Mount Vernon, NY Short-Term Rentals: Occupancy Limits (2026)

Section 267-98H sets a square-footage-based occupancy limit for every sleeping room used in a Mount Vernon short-term rental: a room between 70 and 100 square feet may hold one person, and a room larger than 100 square feet may hold two people. The Building Inspector retains discretion to disqualify a room from use as a sleeping room altogether over concerns about emergency egress, safety, or over-occupancy of the dwelling unit, regardless of its square footage. This occupancy standard works together with the article's other room-safety requirements: Section 267-98I requires each sleeping room to have either an exterior exit opening directly outside or an emergency escape or rescue window meeting all applicable egress requirements, subject to the Building Inspector's discretion to approve an alternate means of egress.

The permit application itself must disclose, at the outset, the total number of bedrooms and bathrooms in the unit, the number of rooms proposed for short-term rental use, and the number of persons to be accommodated in each room offered for rent (Section 267-97B(5)(c)). Cellars and attics cannot be counted as habitable sleeping space for a short-term rental unless they independently meet the International Fire, Residential and Building Code requirements (Section 267-97B(5)(d)[4]).