Unlike Chicago's Shared Housing framework, Cook County Ordinance 19-5236 does not restrict short-term rentals to a host's primary residence. Any registered, tax-compliant unit in unincorporated Cook may operate as an STR regardless of whether it is owner-occupied.
Cook County's STR program treats short-term rentals as a regulated business activity rather than a home-share-only model. Operators register through the Cook County Department of Revenue, list the unit in the STR Registry, and remit the Hotel Accommodations Tax. The ordinance imposes no cap on the number of nights per year a unit can be rented and no owner-occupancy floor. Investors with multiple units, LLCs, and absentee owners are eligible, provided each unit is registered separately and a local responsible party is designated. Cook County suburbs may layer their own primary-residence rules; unincorporated areas remain governed solely by Ord. 19-5236.
Operating an unregistered STR, missing a local contact, evading the Hotel Accommodations Tax, or hiding multiple units behind one registration triggers Department of Revenue audits, fines up to $1,000 per day, and platform delisting.
See how Arlington Heights's primary-residence-only rule rules stack up against other locations.
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