own kitchen and bath do not count as extra units. An attached or detached accessory dwelling unit is a separate dwelling unit, so an owner living in the main house and renting the backyard cottage nightly is using both of the two units.
Every unit needs a Seattle business license tax certificate and a Short-Term Rental Operator License at $75 per unit per year, renewed annually, with the license number on every listing. A secondary unit that is not your primary residence must also be registered in the city's rental housing inspection program. Platforms pay the city $4 for every booked night, which is why Seattle listings carry a visible per-night city fee.
The exceptions are the legacy zones. Units operated as short-term rentals before September 30, 2017 kept expanded rights: unlimited legacy units in the downtown core between Olive Way and Cherry Street, all units in small post-2012 buildings in First Hill and Capitol Hill, and up to two legacy units elsewhere. Here is what matters to a buyer: the city's Director's Rule STR-3 says all operator licenses are non-transferable, any change of ownership requires a new license, and legacy status permanently terminates when the ownership or ownership structure of the unit changes. A seller marketing a three-unit downtown Airbnb business is selling you real estate, not the license count.
What this means for a Seattle buyer
Underwrite a Seattle purchase on one non-primary unit. The strongest Seattle plays are a house you live in with a DADU you rent nightly, or a condo whose declaration allows nightly stays (most do not; read the declaration, not the listing). RexMont's Seattle STR investor page covers the acquisition side; penalties run $500 for a first violation and $1,000 after that.
The Eastside, city by city
The table condenses what each code actually says as of our review date. "No ordinance" means the city has not adopted a short-term rental use or license; the state statute, the zoning definition of a dwelling, the business-license chapter and your HOA still apply, and a city can adopt rules quickly. Where a city allows the use only with the owner present, a remote investor cannot operate there at all.
| City | Whole-home STR allowed? | Owner-occupancy or unit limit | License and cost | Transfers at sale? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seattle | Yes, as an accessory use in most dwellings | Primary residence + 1 secondary unit (legacy exceptions) | Operator license $75 per unit per year + business license | No. New owner applies; legacy status ends |
| Bellevue | No for an entire single-family home. Short-term stay use only in multifamily or PUD units (LUC 20.20.800) | ≤5 units per building and ≤20% of a development; room rentals in a house require the owner living there, max 2 rooms | Registration notice with Development Services | Registration is per registrant; a buyer files their own |
| Kirkland | Only if the owner lives there | Owner occupies as primary residence, or rents ≤120 days a year while living there ≥245 days with a manager within 15 miles (KMC 7.02.300); max 2 rental agreements at once | City business license + STR declaration, about $230 per year | Not applicable to a non-occupant buyer |
| Redmond | Yes | None. Ordinance 3239 effective Jan 1, 2026 adopts the state definition with no occupancy rule | $153 per unit per year, safety checklist, quiet hours 10 p.m.–8 a.m. (RMC 5.04) | No. License is personal and nontransferable |
| Sammamish | No ordinance | HOA covenants control in most subdivisions | General business license | n/a |
| Issaquah | No ordinance | Issaquah Highlands covenants require six-month minimum leases | General business license; lodging is B&O-taxable | n/a |
| Mercer Island | No STR-specific ordinance | ADU owner-occupancy requirement removed June 30, 2025 | City business license, $30 | n/a |
| Woodinville | Code silent for whole homes | ADUs may not be rented for fewer than 30 nights (WMC 21.41.020, 2025) | General business license | n/a |
| Bothell and Kenmore | No ordinance | None codified | General business license | n/a |
| Renton | Yes (RMC 4-4-055) | Owner-occupied only if multiple parties rent at once; 2 guests per bedroom | City business license, $150 | Silent; license is per operator |
| Newcastle | Conditional use in residential zones | Operator must be the principal resident; no detached ADU; 2-night minimum; contact within 15 miles | One-time review fee + annual business license + inspection | Buyer must re-qualify as resident operator |
| Unincorporated King County | No STR use in Title 21A | Only a bed-and-breakfast guesthouse accessory to the operator's residence, ≤5 rooms | None specific | n/a |
| Shoreline and Edmonds | No ordinance (Edmonds: B&B only, owner in residence) | Edmonds B&B ≤2 rooms permitted, 3+ by conditional use | General business license | n/a |
| Tacoma | Yes, entire-dwelling STR permitted in residential districts | 3–9 guest-room operations not allowed in residential zones | City business license; no separate STR permit for whole-dwelling rentals | Business license is per operator |
Sources: each city's municipal code and licensing page, read September 19, 2026. "n/a" means there is no permit to transfer. Verify the exact section for a specific address before removing contingencies; HOA and condominium declarations override everything in this table.
Why Bellevue and Kirkland are effectively closed to remote investors
Bellevue's land use code defines short-term stay use as transient lodging in a planned unit development or a multifamily dwelling unit. The city's rentals page says an entire single-family home, or a home plus its ADU, cannot be used for stays under 30 days; a homeowner may rent up to two rooms under an owner-occupied home-occupation permit. Even in a condo building the use is capped at five units and 20% of the development at any time, and the declaration has to allow it. That leaves a narrow lane: a condo whose HOA permits nightly stays and has room under the cap. Most downtown towers do not.
