Short-term rental permit rules in Elmhurst, IL โ also called Airbnb permits, vacation rental licenses, or STR registration โ list the application steps, fees, and operating requirements for hosting.
DuPage County Ordinance DCO-048-25, adopted October 14, 2025, amends Chapter 37 (Zoning Ordinance) to define short-term rentals as rentals of 30 days or less and requires registration, annual inspection, and an occupancy cap of five unrelated guests for STRs in unincorporated DuPage County. Hosts must also collect the 6% Illinois Hotel Operatorsโ Occupation Tax under 35 ILCS 145.
On October 14, 2025 the DuPage County Board adopted Ordinance DCO-048-25 (zoning text amendment t-5-25, zoning case ZON-22-13), amending Chapter 37 of the DuPage County Code (Zoning Ordinance) to define and regulate short-term rentals in unincorporated DuPage County. The amendment defines a short-term rental as a residential rental of 30 days or less and classifies these uses under the countyโs existing hotel/motel zoning provisions, while amending lot requirements in the R-3 and R-4 residential districts. Operators in unincorporated DuPage must register the property with the county each year and submit to annual inspections verifying compliance with county building, health, stormwater, and zoning codes. Occupancy is limited to no more than five unrelated people per dwelling unless the owner obtains a temporary special event permit. Cities and villages within the county โ such as Naperville (which bans STRs) and Wheaton โ retain their own ordinances and are not preempted. Separately, every DuPage STR operator must collect the 6% Illinois Hotel Operatorsโ Occupation Tax (35 ILCS 145); Illinois Department of Revenue Bulletin FY 2025-28 made clear that booking platforms (Airbnb, Vrbo) and hosts share this obligation starting July 1, 2025.
Operating an unregistered short-term rental in unincorporated DuPage County is a zoning violation enforceable through the countyโs existing administrative adjudication process (Chapter 37). Exceeding the five-unrelated-person occupancy cap, failing an annual inspection, or operating without a current license are all citable. The state Hotel Operatorsโ Occupation Tax (35 ILCS 145) carries separate Illinois Department of Revenue penalties, interest, and back-tax liability for unpaid amounts.
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