Independence, MO Short-Term Rentals: Occupancy Limits (2026)

Section 14-424-07 of the Unified Development Ordinance sets the headcount: 'No more than two guests, excluding children five years old and under, per bedroom are permitted per guest stay. The total maximum occupancy of ten occupants, which includes adults and children.' Section 14-424-08 caps the unit itself, limiting every short-term rental to 'four or fewer guestrooms for occupancy,' so even a large house cannot register more bedrooms than that for rental use.

The occupancy cap works together with Section 14-424-11, which bars renting to more than one booking party at a time, so a host cannot split a single ten-person cap across two unrelated reservations to increase total guests on the property. It also sits inside the City's broader density scheme: Section 14-424-06 limits residential districts to one short-term rental per eight residential structures on a block face (or one on any shorter block face), with a 500-foot separation from any other short-term rental outside the ARTS District, though commercial districts carry no density or separation limit.

The maximum occupancy and bedroom count must be posted for guests to see: Section 14-424-16 requires the operator to post the maximum permitted occupancy, along with the evacuation and parking plans, in a prominent location inside the dwelling. A short-term rental application under Section 14-424-22 must also state the number of bedrooms to be used and the total occupancy up front, so the City can confirm the ten-guest, four-bedroom caps before the license issues.