Saint Paul, MN Short-Term Rentals: Short-Term Rental Parking Rules (2026)

Table 63.207, maximum off-street surface parking by use, lists a specific entry for 'Short term rental dwelling unit': 2.5 spaces per dwelling unit generally, or 2 spaces per dwelling unit if the site sits within a quarter mile of a Light Rail, Bus Rapid Transit, or Street Car line, or within the B4 or B5 zoning districts. Sec. 63.207(a) explains when this table applies at all: 'Off-street surface parking maximums shall apply to surface parking facilities with more than fifteen (15) spaces... Surface parking facilities that exceed the maximum shall not be created unless a conditional use permit is approved based on demonstration of need.' In practice, this means the parking table is a ceiling, not a floor, it constrains large surface lots (more than 15 spaces) attached to short-term rental development, not the typical single-family or duplex host renting out a spare bedroom or the whole unit through a platform like Airbnb, which will never come close to that 15-space threshold.

Saint Paul's zoning code does not set a separate minimum number of on-site spaces a short-term rental host must provide for guests; guest parking instead falls under the same off-street parking access, driveway width, and site design rules (Sec. 63.301 through 63.308) that apply to the underlying dwelling. A host converting a larger property or building new short-term rental units at scale, however, must keep surface parking at or under the 2.5/2.0-per-unit cap or obtain a conditional use permit demonstrating need for more.