Sioux Falls, SD Short-Term Rentals: Occupancy Limits (2026)

Sioux Falls has not enacted a stand-alone short-term-rental occupancy ordinance. Instead, three overlapping standards control how many guests can lawfully sleep in an STR. First, Sioux Falls Code Title 50 adopts the International Property Maintenance Code, including IPMC § 404.4.1 (bedroom area: minimum 70 sq ft for one occupant, plus 50 sq ft for each additional occupant) and IPMC § 404.5 (overcrowding: a dwelling shall not be occupied by more occupants than permitted by the floor-area-per-occupant table). Second, Sioux Falls's zoning code (Title 153, the Shape Sioux Falls 2040 update) defines "family" for the purposes of single-family residential occupancy — typically any number of persons related by blood, marriage, or adoption, plus up to a defined number of unrelated persons (commonly four) living as a single housekeeping unit. STR guests do not constitute a "family" in the zoning sense; rather, the STR use is treated as transient lodging and constrained by the IPMC sleeping-area minimums. Third, the South Dakota state fire code (adopted by Sioux Falls Fire Rescue under Title 50) applies International Fire Code Group R-3 occupancy limits to single-family dwellings used for short-term rental. There is no specific Sioux Falls ordinance setting a maximum of "X guests per bedroom" or "X guests per STR" — operators must comply with the underlying building/property maintenance code, which functionally permits about two persons per legally-designated sleeping room.