Rochester caps short-term rental occupancy at two persons per legal bedroom plus two additional persons per unit, with a hard ceiling of 12 persons total. Operators must hold a City of Rochester STR permit and rentals are limited to owner-occupied dwellings.
The City of Rochester requires every short-term rental to operate under a Short-Term Rental Permit issued through the Zoning Office; the program took full effect January 1, 2023. Maximum occupancy is calculated as two persons per legal bedroom plus two additional persons per unit, not to exceed 12 persons in total at any time. Only owner-occupied units in single-family or eligible multi-family dwellings qualify; investor-owned secondary homes are not permitted as STRs. Each permitted unit must provide one off-street parking space. Quiet hours run 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. with no noise audible beyond the property line. Annual inspections are required, the permit number must be displayed on every listing, and operators must also register under the New York State Short-Term Rental Registry that took effect March 25, 2025. Bedrooms used for occupancy counting must meet legal bedroom standards under Property Code Chapter 90 (egress, ceiling height, smoke and CO alarms). Monroe County applies a 5% hotel/motel occupancy tax on stays of fewer than 30 days, separate from New York State sales tax.
Exceeding the two-per-bedroom-plus-two formula, exceeding 12 occupants, operating without a permit, advertising a non-owner-occupied unit, or counting non-conforming rooms as bedrooms can trigger Zoning Office enforcement, citations, and permit revocation after repeated violations. State registry non-compliance after March 25, 2025 carries separate penalties.
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