Yakima County, WA Short-Term Rentals: Short-Term Rental Permits (2026)

420 of the Yakima County Code governs every short-term rental in the unincorporated county, defined in subsection (1)(a) as a residential dwelling unit, or portion of one, rented to overnight guests for fewer than 30 consecutive days. Subsection (2) makes the use permitted in any zoning district that already allows residential dwellings as a permitted use, so the underlying zone controls whether an STR is possible at all. Subsection (3) sets the eligibility floor: the unit must be a legally established residence as defined by the building and planning departments, and no more than five short-term rental units are allowed on a single parcel, whether the units are a residential unit, a private room, or an accessory dwelling unit.

Subsection (4) is the operative permit rule: an owner must complete and submit a conditional use permit application to the County, and the County issues approval only after the owner demonstrates compliance with the rest of the chapter, including the occupancy, parking, and signage criteria in subsection (5) and the business license and tax requirements in subsection (6). The chapter was adopted by Ordinance 4-2022 and amended by Ordinance 5-2023, and it carries its own severability clause in subsection (7) so that if one part is struck down the rest of the permit scheme stays in force.

Because the CUP is a discretionary land-use approval rather than a ministerial registration, the Yakima County Planning Division can attach site-specific conditions, and the permit runs with the specific dwelling unit reviewed, not with the owner generally.