13 verified short-term rentals rules for Sioux Falls, South Dakota, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Effective January 1, 2024, every short-term rental in Sioux Falls must hold a city Residential Rental Permit ($50/year as of July 1, 2024) issued by Planning and Development Services under Sioux Falls Code §150.177, plus a South Dakota sales tax license and a South Dakota Department of Health lodging license under SDCL Chapter 34-18.
Short-term rentals in Sioux Falls are subject to the general city noise ordinance in Code Title 130 (Offenses and Miscellaneous Provisions) and the state disorderly-conduct misdemeanor at SDCL § 22-18-35. There is no STR-specific quiet-hours rule. The Sioux Falls noise provisions generally prohibit unreasonably loud noise audible at a neighboring property line, and Sioux Falls Police Department responds to noise complaints involving STR guests like any other residential noise complaint. Repeated complaints can trigger nuisance abatement under SDCL Ch. 21-10.
Short-term rentals in Sioux Falls are subject to a stacked lodging tax: 4.2% South Dakota state sales tax (SDCL Ch. 10-45), 1.5% state tourism tax on lodging (SDCL Ch. 10-45D), Sioux Falls's 2% municipal sales tax (SDCL Ch. 10-52), and Sioux Falls's 1% municipal gross-receipts "BBB" tax on lodging/eating/alcohol (SDCL Ch. 10-52A). The combined effective tax on a Sioux Falls STR booking is approximately 8.7% of gross receipts. Airbnb and Vrbo collect and remit South Dakota state sales tax and the state tourism tax under marketplace-facilitator rules; hosts remain responsible for any unremitted municipal sales or BBB tax not collected by the platform.
Sioux Falls applies its general residential parking and traffic rules (Code Titles 38 and 39) to short-term rental guest vehicles — there is no separate STR off-street parking mandate. Guests must comply with all posted parking restrictions, the city's 48-hour abandoned-vehicle rule (Sioux Falls's modification under SDCL § 32-30-12.1), the winter snow-emergency parking program, and standard residential street-parking limitations. The zoning code (Title 153) requires off-street parking minimums for the underlying residential use but does not impose additional STR parking requirements.
Sioux Falls does not impose a short-term-rental-specific occupancy cap. STR occupancy is governed by the underlying International Property Maintenance Code (IPMC) and International Residential Code (IRC) standards adopted under Sioux Falls Code Title 50 (Buildings and Construction), plus the residential "family" definition in Title 153 (Zoning). The IPMC bedroom-sizing standard (70 sq ft for first occupant, +50 sq ft for each additional) effectively caps occupancy at roughly two persons per bedroom in most STR layouts. There is no separate per-night headcount limit or per-property maximum specifically targeting STRs.
Sioux Falls does not require short-term rental operators to carry liability insurance, name the city as additional insured, or file a certificate of insurance. Because Sioux Falls has no STR licensing ordinance, there is no permit hook on which to impose an insurance requirement. STR hosts in Sioux Falls rely on (1) platform-provided coverage like Airbnb's AirCover or Vrbo's Liability Insurance, and (2) personal homeowner or landlord-tenant policies — many of which exclude transient commercial rental activity. South Dakota's insurance code (SDCL Title 58) does not mandate liability coverage for residential STR hosts.
Sioux Falls does not impose any annual cap on the number of nights a short-term rental may operate. There is no "primary residence only," no "90 nights per calendar year," and no minimum-stay-length requirement at the city level. South Dakota state law (SDCL Title 10) does not impose night-count limits either. The only constraints on operating frequency are the underlying zoning use (single-family residential in most R districts) and any applicable HOA or restrictive-covenant rules, which are private — not municipal — restrictions.
Sioux Falls Code §159.303 requires every vacation home/short-term rental to register with the State of South Dakota as a vacation home, file owner/manager contact information with Planning and Development Services, and post conspicuous guest information (emergency contacts, neighbor courtesy expectations) inside the unit.
Sioux Falls Code §159.303 defines a short-term/vacation rental as a unit that 'is not occupied by an owner or manager during the time of rental.' Host presence during the guest stay is incompatible with the §159.303 STR definition — owner-occupied homestays are regulated as a different use (boarding or lodging-house) rather than as STRs.
Sioux Falls does NOT require a short-term rental to be the operator's primary residence. To the contrary, Sioux Falls Code §159.303 defines a short-term/vacation rental as a unit that 'is not occupied by an owner or manager during the time of rental' — meaning the city expressly contemplates non-owner-occupied operation as the normal STR model.
Sioux Falls may suspend or revoke an STR registration after repeated violations of Title 25.18, the noise code, or zoning rules. Hosts with a revoked permit can be barred from re-registering the same property for a defined period.
Title 25.18 places registration, tax, and compliance duties on the property owner or operator rather than on booking platforms like Airbnb or Vrbo. Sioux Falls has no ordinance that fines listing platforms for unregistered properties.
County ordinances apply to unincorporated areas and may supplement Sioux Falls city rules.
Short-Term Rentals in Minnehaha County →