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

A review of YMC Title 15 (Urban Area Zoning Ordinance), Title 5 (Business Licenses), and Title 3 (Revenue and Finance) returns no provision restricting STR operation to an owner's primary residence. Instead, Yakima's framework distinguishes between (1) owner-occupied STRs in residential zones, which are an outright permitted home occupation under YMC 15.04.120(C) capped at five lodging units or guest rooms, and (2) non-owner-occupied STRs (including whole-house investment rentals), which must clear a Type 1, 2, or 3 land use review through the Planning Division under YMC Chapter 15.04. Both pathways are explicitly contemplated in the code. The reviewing official may impose conditions on non-owner-occupied STRs (parking, property-manager availability, signage), but the operator does not have to demonstrate primary-residence status or live in the dwelling at any point during the year. Washington's statewide STR Act (RCW Chapter 64.37) also does not impose a primary-residence-only restriction; it focuses on operator duties (24/7 contact, $1,000,000 insurance, CO alarms, tax remittance) and platform registration. Yakima's permissive model reflects the city's tourism economy: the Yakima Valley is a major Washington wine, agritourism, and outdoor-recreation destination, and the city has chosen to allow investment STRs as a tourism-supporting use rather than restrict them to owner-occupants. As a contrast, Seattle requires a regulatory license for each STR and effectively caps non-primary-residence STRs at two per operator (SMC 6.600) and the City of Cannon Beach OR and other resort cities have implemented hard primary-residence caps - Yakima has not followed that path.