Walla Walla County, WA Short-Term Rentals: Occupancy Limits (2026)
Key Facts
- Max guest rooms
- 10 per bed and breakfast establishment
- Max stay
- 30 consecutive days per guest
- Occupancy
- Property owner or operator must occupy the property
- Parking
- 1 off-street space per guest room
- Enforcing agency
- Walla Walla County Community Development Department
Summary
A bed and breakfast guesthouse in unincorporated Walla Walla County, the county's zoning category for short-term lodging, cannot have more than ten guest rooms, and no traveler or transient guest can stay longer than thirty consecutive days, under WWCC 17.08.074(A).
17.08.074 - Bed and breakfast guesthouse. "Bed and breakfast guesthouse" means an establishment located in a primary dwelling unit or accessory building providing overnight accommodations and food services to transients for compensation or utilized by the owner or operator as short-term lodging for travelers and transient guests. A bed and breakfast guesthouse establishment is subject to the following conditions: ... A.Number of Guest Rooms. A bed and breakfast guesthouse establishment shall not have more than ten guest rooms; travelers or transient guests may not stay longer than thirty consecutive days;
Full Breakdown
Walla Walla County's zoning code does not use the term short-term rental; the closest zoning use is the bed and breakfast guesthouse defined in WWCC 17.08.074, an establishment inside a primary dwelling unit or an accessory building that offers overnight accommodations and food service to transient guests for compensation. Condition A of that section sets the two occupancy limits: no more than ten guest rooms per establishment, and no traveler or transient guest may stay more than thirty consecutive days. The thirty-day cap is what keeps the use classified as transient lodging rather than a long-term rental or an additional dwelling unit.
The code recognizes three subtypes with their own scale: a Type I bed and breakfast in the primary dwelling unit (17.08.074A), a Type II located in or using an accessory building (17.08.074B), and a Type III, which may serve food to up to fifty guests at a time and host events up to fifty people (17.08.074C). Beyond the room and stay caps, condition B requires the property owner or operator to occupy the property, condition C requires one off-street parking space per guest room, and condition D limits food service to overnight guests generally, or up to fifty guests for a Type III. Community Development reviews these limits when a bed and breakfast guesthouse applies for its use permit in unincorporated Walla Walla County.
Violations & Fines
Exceeding the ten-guest-room cap, hosting a stay longer than thirty consecutive days, or otherwise operating outside these conditions is a Title 17 zoning violation. Community Development issues a notice of violation and order under WWCC Chapter 14.13, and missing the correction deadline brings a $250-per-day civil penalty and possible revocation of the use approval; willfully refusing to correct it is a gross misdemeanor carrying up to 90 days in jail or a $1,000 fine.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many guest rooms can a Walla Walla County bed and breakfast have?
Can guests stay longer than a month at a bed and breakfast guesthouse?
Do larger events count toward the occupancy limit?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Walla Walla County
Compare Walla Walla County to another location·View the Washington short-term rentals overview
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