Bellingham, WA Short-Term Rentals: Occupancy Limits (2026)
Key Facts
- Guest cap
- 2 guests per bedroom per stay
- Exemption
- Children age 5 and under not counted
- Booking age minimum
- Over 25 years old (D)(12)
- Enforcement agency
- Planning & Community Development Dept.
- Penalty chapter
- Chapter 20.52 BMC
- Revocation bar
- 2 years before a new permit issues
Summary
Bellingham caps every short-term rental at two overnight guests per bedroom, not counting children five and under, under BMC 20.10.037(D)(4). The city's planning and community development department enforces the cap alongside a same-section, over-25 booking-age rule and inspected smoke and carbon monoxide alarms.
4. Number of Guests. No more than two guests, excluding children five years old and under, per bedroom are permitted per guest stay.
Official source re-checked September 8, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: current through Ordinance 2026-06-015, passed June 1, 2026).
Full Breakdown
" That cap applies to every legal short-term rental in the city, regardless of the Type I or Type II permit tier the unit falls into. The bedroom count that drives the guest cap is the same count that sets the rental-type tier under subsection (C)'s process table: a primary-residence rental with two or fewer bedrooms is a Type I permit, while a primary or nonprimary residence with up to five bedrooms needs a Type II permit (or Type I in commercial and urban village areas).
" The occupancy limit sits alongside inspected safety standards in (D)(11): the planning department must verify through a city inspection that each rentable bedroom meets sleeping-room building code requirements in place when it was legally established, carries an interconnected smoke alarm, and is on a floor with a functioning carbon monoxide alarm (unless the unit has no fuel-burning equipment or attached garage). Subsection (D)(9) separately bars using the rental for weddings, banquets or fundraising gatherings, though small informal gatherings of guests' family and friends are allowed if they do not disturb the neighborhood.
Violations & Fines
Operating over the two-guests-per-bedroom cap violates BMC 20.10.037(D) standards and is subject to the penalties in Chapter 20.52 BMC plus permit revocation under (D)(17); the planning director must first work with the operator toward voluntary compliance before revoking, per (D)(17)(a). A revoked permit bars the operator from a new short-term rental permit for two years under (D)(17)(c). Operating entirely without a permit is a separate violation of subsection (C) under (E)(1).
Frequently Asked Questions
How many overnight guests can a Bellingham short-term rental host?
Is there a minimum age to book a Bellingham short-term rental?
What happens if a host exceeds the guest cap?
Do the bedrooms counted for occupancy have to pass inspection?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Bellingham
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