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

The Farmington Hills Code of Ordinances regulates dwelling occupancy through Chapter 9 (Community Development), Article II (Housing Code), and through the city's adoption of the Michigan Residential Code and Michigan Building Code (as required by the Stille-DeRossett-Hale Single State Construction Code Act, MCL 125.1501 et seq.). The framework does not impose a single STR-specific occupancy cap (such as the 'two persons per bedroom plus two' formula used in some other Michigan jurisdictions), but it does impose a series of generally-applicable standards that effectively cap guest counts at each rentable dwelling. The Michigan Residential Code R304 requires habitable rooms (including bedrooms) to be not less than 70 square feet and not less than 7 feet in any horizontal dimension; sleeping rooms accommodating more than one occupant require additional area. Section R310 requires each sleeping room to have at least one operable emergency escape and rescue opening (a door to the exterior or an egress window with a minimum net clear opening of 5.7 square feet, minimum opening height of 24 inches, minimum opening width of 20 inches, with finished sill height not more than 44 inches above the floor). Section R314 (Smoke Alarms) requires smoke alarms in each sleeping room, outside each sleeping area in the immediate vicinity of bedrooms, and on each story including basements; alarms must be interconnected in new construction or major renovations. Section R315 and MCL 125.1504c require carbon monoxide detectors near sleeping areas in dwellings with fuel-burning appliances or attached garages. The Farmington Hills rental registration inspection at initial registration and at each 3-year Certificate of Compliance renewal verifies these standards plus general habitability under Chapter 9 Article II: minimum room sizes, ventilation, plumbing fixtures, structural integrity, and sanitation. An owner-occupied STR operator must therefore size guest capacity to bedrooms that are designed and built as bedrooms with code-conforming egress, smoke and CO alarms, and minimum size; non-bedroom rooms (basements without egress windows, dens, lofts without code-conforming sleeping configurations, attics) cannot be marketed or used as sleeping space, and inspection of an STR found marketing such rooms can result in inspection failure and non-renewal of the Certificate of Compliance. Industry-norm formulas (two persons per bedroom or two persons per bedroom plus two) are reasonable house-rule guidelines but are not codified by Farmington Hills. Operators should also confirm any HOA covenant occupancy limits, which in some Farmington Hills subdivisions cap maximum overnight guests independently of city code. Practical industry guidance for the Detroit-metro STR market suggests sizing capacity to the lower of: (a) two persons per code-conforming bedroom, (b) any HOA cap, and (c) the dwelling's water, sewer, and HVAC capacity to avoid post-stay habitability complaints.