Primary-Residence-Only Rule
Salem does not require every short-term rental to be an owner's primary home, but an accessory short-term rental license requires the owner to live in the dwelling at least 270 days per calendar year.
10 county-level rules, plus city-specific rules for 1 city in Marion County, Oregon.
Verified from official government sources
Marion County runs no countywide STR permit program; unincorporated rentals follow ORS 215 rural zoning. Inside Salem, the county seat, a short-term rental license is required for any rental under 30 days.
There is no STR-specific noise ordinance; short-term rental guests must obey Salem's general noise chapter and, in unincorporated areas, Marion County nuisance rules. Repeated noise complaints can jeopardize a Salem license.
Every Oregon short-term rental owes the state transient lodging tax of 1.5 percent under ORS 320.305. Rentals within Salem also owe the City's 9 percent transient occupancy tax under SRC Chapter 37.
ORS 320.305
A tax of 1.5 percent is imposed on any consideration charged for the sale, service or furnishing of transient lodging. The tax must be computed on the total retail price, including all charges other than taxes, paid by a person for occupancy of the transient lodging.
Salem imposes no additional off-street parking requirement specific to short-term rentals; guests use the dwelling's existing parking. Unincorporated Marion County parking follows the underlying zoning.
Salem caps accessory short-term rentals at 2 guests per room. Hosted accessory rentals allow up to 3 guest rooms; non-hosted accessory rentals cap the whole home at 10 guests total.
Salem requires short-term rental operators to hold and maintain a current liability insurance policy for the property to keep the license in good standing. Unincorporated Marion County sets no STR insurance mandate.
Salem caps a non-hosted accessory short-term rental at 95 days per calendar year. Hosted accessory rentals and standard licensed short-term rentals have no annual night limit.
Salem requires an annual short-term rental license plus registration as a transient occupancy tax operator. Unincorporated Marion County has no separate registration; the state land-use rules apply.
Salem's accessory short-term rental license comes in hosted and non-hosted forms. Hosted rentals require the owner living on-site; non-hosted accessory rentals of the whole home are capped at 95 days per year.
Salem does not require every short-term rental to be an owner's primary home, but an accessory short-term rental license requires the owner to live in the dwelling at least 270 days per calendar year.
1 cities in Marion County have their own short-term rentals rules. Each link goes to that city's dedicated page with code citations.
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