Minneapolis STR Rules for 2027: What Hosts Need to Know
There is a particular kind of July morning in Minneapolis when the lake paths fill early and the guest reviews start rolling in with words like 'perfect' and 'exactly what we hoped for.' If you host here, or you are thinking about it, that morning is the payoff. But the paperwork behind it does not take a summer off, and heading into 2027 the smartest thing a host can do is sit down with the actual licensing rules rather than the version that got passed around a neighborhood group chat two years ago.
This piece restates, in plain language, the short-term rental framework the City of Minneapolis has had in place — the 30-day threshold that decides which license you need, the cap on how many short-term rentals one owner can hold, the occupant limit, the building density rule, and the exemption for a spare room rented out while you are still living in the home. Nothing here is a new 2027 ordinance. It is the 2026 regulatory picture, carried forward into a new year, because the rules have not meaningfully changed and hosts deserve a clean, current summary rather than a stale bookmark.
One request before you read further: treat every dollar figure in this piece as a 2026 snapshot, and open the city's own short-term rental page before you file anything. Fees, forms, and portals shift on their own schedule, and the only page that matters on filing day is the live one.
It helps to think of this piece less like a press release and more like a walk-through you would get from a neighbor who already filed their paperwork last spring — the kind of conversation that saves you a return trip downtown because you brought the wrong form the first time. Minneapolis hosting has its own texture: lake-adjacent listings that fill fast in June, a state fair bump in late summer, and a genuinely cold shoulder season that rewards hosts who plan their calendar rather than just react to it. The licensing rules sit underneath all of that, quietly, and they deserve the same attention you give to your photos and your pricing.
The 30-Day Line That Decides Everything
Almost every rule that follows traces back to one number: 30 days. If you are renting out a space for stays of 30 days or less, the City of Minneapolis requires a short-term rental license, full stop. That threshold is the fork in the road. Stay under it and you are in short-term rental territory, with the rules this piece walks through. Cross over it — meaning your bookings run longer than 30 days — and you are in the world of regular rental licensing instead, a different track with its own fee structure and its own expiration calendar.
Hosts sometimes assume the two paths are interchangeable, or that a light mix of both means picking whichever fee looks friendlier. They are not interchangeable, and the city does not let you blend them. Your actual booking pattern determines which license applies, and it is worth sitting with your own calendar before you file anything — average stay length, minimum night policies, the works — so you register under the correct path from day one rather than correcting it later.
If your listing history is mixed — a mostly short-term calendar with the occasional month-plus corporate stay — do not guess. Pull your actual booking history for the past year and look at where the median and the outliers actually sit. A property that leans short-term with a rare long stay is still, in practice, a short-term rental for licensing purposes. A property that regularly books 30-plus-night stays may genuinely belong under the regular rental license instead. The paperwork should reflect the pattern you actually run, not the one you hope to run.
One Short-Term Rental Per Owner, Besides Your Own Home
Minneapolis limits how much of the short-term rental market any single owner can hold. Beyond the home you actually live in, an owner may hold only one additional short-term rental. That cap follows the owner, not just the address, which means it applies even when the second property sits inside an LLC. Structuring a portfolio through separate entities does not create separate allowances under this rule — the city looks through to who ultimately holds the interest.
This matters most for hosts who came up thinking of short-term rentals as a stackable side business. In Minneapolis, the ordinance treats the practice more like a bounded amenity than an open investment lane: your primary residence, plus one more. If your plans involve a small portfolio, that ambition likely needs to look toward regular rentals, other municipalities, or simply a realistic recalibration of what the license structure here actually permits.
Worth saying plainly, since it trips up more hosts than any other clause here: the one-additional-property cap is not a soft guideline that only gets enforced when someone complains. It is a structural ceiling built into how the license is issued in the first place. If you are weighing whether to add a second short-term property to a portfolio you already run through an entity, confirm the ownership math with the city before you close on anything, not after.
