Sammamish, WA Short-Term Rentals: Primary-Residence-Only Rule (2026)

Some cities, such as Seattle, restrict short-term rentals to a host's primary residence or a limited number of units. Sammamish does not. The Sammamish Municipal Code contains no STR-specific primary-residence or owner-occupancy mandate, and Washington's statewide STR statute, RCW 64.37, defines and regulates short-term rentals without limiting them to an operator's primary home. Under RCW 64.37.010, a short-term rental is simply a lodging use offered to a guest for a fee for fewer than thirty consecutive nights, and an operator is any person who receives payment for owning or operating such a unit, with no requirement that the operator live there. Consequently, both owner-occupied and investor-owned (non-owner-occupied) short-term rentals are permissible in Sammamish, provided the use is consistent with the residential zoning of the property (SMC Titles 21A/21B), the operator holds the required business license, and the operator meets the state safety, posting, insurance, and tax duties. Because no primary-residence cap exists, there is also no published limit on the number of STR properties a single owner may operate in the city. As STR regulation is an active policy area, operators relying on non-owner-occupied hosting should periodically confirm that Sammamish has not adopted an owner-occupancy rule by checking with the Permit Center.