Franklin, TN Short-Term Rentals: Occupancy Limits (2026)

Franklin's STVR occupancy framework is built around the compliance-inspection process administered by the Building and Neighborhood Services Department rather than a citywide numerical guest cap. The compliance inspector establishes the property's maximum stated occupancy at the time the use permit is issued, based on three intersecting standards. First, the dwelling's legally permitted bedroom count under the Franklin Zoning Ordinance and building code: marketing a non-bedroom (basement bonus room, loft, converted attic without code-conforming egress) as sleeping space is a misrepresentation that voids the compliance certificate. Each rented bedroom must have a code-conforming door or egress window and meet residential occupancy standards. Second, septic-system capacity where the property is on septic rather than city sewer: maximum occupancy is bounded by the septic permit's daily-flow capacity, and the operator must provide proof of septic-system approval at compliance inspection. Third, life-safety equipment as required by the Franklin Property Maintenance Code and the International Property Maintenance Code adopted under Title 12 of the Franklin Municipal Code: smoke alarms in each bedroom and on each floor; carbon monoxide detectors near sleeping areas where fuel-burning appliances or attached garages are present; accessible fire extinguishers; and code-conforming egress from each rented bedroom. The 'one STVR per lot' rule prevents an operator from subdividing a single parcel into multiple permitted STVRs or running two simultaneous STVRs from the same address. The compliance certificate explicitly states the property's maximum permitted occupancy and that number must be reflected accurately in the listing's guest capacity. Exceeding the stated occupancy is a use-permit condition violation enforceable by Building and Neighborhood Services with citation, fines, and non-renewal of the compliance certificate. For legacy non-owner-occupied STVRs operating under TCA 13-7-603, occupancy-related citations count toward the three-strike threshold that permanently terminates legacy STR Act protection. Owner-occupied STVRs (which is what all post-December-2019 residential-zone permits are) are still bound by the same bedroom-count, septic, and life-safety standards.