Detroit, MI Short-Term Rentals: Occupancy Limits (2026)

Detroit applies the same occupancy framework to short-term rentals that it applies to any other dwelling unit subject to the Property Maintenance Code. Chapter 8, Article XV (the Detroit Property Maintenance Code Rental Ordinance, comprehensively amended October 29, 2024 and effective January 1, 2025) incorporates the substantive standards of the International Property Maintenance Code as adopted by reference, including the standard minimum-area-per-occupant rules: every dwelling unit must contain at least 150 square feet of floor area for the first occupant and an additional 100 square feet for each additional occupant; every room occupied for sleeping purposes by one occupant must contain at least 70 square feet of floor area, and every room occupied for sleeping purposes by more than one occupant must contain at least 50 square feet of floor area for each occupant. BSEED's 15-point property condition inspection verifies these area calculations during the Certificate of Compliance process. There is no separate codified maximum-guest cap (such as a flat '10 people' or '2 per bedroom plus 2') for short-term rentals; the cap is whatever the bedroom-area and dwelling-area math yields under the IPMC tables as adopted by Detroit. The January 3, 2024 draft Short Term Rental Ordinance would, if adopted, impose a flat occupancy ceiling commonly reported as 10 persons per STR, but that figure is not yet codified. Zoning use of the dwelling (Chapter 50) may also impose use-classification limits if the operation is classified as 'rooming house' or 'bed and breakfast' rather than 'one-family dwelling.'