Short-Term Rentals in Worcester County, MD (2026)
6 rules for unincorporated Worcester County, Maryland.
Verified from official government sources
Short-Term Rental Permits
In unincorporated Worcester County, Maryland, no owner may rent or offer for rent a house, condo, cabin, hotel or motel room, RV or tent lot as sleeping accommodations without first getting a rental license from the Department, regardless of the length of the rental term. Only the property owner can hold it, and every advertisement must carry the license number.
Worcester County Short-Term Rental License Requirement
Significant RestrictionsWorcester County Code § TR 2-106
(b) License required. ... No person, firm or corporation or any other entity with an interest in real property shall rent or offer for rent all or any portion of any house, townhouse, apartment, condominium unit, cottage, cabin, manufactured home, rooming house, recreational vehicle, recreational park model, hotel or motel room, or any other building or structure or portion thereof as sleeping ...
Noise Rules
Unincorporated Worcester County, Maryland bans functions and events at short-term rentals outright: weddings, reunions, birthday parties and corporate gatherings of anyone other than the authorized lodgers are prohibited, paid or not. Recurrent disturbance on the property is also a ground to revoke the rental license.
Worcester County MD Short-Term Rental Party Ban
Significant RestrictionsWorcester County Code § ZS 1-351(b)(9)
(9) The hosting of functions and events, including but not limited to wedding ceremonies, wedding receptions, family reunions, birthday and anniversary celebrations, corporate and employee appreciation parties and other similar gatherings of persons other than the authorized lodgers, shall be prohibited in association with any short-term rentals, regardless of whether or not any form of compens...
Taxes & Fees
In unincorporated Worcester County, Maryland, the owner, operator or hosting platform that receives payment for a short-term rental collects the hotel rental tax from the transient, remits it by the 21st of each month, and keeps a one and five-tenths percent processing credit. A separate rental license, with fees set by County Commissioners resolution, is required before any rental.
Worcester County Short-Term Rental Tax Collection and License Fees
Significant RestrictionsWorcester County Code § TR 1-601
§ TR 1-601. General provisions. ... (c) Collection. ... Every person or hosting platform receiving any payment for room or building rental on which a tax is levied under this section shall collect the amount of tax imposed from the transient or person on whom it is levied or from the person paying for the room or building rental at the time payment is made. ... (d) Reports and remittances. ... ...
Short-Term Rental Parking Rules
In unincorporated Worcester County, Maryland, every short-term rental structure whose building permit application is received after the effective date of § ZS 1-351 must provide one off-street parking space beyond what the ordinary off-street parking table in § ZS 1-320(a) requires. The County Commissioners adopted the rule by Bill No. 19-3.
Worcester County MD Short-Term Rental Parking Rules
Some RestrictionsWorcester County Code § ZS 1-351(b)(5)
§ ZS 1-351. Short-term rentals. ... (5) One additional off-street parking space beyond that required by the provisions of § ZS 1-320(a) shall be provided for all short-term rental structures for which a building permit application is received after the effective date of this section.
Occupancy Limits
In unincorporated Worcester County, Maryland, § ZS 1-351(b)(3) caps a short-term rental by bedroom: a bedroom holding more than one person needs fifty square feet of clear floor area per occupant, and the unit's total occupants cannot exceed the sum permitted in each bedroom. Only one rental contract is allowed per overnight period.
Worcester County MD Short-Term Rental Occupancy Limits
Some RestrictionsWorcester County Code § ZS 1-351(b)(3)A
(3) Occupancy. A. The definition of "family or housekeeping unit" as contained in § ZS 1-103 hereof shall not apply in determining the occupancy limitations for short-term rentals holding a valid rental license pursuant to § TR 2-105 of the Taxation and Revenue Article of the Code of Public Local Laws of Worcester County, Maryland but rather shall be determined as follows: 1. Every bedroom, as ...
Repeat Violator Strikes
In unincorporated Worcester County, Maryland, the County Commissioners can revoke, suspend or refuse to renew a rental license after a hearing for repeated failure to follow license conditions or recurrent offensive conduct. Once a license is revoked, the Department cannot issue another for that property for three years.
Worcester County Rental License Revocation and Three-Year Bar
Significant RestrictionsWorcester County Code § TR 2-106
(5) In the event that a rental license is revoked, the Department shall not issue a rental license for that particular property for a period of three years to the former license holder or member of the former license holder's housekeeping unit as defined in § ZS 1-103(b). (6) After providing the owner of the licensed property an opportunity to be heard, the County Commissioners may revoke, susp...
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