Deschutes County, OR Short-Term Rentals: Permit Requirements (2026)

Deschutes County administers STR taxation under Deschutes County Code Chapter 4.08 (Transient Room Tax) through the Finance/Tax Office (roomtax@deschutes.org). The County does NOT issue a discretionary STR land-use permit or operating license for unincorporated areas; instead, regulation is achieved through (a) tax registration, (b) Title 18 (Deschutes County Zoning) use restrictions, and (c) state-level limits on rural ADUs.

TAX REGISTRATION (required for every operator). Effective July 1, 2021 the County moved registration and filing onto the MUNIRevs online portal (deschutes.munirevs.com). Owners must obtain a Deschutes County Certificate of Authority (DCCA) before renting. Effective September 1, 2025 the Initial Certificate of Authority fee is $300 and the Renewal Certificate fee is $150. The certificate must be displayed and the DCCA number must appear on advertising listings. Owners using a property manager licensed by the Oregon Real Estate Agency (OREA) typically allow the manager to collect and remit on their behalf, but the property itself must still be registered.

TAX RATES (combined 9.5 percent in unincorporated Deschutes County): - 8.0 percent Deschutes County Transient Room Tax (DCC Chapter 4.08), applies to lodging in unincorporated Deschutes County rented for 30 consecutive days or less. - 1.5 percent Oregon State Transient Lodging Tax under ORS 320.305 collected by the Oregon Department of Revenue. Statewide returns are due by the last day of the month following the end of each calendar quarter (ORS 320.345). - Stays by the same person for 30 or more consecutive days are EXEMPT under both the State statute (ORS 320.308) and the County code. - Marketplace facilitators (Airbnb, Vrbo, Booking.com) collect the 1.5 percent State tax under ORS 320.350 (transient lodging intermediary), but the host remains responsible for ensuring the County 8 percent is collected and remitted (Airbnb collects County tax under a voluntary collection agreement; verify on each booking).

LAND USE / ZONING (Deschutes County Title 18). A single-family dwelling in any zone where it is a permitted use may generally be rented short-term, but the dwelling must remain a single-family dwelling - it cannot be subdivided into separately rented rooms unless specifically permitted by the underlying zone. Owners must rent either the entire single-family dwelling or up to two rooms within the dwelling. RURAL ADU PROHIBITION: Under Oregon Senate Bill 391 (2021), codified in ORS 215.501, accessory dwelling units permitted on rural residential and resource lands in Deschutes County (including those in Exclusive Farm Use, Forest, and Multiple Use Agricultural zones) MUST NOT be used as vacation occupancy rentals. The host dwelling on the same lot may still be rented short-term, but the ADU cannot.

CITY OF BEND (separate regime; the largest STR market in Deschutes County). Bend Development Code 3.6.500 governs STRs inside city limits. Bend uses a two-tier permit system. TYPE I includes (a) infrequent rentals (maximum 30 days per year and no more than 4 separate rental periods per year), (b) owner-occupied rentals of one or two bedrooms within the structure the owner occupies as a primary residence, and (c) whole-house rentals in Commercial and Mixed-Use zones. TYPE II covers whole-house rentals more than 30 days per year or more than 4 rental periods per year in Residential (RL, RS, RM, RH) and Mixed-Use Riverfront (MR) zones. SEPARATION: For Type II whole-house permits in RL/RS/RM/RH and MR zones outside the Old Mill District, BDC 3.6.500 requires 500 FEET of separation measured radially from the property boundary between approved whole-house STRs - increased from 250 feet in the 2022 code amendment, which has effectively halted new Type II approvals in most Bend residential zones. NEIGHBOR NOTIFICATION: A separate 250-foot notice with 24/7 emergency contact information must be sent to every neighbor when the Operating License is applied for or renewed. TRANSFERABILITY: Permits issued before April 15, 2015 are transferable to new owners (approximately 450 permits qualify); all later permits are NON-TRANSFERABLE - if a property within 500 feet is permitted, the new owner cannot renew. ADU RULE: For applications submitted on or after November 4, 2021 in RL/RS/RM/RH and MR (outside Old Mill), only ONE unit per lot may be permitted as a short-term rental even if the lot has multiple dwelling units (ADUs, duplexes, triplexes, multi-unit, cottages). FEES (effective July 1, 2025): Type I Land Use Permit $1,314.53 plus 4 percent surcharge; Type II Land Use Permit $3,657.44 plus 4 percent surcharge; Initial Operating License $350 plus transportation supplement; Annual Operating License Renewal $255 plus transportation supplement ($200 whole-house, $108 other); Late Renewal Fee $55. Bend Room Tax 10.4 percent applies (waived only for infrequent-use Type I permits). Operators must apply for the Land Use Permit first (approximately 30-day processing) then within 60 days apply for the Operating License (3-4 weeks processing); failure to renew the Operating License voids the Land Use Permit.

SUNRIVER (unincorporated Deschutes County). Sunriver is an unincorporated planned resort community of approximately 4,200 properties, of which 35 to 40 percent operate as vacation rentals year-round. There is no County STR land-use permit, but every Sunriver rental must register with the Deschutes County Tax Office for the DCCA and remit the 8 percent County Transient Room Tax plus 1.5 percent State tax. The Sunriver Owners Association (SROA) and the Sunriver Service District (Sunriver Police, Fire, and Public Works) enforce community-level rules: SROA quiet hours are 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m., and SROA Rules and Regulations limit dogs, parking, signage, fireworks, and outdoor noise. Recorded restrictive covenants (CC&Rs) apply on every Sunriver lot and may impose additional vacation-rental conditions; CC&R enforcement is private and is not waived by County tax registration.

OTHER INCORPORATED CITIES. Redmond, Sisters, and La Pine each administer their own STR programs separately from the County and require their own city business license/operating license in addition to the State and County tax obligations. Operators inside any of those city limits must contact the city directly.

IN PROCESS: As of late 2023 the Deschutes County Board of Commissioners directed staff to begin developing a formal STR licensing program for unincorporated areas to address neighborhood complaints, life-safety, and tax compliance. Operators should monitor deschutes.org and the Board agenda for new requirements before the next renewal cycle.