There is no county-wide STR registry. Wherever the property sits, the operator must register with the Iowa Department of Revenue for the hotel/motel (lodging) tax before renting to transient guests, and comply with the host city's rental-registration rules.
Iowa Code 423A defines lodging broadly to include a 'residential property' or 'mobile home... where sleeping accommodations are furnished to transient guests for rent.' Any such rental in Polk County must have an Iowa Department of Revenue tax permit for the 5% state lodging tax (Iowa Code 423A.3). If the property is inside a Polk County city, that city's separate rental-property registration also applies. In unincorporated Polk County, registration is handled through the zoning-use process at Planning & Development rather than a dedicated STR portal.
Renting lodging without an active Iowa Department of Revenue lodging-tax permit can trigger back-tax assessment, penalty and interest; unregistered city rentals face municipal penalties.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
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Polk County allows backyard composting but regulates it through the Health Nuisance Regulation: a compost pile that harbors vermin, produces offensive odors,...
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Polk County has no ordinance for or against artificial turf on residential lots. Installation on unincorporated land is generally unrestricted; cities and HO...
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Polk County has no ordinance banning native or prairie landscaping, and the county promotes native roadside vegetation. The one legal limit: your planting ca...
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Iowa has no state ban on collecting rainwater, and Polk County sets no rain-barrel ordinance. Residents may capture roof runoff in barrels or cisterns; only ...
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Polk County sets no lawn-watering schedule. Central Iowa's water is managed by Central Iowa Water Works / Des Moines Water Works, which can impose voluntary ...
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Iowa Code 317.10 requires every landowner to destroy all noxious weeds on their land as directed by the county board of supervisors. Polk County's Weed Commi...
Side-by-side rule comparisons with other cities in this county.
See how West Des Moines's registration rules rules stack up against other locations.
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