Chelan County, WA Short-Term Rentals: Occupancy Limits (2026)

290(3)(B) ties every short-term rental's bedroom count to its approved wastewater system: rented or occupied bedrooms cannot exceed what the Chelan-Douglas Health District approved for the on-site sewage system, or the limits set by whatever sewer district or waste provider serves the property, and owners must meet this standard immediately with no phase-in period. On top of that ceiling, occupancy math runs at two persons per bedroom, counting children. , tops out at eight people for a Tier 1 rental, twelve for Tier 2, and sixteen for Tier 3.

Daytime occupancy uses the same numbers but drops the owner from the count for Tier 1 and Tier 3 when an owner lives on site. 315, Places of public and private assembly, and must still keep overnight guests within the standard tier limits even with that permit. Any short-term rental approved to sleep more than sixteen people overnight stops being a short-term rental for zoning purposes and is treated as a lodging facility, which must meet that use's separate zoning and building requirements. These occupancy standards sit inside the broader short-term rental permit scheme the Board of County Commissioners adopted September 27, 2021, and apply the same way whether the rental is a Tier 1 owner-occupied room, a Tier 2 whole-house rental, or a Tier 3 unit that already exceeds standard tier caps.