Detroit Ord. 2018-08 distinguishes hosted from unhosted short-term rentals. When the operator is present at the property during the guest's stay, no annual night cap applies, but registration with the Buildings Department is still mandatory.
Title 21, Article 8 of the Detroit City Code separates hosted from unhosted STR operations. A hosted stay means the host occupies the home as their primary residence and remains on-site during the booking, such as renting a spare bedroom on Airbnb. Hosted operators avoid the 14-night unhosted cap but must still register annually, carry liability insurance, post emergency contact info, and remit the Wayne County hotel-motel excise tax plus state use tax. BSEED (Buildings, Safety Engineering & Environmental) handles registration and complaint follow-up, including life-safety inspections triggered by neighbor reports.
Operating hosted STR without registration: $250 first offense, $500 repeat. False hosted-status claim treated as unregistered unhosted operation, citation up to $2,500.
Detroit, MI
Detroit Ord. 2018-08 restricts short-term rentals to the operator's primary residence, blocking investor-owned whole-home Airbnb portfolios. Only one STR reg...
Detroit, MI
Detroit requires a short-term rental license from BSEED at $500/year. Properties must be owner's principal residence. Non-owner-occupied STRs banned in many ...
See how Detroit's host presence rule rules stack up against other locations.
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