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

Hendersonville's STR occupancy framework is built around the Codes Department's pre-issuance inspection rather than a flat citywide numerical cap. Before the Use and Occupancy Permit is issued for a commercial-zone STR (Old Town Commercial or General Commercial), the Codes Department conducts a building and life-safety inspection that establishes the property's maximum stated occupancy based on three intersecting standards. First, the dwelling's legally permitted bedroom count under the Hendersonville Zoning Ordinance (Title 14) and the adopted 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 permit. Each rented bedroom must have a code-conforming door or egress window. Second, life-safety equipment required by the adopted International Building Code and International Property Maintenance 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. Third, the Engineered Site Plan parking calculation implicitly bounds maximum occupancy because the off-street parking provided must match the sleeping capacity claimed in the listing - a four-bedroom listing claiming ten guests cannot be supported on a site plan that provides parking for only three vehicles. The Use and Occupancy Permit 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 permit-condition violation enforceable by the Codes Department with citation, fines, and non-renewal of the Use and Occupancy Permit. For pre-October-2016 legacy residential-zone STRs operating under TCA 13-7-603 protection, occupancy-related citations count toward the three-strike threshold that permanently terminates legacy STR Act protection. The Old Hickory Lake waterfront has driven attempts to maximize headcount at lakefront properties (large groups for boat outings, fishing trips, lakeside parties); the Engineered Site Plan + building inspection approach is deliberately designed to constrain that intensification.