6 rules for unincorporated Champaign County, Illinois.
Verified from official government sources
Illinois has no statewide STR preemption, so rules split by city. Champaign requires a short-term rental registration and spaces rentals at least 200 feet apart in residential zones. Urbana regulates them through zoning and its rental program. Unincorporated county has no STR ordinance.
Short-term rental guests follow the same noise rules as residents: Champaign's Chapter 21 or Urbana's Chapter 16 code in the cities, and disorderly conduct law, 720 ILCS 5/26-1, in the unincorporated county. In Champaign, repeat complaints can jeopardize a rental's registration.
720 ILCS 5/26-1
A person commits disorderly conduct when he or she knowingly: (1) Does any act in such unreasonable manner as to alarm or disturb another and to provoke a breach of the peace
Short-term stays owe Illinois's 6% Hotel Operators' Occupation Tax, which the state extended to short-term rentals effective July 2025. The City of Champaign adds a 7% municipal hotel-motel tax. Platforms began collecting Illinois lodging tax in January 2026.
35 ILCS 145/3
A tax is imposed upon hotel operators at the rate of 5% of 94% of the gross rental receipts from engaging in business as a hotel operator... There shall be imposed an additional tax upon hotel operators at the rate of 1% of 94% of the gross rental receipts
Illinois sets no statewide STR parking rule, so requirements come from city zoning. Champaign and Urbana apply their residential off-street parking standards to rentals; near the University of Illinois, permit-parking districts limit guest street parking. Rural county lots usually have ample driveway space.
Champaign caps short-term rental occupancy through its rental habitability code, which sets limits by bedroom count and square footage. Urbana applies its rental occupancy standards. Overcrowding, a real concern in the student-heavy market, can trigger enforcement against a rental's registration.
Illinois does not mandate short-term rental liability insurance, and neither city sets a fixed coverage figure, but Champaign's registration expects a safe, code-compliant property. Standard homeowner policies often exclude rental activity, so most hosts add a commercial or STR rider.
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