Rutherford County, TN Short-Term Rentals: Occupancy Limits (2026)

The Tennessee Short-Term Rental Unit Act, codified at T.C.A. §13-7-602 through §13-7-609 (Public Chapter 972 of 2018), allows local governments to require STR registration but bars them from prohibiting STRs that were operating as such before the local ordinance took effect, provided the unit meets the legacy criteria (held out as an STR, with either a permit or 6+ months of paid taxes in the prior 12 months). Rutherford County itself has not adopted a county-wide STR occupancy ordinance for unincorporated areas; the official county STR tax page lists no maximum-guest, occupants-per-bedroom, or maximum-overnight-guest cap. Practical occupancy limits come from: (a) Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) on-site sewage permitting, which sizes septic to bedrooms; (b) the Rutherford County Building Codes office for life-safety/egress; and (c) HOA covenants. Inside Murfreesboro, Smyrna, or La Vergne, the city's zoning code controls — Murfreesboro permits STRs in residentially zoned property without a separate occupancy cap, but city building/fire code applies.