Kirkland treats short-term rentals as a business-license matter but the qualifying test is residency. The owner either continuously occupies part of the home as a primary residence, or lives there at least 245 days a year and rents no more than 120 days with a property manager within 15 miles. A Kirkland house you do not live in cannot be an Airbnb, full stop. Newcastle reaches the same result through a conditional use permit that requires the operator to be the principal resident.
Redmond is the Eastside outlier. Its ordinance, effective January 1, 2026, licenses any individually addressed unit for $153 a year, requires a safety checklist and posting of tenant rights, sets quiet hours from 10 p.m. to 8 a.m., and imposes no owner-occupancy requirement. The license is personal and nontransferable, so a buyer re-licenses, but unlike its neighbors Redmond does not ask who lives there. For an Eastside investor who wants a nightly rental within a 20-minute drive, Redmond is where the code cooperates; the HOA still has to.
The layer nobody reads: HOA and condo declarations
In every city above, a recorded declaration can prohibit what the city allows. Washington's common-interest ownership act, RCW 64.90, lets an association amend its declaration with 67% of votes unless the declaration sets a different threshold up to 90%, and "amendment" expressly includes adding restrictions. A board cannot impose a rental restriction by rule beyond what institutional lenders require (RCW 64.90.510), so a ban has to be voted in by owners, but owners in Eastside communities have been voting them in.
RexMont pulls the declaration, the amendments and the rules during the resale-certificate review and reads for minimum lease terms, rental caps, registration requirements and fine schedules. If a community is mid-vote on a rental amendment, we treat the STR thesis as dead until the vote fails. Our HOA resale certificate guide walks through the documents and the deadline for objecting.
Taxes on a Seattle or Eastside nightly stay
Stays under 30 nights are retail sales in Washington. The Department of Revenue's lodging rate flyer for the quarter beginning July 1, 2026 lists a combined lodging rate of 15.7% in Seattle, which includes the 7% King County convention and trade center tax that applies to Seattle lodging regardless of how many units you operate, and about 12.5% in most Eastside cities, with Bellevue at 14.5%. Airbnb collects and remits Washington state and local taxes on hosts' behalf; the DOR still expects hosts to hold a business license, file excise returns and pay the retailing business and occupation tax after the small-business credit. See the DOR's online marketplaces guidance and the lodging rate history for the current quarter's figures before you set nightly pricing.
Checklist
Before you write on a Seattle or Eastside short-term rental
The five checks RexMont completes during the inspection window, in the order they kill deals.
- Pull the exact code section for the city and confirm whole-home stays under 30 nights are a permitted or licensable use at that address.
- Read the recorded declaration, all amendments and current rules for minimum lease terms, rental caps or registration requirements.
- For Seattle, count your units: the target plus your primary residence must fit the two-unit limit, and any legacy status the seller enjoys will not survive closing.
- Confirm the license path and cost for a new owner, and whether a residency requirement (Kirkland, Newcastle, Bellevue room rentals) rules you out.
- Model the combined lodging tax rate for the address and confirm which taxes the platform remits versus what you file with the Department of Revenue.
FAQ
Questions Washington STR buyers ask first.
Can I Airbnb my house in Bellevue?
Not as a whole home. Bellevue's Land Use Code limits short-term stay use to multifamily or planned-unit-development units, capped at five per building and 20% of a development, and the city states that an entire single-family home or a home plus ADU cannot be used for stays under 30 days. A homeowner living in the house may rent up to two rooms under an owner-occupied home-occupation permit.
How many Airbnbs can one person operate in Seattle?
Two dwelling units in most cases: your primary residence and one secondary unit, each with a $75 annual operator license. Owners who operated units before September 30, 2017 in designated legacy zones may hold more, but that status ends when ownership changes, so a buyer cannot inherit it.
Can I run a short-term rental in Kirkland if I do not live there?
No. Kirkland's code permits short-term rentals when the owner continuously occupies part of the home as a primary residence, or lives there at least 245 days a year and rents no more than 120 days with a manager within 15 miles. A non-occupant whole-house rental is not permitted.
Which Eastside city is easiest for an investor-owned Airbnb?
Redmond. Its ordinance effective January 1, 2026 licenses any individually addressed unit for $153 a year with a safety checklist and no owner-occupancy requirement. Cities without an ordinance, such as Sammamish, Issaquah and Bothell, fall back to state law and zoning, but HOA covenants there frequently prohibit rentals under six or twelve months.
Does a Seattle short-term rental license transfer when I buy the property?
No. Seattle's Director's Rule STR-3 makes all operator licenses non-transferable; a new owner applies for a new license in their own name, and any legacy multi-unit status the seller had permanently terminates when ownership changes.
Sources we checked
- RCW 64.37 Short-term rentals
- Seattle FAS short-term rental licensing
- Seattle Director's Rule STR-3 (legacy units, non-transferability)
- Bellevue LUC 20.20.800 Short Term Stay Use
- Bellevue rentals and transient lodging page
- Kirkland KMC 7.02.300 short-term rentals
- Redmond short-term rental licensing (Ord. 3239)
- Renton RMC 4-4-055
- Woodinville WMC 21.41.020 ADUs
- King County Code Title 21A
- RCW 64.90.285 declaration amendments
- WA DOR lodging sales rate history
- WA DOR convention and trade center tax
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