Springfield, OR Short-Term Rentals: Host Presence Rule (2026)

Springfield Development Code section 4.7.355(A) sets four conditions a Type 1 short-term rental must satisfy, and subsection (4) is the host-presence rule: the dwelling must be occupied by the owner or operator. That single sentence is what separates a Type 1 rental, which functions like a hosted bed-and-breakfast inside someone's home, from a Type 2 rental under subsection (B), which the code does not require to be owner- or operator-occupied but instead requires 400 feet of street separation from another Type 2 unit. The owner-or-operator-occupied condition sits alongside the size limit in subsection (A)(1) of 5 or fewer guest rooms and 10 or fewer total occupants, the employee limit in subsection (A)(2) of up to one full-time-equivalent nonresident employee, and the food-service limit in subsection (A)(3) restricting meals to overnight guests.

Because all four conditions in subsection (A) apply together, an absentee owner who lists a whole house on a short-term platform without living there or assigning a resident operator does not qualify for Type 1 treatment and must instead meet the Type 2 spacing standard and obtain the corresponding approval. The section carries amendment history from Ordinance No. 6412, Ordinance No. 6443 and Ordinance No. 6465 (November 20, 2023), and Development and Public Works confirms occupancy status as part of the short-term rental review before issuing approval.