Iowa City, IA Short-Term Rentals: Occupancy Limits (2026)

Maximum occupancy of an Iowa City short-term rental is governed by two overlapping standards. (1) International Property Maintenance Code (IPMC) §404, adopted as the Iowa City Housing Code via Title 17 of the City Code: every habitable room must have at least 70 square feet of floor area, every sleeping room must have at least 70 sq ft for one occupant and an additional 50 sq ft for each occupant beyond one (so a 120 sq ft bedroom legally sleeps two adults), and the dwelling unit as a whole must meet a minimum total-area floor based on occupant count. Children under 12 generally count as one-half person under IPMC §404.4.4. (2) Iowa City's family/unrelated-occupants definition in Title 14: in most single-family zones, no more than THREE unrelated persons may occupy a single-family dwelling unit (Iowa City Code §14-9A-1 'Household' definition and §14-4B). The unrelated-persons cap applies whether the occupants are tenants, owners, or short-term rental guests, and an STR booking by four unrelated adults in a single-family-zoned house is a Title 14 violation in addition to any IPMC issue. The unrelated-persons cap historically targeted near-campus student rentals and survives §414.1(2) because it is generally applicable. Iowa City Neighborhood and Development Services inspects to both standards during the rental permit cycle.