Reading, PA Short-Term Rentals: Occupancy Limits (2026)

Maximum occupancy of a Reading short-term rental is governed by the International Property Maintenance Code, which Reading has formally adopted and which the Property and Codes Enforcement department applies through its rental permit and inspection program. IPMC Section 404.4.1 ('Room area') requires every habitable room to have at least 70 square feet of floor area, IPMC Section 404.4.2 sets minimum bedroom area at 70 sq ft for one occupant plus 50 sq ft for each additional occupant (so a 120-sq-ft bedroom legally sleeps two adults), and IPMC Section 404.5 fixes a 'minimum total area' for the entire dwelling unit based on the total occupants. Children under 12 typically count as one-half person under IPMC. Reading also imposes a Quality of Life ticket for 'overcrowding' as part of its rental permit conditions. Because Reading is densely built and has many converted row homes with small bedrooms, advertising a Reading row home as 'sleeps 10' frequently violates IPMC; inspectors will measure rooms during the rental inspection cycle and at any complaint inspection. STR hosts should calculate the legal maximum by adding the bedroom-by-bedroom occupancy and confirming the result against the IPMC dwelling-total area floor. Pennsylvania's Department of Health also enforces sleeping-quarters fire-safety rules under the Uniform Construction Code for any unit advertised as transient lodging.