Howard County has no 'primary residence only' STR rule, because it authorizes no STR use to condition on residency. The Zoning Regulations define a 'Dwelling' as living facilities for one family and expressly exclude accommodations used for transient occupancy.
Jurisdictions with STR programs often restrict rentals to a host's primary residence. Howard County took a different path: rather than permit-and-limit, its Zoning Regulations treat transient occupancy as categorically outside the residential 'Dwelling' use. Section 103.0 defines a Dwelling as a building providing living facilities for one family and states the term does not include a hotel, motel, clubhouse, hospital, or other accommodations used for more or less transient occupancy. As a result there is no owner-occupancy or homestead condition to satisfy — a residential parcel is meant for dwelling (long-term living) use, and transient lodging belongs in districts zoned for hotels/motels or the narrow historic Bed and Breakfast Inn use.
Using a residential dwelling for transient occupancy converts it to an unpermitted lodging use, cited by Planning and Zoning through cease-and-abate notices and Title 24 civil penalties; the Rental Housing License does not authorize a non-permitted use.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
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Howard County allows residential backyard composting and actively promotes it. The county runs a Feed the Green Bin curbside food-scrap collection and sells ...
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Howard County has no ordinance specifically prohibiting or requiring artificial turf for residential yards. Synthetic lawns are generally allowed, but becaus...
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Howard County places no restriction on planting native or pollinator gardens. Maryland's low-impact landscaping law (House Bill 322, 2021) bars homeowners as...
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Howard County does not ban rainwater harvesting. Rain barrels and cisterns are legal and actively promoted through the county's Live Green Howard and stormwa...
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Howard County has no year-round odd/even watering ban. Water use is limited only when the state declares a drought. Under Maryland's Level One Mandatory Rest...
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Howard County's adopted Property Maintenance Code requires exterior premises to be kept free of weeds and rank plant growth, but it applies only to rental an...
See how Howard County's primary-residence-only rule rules stack up against other locations.
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