How Many Guests, and How Many Units in One Building
Occupancy is capped at 10 guests under a short-term rental license in Minneapolis, regardless of how many bedrooms or how generous the square footage. It is a straightforward number to plan around once you know it, but it is worth stating clearly on your listing and in your house rules so guests booking a large group are not surprised at check-in.
Buildings carry their own cap as well. In a building with 20 or more units, no more than 10 percent of those units may operate as short-term rentals at one time. That rule is aimed squarely at larger apartment buildings where short-term turnover could otherwise crowd out long-term residents, and it means availability in bigger buildings can be genuinely limited even for an owner who is otherwise eligible. There is one carve-out worth knowing well: condominiums are exempt from that density cap. If your unit sits in a condo building rather than a straight rental apartment building, the 10 percent ceiling simply does not apply to you the way it would in a large rental complex.
If you are shopping for a Minneapolis property specifically to run as a short-term rental, this is the clause to check before you make an offer, not after closing. A building already near its 10 percent threshold may simply have no room left for another short-term license, regardless of how strong your application otherwise looks. A quick call to Inspections Services to ask about a specific building's current short-term rental count can save you from an unpleasant surprise.
The Spare Room Exemption
Not every short-term stay in Minneapolis requires this license. If you are renting out a spare room while you remain living in the home yourself — the classic host-in-residence arrangement — that stay does not need a short-term rental license. The exemption exists because the city's licensing concern is largely about units operating as standalone short-term rentals, not about a homeowner sharing space under their own roof.
It is worth being precise about what qualifies. The exemption covers the owner remaining in the home during the guest's stay, not an owner who happens to live nearby, or a property manager standing in for an absent owner. If you step out of the home entirely while guests occupy the whole unit, you have moved out of the spare-room scenario and back into standard short-term rental licensing territory.
What the License Actually Costs — and Why You Recheck It
As of 2026, the city's short-term rental page listed a $64 registration fee for a short-term rental license. That is the figure worth carrying into 2027 conversations, clearly labeled as a 2026 figure, because this piece is a restatement of the 2026 regulatory desk rather than a report on any new fee schedule. If a 2027 update to that number exists by the time you read this, it will be on the live city page, not here — recheck it before you file, and treat the $64 figure as your 2026 reference point rather than a locked-in guarantee.
Regular rental licenses, the ones covering stays longer than 30 days, run on an entirely different fee logic: a tiered schedule based on building size and per-unit counts, and those licenses expire on March 1 rather than following whatever renewal calendar applies to short-term registrations. The two fee tables should never be combined or averaged. If you are unsure which path actually applies to your property, that is the first question to resolve — not the fee amount, but the license type — because the fee only makes sense once you know which table you are reading from.
Where to Register and Who to Call
Short-term rental licensing in Minneapolis runs through Inspections Services, part of Regulatory Services, based at the Public Service Building, 505 Fourth Avenue South, Room 510. For questions, the city lists a direct line at 612-673-3000, or you can reach the general city line at 311. For anything you would rather put in writing, the licensing email is fispermit@minneapolismn.gov.
Once your license is issued, the license ID needs to be posted on your listing itself — not just filed away in a drawer. That is a small compliance detail that platforms and prospective guests can both see, and it is one of the easiest things to overlook once the excitement of a new listing takes over. Set a reminder to add it the same day your license comes through.
What the Market Actually Looked Like in 2026
For hosts thinking about how a Minneapolis short-term rental performs, the 2026 AirROI-style data extract is worth having on hand, with the caveat that it describes market conditions, not licensing rules. Minneapolis showed a typical year of $23,433 in revenue across a sample of 1,613 listings, with 43.6 percent occupancy, an average daily rate of $196, and RevPAR of $86. That figure moved -9.7 percent year over year, with August as the clear peak month and February as the predictable seasonal low.
