Tualatin, OR Short-Term Rentals: Occupancy Limits (2026)

There is no Tualatin Municipal Code or Tualatin Development Code provision that sets a numeric occupancy cap specific to short-term rentals (e.g., 'two persons per bedroom plus two,' or a hard '10-occupant maximum'). Instead, the operative occupancy framework comes from three sources. First, the Oregon Residential Specialty Code (ORSC) and Oregon Structural Specialty Code define minimum room sizes, ceiling heights, light and ventilation, sleeping-room egress windows, and similar life-safety criteria; Tualatin Building Division applies those codes through plan review and inspection when a building permit is issued. Second, the TDC defines 'dwelling unit' and restricts residential use to that definition in residential zones; an STR is treated as a use of the existing dwelling unit, not as a separate higher-occupancy lodging use, so the unit must be occupied consistently with the configuration approved for it (sleeping rooms used as sleeping rooms, no overload of beds in living rooms or basements where the original permit did not approve sleeping use). Third, TMC Chapter 6-13 (Rental Housing Maintenance Standards) requires the unit to be maintained in a condition consistent with safe occupancy, which can be enforced by Tualatin Building and Code Enforcement if a property is found to be sleeping more occupants than the dwelling configuration safely supports. Operators choosing a self-imposed occupancy cap for their listings commonly use a 'two adults per bedroom' or '(2 x bedrooms) + 2' formula derived from HUD occupancy guidance, but those numbers are private listing policies, not Tualatin code. Outside city limits in unincorporated Washington County, a separate county framework may apply; that framework does not apply inside the City of Tualatin.