Waukegan, IL Short-Term Rentals: Occupancy Limits (2026)

Section 14-4(e)(5) of the Waukegan City Code, adopted as part of the 2025 short-term rental licensing overhaul, states that no short-term rental unit may be occupied at any time by a number of persons in excess of the maximum permitted occupancy limit set forth in Chapter 6 of the Code, the city's property maintenance and housing code. Owners must post that occupancy figure near the entrance of the rental unit so guests and inspectors can confirm compliance without needing to call the licensing office. The cap is not a one-time check at booking: it applies continuously throughout the stay, so a party or overnight gathering that pushes attendance above the posted number is itself a violation independent of any noise or nuisance complaint.

Because short-term rentals must first be registered as rental property under Section 14-4(a) and licensed under 14-4(e)(1) before they can be rented at all, the occupancy limit is tied directly to that license: exceeding it is treated the same as any other breach of the short-term rental license conditions. Enforcement runs through the city's licensing official, and the property owner remains jointly and severally liable for a guest's violation of this limit during the guest's stay, per Section 14-4(e)(8).