Pasco, WA Accessory Structures: ADU Rental Restrictions (2026)
Key Facts
- Minimum stay
- Over 180 days per calendar year
- Short-term rental
- Prohibited
- Enforcing body
- Pasco Code Enforcement Hearings Board
- Adopting ordinance
- Ord. 4575 (2022)
- Governing chapter
- PMC 25.161 ADUs
Summary
Pasco requires accessory dwelling units to be occupied on a long-term residential basis only. PMC 25.161.040(3)(b) bars transient or short-term vacation rental use and requires occupants to live in the unit more than 180 days each calendar year.
(3) Occupancy and Use. (a) Occupancy of ADUs shall be reserved for residential uses only. (b) Occupancy of ADUs shall be used for long-term residential purposes and may not be used for transient occupancy or short-term/vacation rental purposes. Persons residing in ADUs shall live in such residences for longer than 180 days each calendar year. (c) Use of ADUs for uses outside of the permitted uses of this code shall be reported and enforced by the Pasco Code Enforcement Hearings Board.
Official source re-checked September 8, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: current through Ordinance 4837, passed May 4, 2026).
Full Breakdown
161 PMC, adopted by Ordinance 4575 in 2022, governs ADUs citywide in residential zoning districts. 040(3) sets occupancy and use rules: subsection (a) reserves ADUs for residential uses only, and subsection (b) specifies that occupancy shall be used for long-term residential purposes and may not be used for transient occupancy or short-term/vacation rental purposes, with persons residing in the unit required to live there longer than 180 days each calendar year. Subsection (c) puts enforcement in the hands of the Pasco Code Enforcement Hearings Board, which investigates and acts on uses that fall outside the code's permitted ADU uses.
Subsection (d) adds that ADU permits will not be issued for a primary residence or lot already in violation of any code section, including nonconforming structures or uses, and the City may require a licensed inspector to check the primary residence before approving the ADU permit. 040(5) and (6).
Violations & Fines
Using an ADU for transient or short-term/vacation rental, or for stays of 180 days or fewer, is enforced by the Pasco Code Enforcement Hearings Board under 25.161.040(3)(c) as a use outside the chapter's permitted purposes. A related provision in 25.161.040(6)(f) treats an unpermitted ADU as a violation subject to a preponderance-of-evidence standard, rebuttable only by proof that no permit was required when the unit was built.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I rent my Pasco ADU on Airbnb?
Who enforces the ADU rental restriction in Pasco?
Does the 180-day rule apply to the whole household or just one person?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Pasco
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