Greensboro, NC Short-Term Rentals: Occupancy Limits (2026)

3 of the Land Development Ordinance sets Greensboro's short-term rental occupancy standard at no more than two adults per bedroom that is actually being rented out, not per bedroom in the house. A four-bedroom home rented in full could sleep up to eight adults under this formula, while a host who rents only two of those bedrooms is capped at four adults regardless of how many bedrooms sit empty. Children and any other person under 18 years old as of the date of the rental are excluded from the count entirely, so a family of two adults and three kids in one bedroom does not exceed the cap.

The occupancy limit sits inside the city's broader short-term rental framework: every short-term rental must first secure a zoning permit that is posted conspicuously on the property and in every advertisement, a new permit is required within 30 days whenever the owner or local operator changes, and the Planning Department can deny or revoke that permit for a qualifying criminal conviction on the premises or for two or more verified ordinance violations within 365 days. Short-term rentals are allowed only inside residential dwelling units, meaning the occupancy cap applies to whole-house and room rentals in houses, not to hotels or motels, which are regulated separately. All existing short-term rentals were required to be in compliance with the full set of standards, including this occupancy cap, by April 1, 2024.