Sioux Falls, SD Short-Term Rentals: Host Presence Rule (2026)

Sioux Falls inverts the host-presence framework used in most coastal home-share cities. Cities like Portland and San Francisco require the host to be physically present (owner-occupied home share) to qualify for the easier STR permit class; Sioux Falls instead defines an STR as a unit specifically not occupied by owner or manager during the guest stay. The §159.303 text is: 'short-term vacation rental means a dwelling or portion thereof... that is rented... on a daily or weekly basis for more than fourteen (14) days in a calendar year and is not occupied by an owner or manager during the time of rental.' This means that if a homeowner rents a spare bedroom while living in the house, Sioux Falls does not classify that activity as a §159.303 STR — instead it falls under residential boarding/roommate use, which in most Sioux Falls residential zones is unregulated below a certain head-count threshold. Operators of true STRs (owner not on site) must instead designate a manager who is reachable; for owners residing more than 50 miles from Sioux Falls city limits, the §159.303 framework requires a designated local contact within 50 miles authorized to handle property upkeep and respond to complaints in the owner's absence. There is no requirement that the manager sleep on-site, no 24-hour-response standard codified in the ordinance, and no requirement that the manager be present at check-in. Sioux Falls also does not cap nights per year (other than the 14-day floor that triggers regulation in the first place) — once you exceed 14 rental days per calendar year you are an STR, but there is no upper cap such as the 90-night cap used in San Francisco or 60-night cap used in Portland (Maine).