10 county-level rules, plus city-specific rules for 1 city in Polk County, Iowa.
Verified from official government sources
Polk County only zones unincorporated land (Iowa Code Ch. 335); it has no county-wide Airbnb license. Most STRs sit inside Des Moines, West Des Moines, Ankeny or Urbandale, where the city issues any rental permit. In unincorporated areas the county Zoning Ordinance controls the use.
STR guests must follow the same noise rules as any resident. In unincorporated Polk County the county nuisance/noise ordinance controls; inside a city the municipal noise ordinance and quiet hours apply. Hosts are responsible for guest behavior.
Iowa imposes a 5% state hotel/motel tax on all lodging, plus a local tax of up to 7%. A county's local tax applies only in unincorporated areas; inside Des Moines and other Polk County cities the city's rate (commonly 7%) applies on top of the 5% state tax.
Iowa Code 423A.3
A tax of five percent is imposed upon the sales price for the renting of any lodging if the lodging is located in this state.
Polk County has no special STR parking ordinance. Off-street parking follows the Polk County Zoning Ordinance for unincorporated homes and each city's zoning/parking code inside its limits. Guests must not block streets, fire lanes, or right-of-way.
Polk County sets no county-wide guest cap for short-term rentals. Occupancy is governed by the host city's rental or building code and by fire/health limits tied to the dwelling. Unincorporated rentals are bounded by septic capacity and the Zoning Ordinance's residential-use standards.
Polk County does not require short-term-rental hosts to carry a specific insurance policy. A host city may condition its rental permit on liability coverage, and platforms like Airbnb provide limited host protection, but a dedicated STR/landlord policy is strongly advised.
Polk County imposes no cap on the number of nights a home may be rented short-term. Any night limit would come from a host city's ordinance. Iowa's lodging tax applies from the first rented night regardless of total nights.
Iowa Code 423A.4(1)
A city, a county, or a land use district... may impose... a hotel and motel tax, at a rate not to exceed seven percent, which shall be imposed in increments of one or more full percentage points upon the sales price from the renting of lodging.
There is no county-wide STR registry. Wherever the property sits, the operator must register with the Iowa Department of Revenue for the hotel/motel (lodging) tax before renting to transient guests, and comply with the host city's rental-registration rules.
Iowa Code 423A.2(1)(e)
"Lodging" means rooms, apartments, or sleeping quarters in a hotel, motel, inn, public lodging house, rooming house, cabin, apartment, residential property, or manufactured or mobile home... or in any place where sleeping accommodations are furnished to transient guests for rent, whether with or without meals.
Polk County sets no rule requiring a host to be on-site during stays. A traditional county 'bed and breakfast' use implies an owner living there, but whole-home unhosted rentals are generally allowed where zoning and the host city permit them.
Polk County does not impose a primary-residence requirement on short-term rentals. Whether a whole-home, non-owner-occupied rental is allowed depends on the host city's zoning; unincorporated STRs must fit an allowed residential/lodging use under the county Zoning Ordinance.
1 cities in Polk County have their own short-term rentals rules. Each link goes to that city's dedicated page with code citations.
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