Short-Term Rentals in Rockford, IL (2026)
3 verified short-term rentals rules for Rockford, Illinois, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Short-Term Rental Permits
Rockford requires anyone offering short-term paid lodging as a bed-and-breakfast to get a license from the city building department, and that license cannot issue until the owner first secures a special-use permit for the property.
Rockford Bed-and-Breakfast License Required
Significant RestrictionsRockford, IL Code of Ordinances § 105-429
No person shall operate a bed and breakfast establishment as defined above without first having obtained a license for the bed and breakfast establishment from the city building department. A license for a bed and breakfast may not be issued until the owner has obtained a special use permit for the bed and breakfast from the city.(b)A bed and breakfast shall afford to its guests an opportunity ...
Taxes & Fees
Rockford imposes a 5% Hotel/Motel Tourism Tax on the room rental rate for anyone renting sleeping accommodations for hire: a definition broad enough to sweep in short-term rental hosts, not just traditional hotels.
Rockford Hotel/Motel Tax Applies to Short-Term Rentals
Some RestrictionsRockford, IL Code of Ordinances § 5-70
There is hereby imposed upon all persons engaged in the city in the business of renting, leasing, or letting rooms in a hotel (as defined in subsection (b)), at a rate of five percent of the room rental rate as defined in subsection (b). (b)Definitions. The following terms used in this division shall be defined as follows: Hotel means a building or structure kept, used, or maintained as, or...
Occupancy Limits
Rockford has no separate short-term-rental ordinance: its closest paid-lodging-in-a-home category, licensed bed and breakfasts, caps each guestroom at two adult guests and each home at five rentable guestrooms.
Rockford Short-Term Rental Occupancy Caps
Some RestrictionsRockford, IL Code of Ordinances § 105-428
Guestroom means a sleeping room intended to serve no more than two transient adult guests per night. ... Bed and breakfast establishment means an owner occupied single-family dwelling providing accommodations for a charge to the public with no more than five guestrooms for rent...
Looking for Winnebago County county-wide rules?
County ordinances apply to unincorporated areas and may supplement Rockford city rules.
Short-Term Rentals in Winnebago County →