Olmsted County, MN Short-Term Rentals: Occupancy Limits (2026)

Minnesota has no statewide preemption of local STR rules; counties act under MN Stat. Ch. 394 (county zoning). Olmsted County's Chapter 1400 Zoning Ordinance does not contain a vacation-rental-specific overnight occupancy cap for the unincorporated area or for the four townships the County Planning Department directly administers (Eyota, Marion, Oronoco, Quincy). Other townships within Olmsted County may have separately adopted land use controls administered by a township zoning administrator or the Township Cooperative Planning Association. In the absence of a STR-specific cap, maximum occupancy is governed by: (1) the Minnesota State Building Code (MN Rules Ch. 1305) and the International Property Maintenance Code adopted by reference, which set minimum room size and occupancy load standards for dwellings; (2) the Minnesota State Fire Code (MN Rules Ch. 7511, adopting NFPA 101 Life Safety Code); and (3) MN Rules Chapter 7080 Subsurface Sewage Treatment Systems, which sizes septic capacity by bedroom count and effectively limits overnight occupancy on parcels not served by municipal sewer. The City of Rochester's STR ordinance (Rochester City Code Chapter 7-9-14) requires the applicant to declare the maximum number of overnight guests on the license application and post the figure inside the unit. For property-specific occupancy figures, confirm with the Olmsted County Planning Department at 507-328-7100.