4 county-level rules, plus city-specific rules for 1 city in Linn County, Iowa.
Verified from official government sources
Iowa HF 2641 (2020), codified at Iowa Code §335.30, limits county authority over short-term rentals. Linn County addresses STRs in unincorporated areas via UDC §107-117 (short-term rental use), but cannot ban residential rentals based solely on rental status.
Iowa Code Section 414.1 (HF 2641, 2020) prohibits Linn County from charging permit fees specifically targeting short-term rentals in unincorporated areas. Hosts must collect Iowa's 5% state hotel/motel excise tax (Iowa Code Ch. 423A) on stays of 31 days or fewer; no county-wide local hotel/motel tax has been enacted for unincorporated Linn County.
Linn County's Unified Development Code (Chapter 107, Article IV) requires off-street parking for residential dwellings in unincorporated areas but does not impose short-term-rental-specific parking rules. Iowa Code Section 414.1 (HF 2641, 2020) bars counties from singling out STRs, so the same single-family minimum (typically two spaces per dwelling) governs.
Linn County's Unified Development Code (Chapter 107) does not set a short-term-rental-specific occupancy cap in unincorporated areas. Iowa Code Section 414.1 (HF 2641, 2020) bars counties from imposing STR-only occupancy rules, but Linn County may still enforce general residential occupancy limits and the Iowa State Building Code (Iowa Admin. Code 661-301) for health and safety.
1 cities in Linn County have their own short-term rentals rules. Each link goes to that city's dedicated page with code citations.
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