Lakeville, MN Short-Term Rentals: Host Presence Rule (2026)

Lakeville takes a permissive stance on host presence for short-term rentals. The city's official short-term rental FAQ states plainly that the property owner does not need to be present during the short-term rental stay, and the STR standards allow renting the entire home (not just rooms) for short-term use. This means Lakeville permits 'unhosted' rentals — a configuration that stricter cities prohibit by requiring the host to occupy the dwelling for the full rental period. Lakeville's published standards do not impose a cap on the number of unhosted nights, nor do they require a host or on-site manager to be present, although operators must still satisfy the program's occupancy, parking, noise, and tax conditions and must remain reachable for compliance. The accessory-use room-rental rule for owner-occupied dwellings (renting to up to two unrelated individuals) is a separate provision and is not the mechanism for whole-home short-term rentals; the Short-Term Rental Administrative Permit is. Because Minnesota does not preempt local STR regulation, Lakeville's choice to allow unhosted rentals is a deliberate local policy rather than a state requirement.