Sammamish, WA Short-Term Rentals: Occupancy Limits (2026)

There is no number-of-guests cap unique to short-term rentals in the Sammamish Municipal Code. Instead, occupancy is governed by two sources. First, Washington's statewide STR safety law, RCW 64.37.030, requires that an operator post, in a conspicuous place within each dwelling unit, the maximum occupancy limits, alongside the street address, emergency contact numbers, a floor plan indicating fire exits and escape routes, and operator contact information. The statute mandates posting an occupancy figure but leaves the specific number to be set by the operator consistent with applicable building, fire, and zoning standards. Second, the practical ceiling derives from Sammamish's residential zoning and the building code adopted in SMC Title 16, which constrain habitable space, bedrooms, and life-safety capacity. Sammamish residential zones are oriented to single-household and family use, so an STR is expected to function within the dwelling's normal residential occupancy rather than as a higher-density lodging operation. Because the city has not published a per-bedroom or per-guest STR formula, the controlling rule for hosts is the posted maximum occupancy required by state law and the underlying residential capacity of the home. Operators should set the posted figure conservatively and confirm any limits with the Sammamish Permit Center.