Two neighboring markets are easy to mix up with Minneapolis, and worth keeping distinct. Saint Paul posted a typical year of $23,158 across 640 listings — a number close enough to Minneapolis's that it is tempting to average the two, but they are separate markets with separate listing pools and should be read on their own line, not blended. Richfield is a third, distinct market again, with its own separate figures, and should not be mashed into Minneapolis totals either. Each city's data tells its own story, and a host comparing markets should keep the labels straight.
One more caveat on that data: any 'high regulation' label or registration-percentage figure that AirROI-style vendor data attaches to a market is a classification built from scraped listing behavior, not a record pulled from the city clerk's office. It can be a useful directional signal, but it is not the same thing as the actual ordinance, and it should never substitute for reading the city's own licensing page.
A Closing Word on Staying Current
The pattern behind this piece is a familiar one in cities that regulate short-term rentals: the framework is stable, but the fine print — fee amounts, portal names, exact form numbers — is exactly the kind of thing that shifts quietly between one filing season and the next. Reading a 2026 summary in 2027 is a reasonable place to start, but it should not be the last stop before you submit paperwork.
This is not legal advice, and nothing here should be read as a substitute for confirming details directly with Minneapolis Inspections Services or reviewing the current city ordinance text yourself. What this piece offers is a clear, honest map of how the licensing framework is built — the 30-day threshold, the one-STR-per-owner limit, the occupant and building caps, the spare-room exemption, and the fee structure as last confirmed — so that when you do sit down with the live city page, you already know which questions to ask.
Related Reading
These neighboring Crest & Cove Creative posts stay on the same marketing desk for independent hosts - listing clarity, owned search, and direct-booking choices without mixing in finance or legal work.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a short-term rental license for every Airbnb stay in Minneapolis?
You need a short-term rental license whenever you are hosting stays of 30 days or less, which covers the vast majority of Airbnb and similar bookings. The one notable exception is the spare-room scenario, where you remain living in the home while renting out an extra room — that arrangement does not require this license. Stays longer than 30 days fall under regular rental licensing instead, a separate track with its own fee table and its own March 1 expiration date, so always match the license type to your actual booking pattern.
Can I own more than one short-term rental in Minneapolis?
Beyond your own primary residence, Minneapolis allows an owner to hold only one additional short-term rental. That cap applies to the owner personally, and it follows through even when a second property is held inside an LLC or similar entity — the city looks at who ultimately owns the interest, not just the name on the deed. If your plans involve building a larger short-term rental portfolio, Minneapolis's licensing structure is built to prevent exactly that kind of stacking within city limits.
How many guests can stay in a Minneapolis short-term rental at once?
Occupancy under a Minneapolis short-term rental license is capped at 10 guests, regardless of how many bedrooms the property has or how it is furnished. This is a hard number worth stating plainly in your listing description and house rules so that groups booking larger gatherings understand the limit before they arrive rather than discovering it at check-in. The cap applies to the license itself, not to any individual room or floor within the property.
What is the building density cap, and does it apply to condos?
In any building with 20 or more units, no more than 10 percent of those units may operate as short-term rentals at the same time — a rule meant to keep large apartment buildings from converting heavily into short-term use. Condominiums are specifically exempt from this density cap, so if your unit sits within a condo building rather than a standard rental apartment complex, the 10 percent ceiling does not restrict your eligibility the way it would for a renter-owned apartment building.
What did the short-term rental license cost in 2026?
As of 2026, the City of Minneapolis's short-term rental page listed a $64 registration fee for a short-term rental license. That figure should be treated as a 2026 reference point rather than a permanent number — city fee pages update on their own schedule, and this piece intentionally does not project any 2027 change to that amount. Before filing, check the live city short-term rental page directly to confirm the current fee applies to your registration.
How is a regular rental license different from a short-term rental license?
A regular rental license covers stays longer than 30 days and runs on a completely different structure from short-term licensing: a tiered fee schedule based on building size and per-unit counts, with licenses expiring on March 1 each year rather than following a short-term renewal calendar. The two fee tables are not interchangeable and should never be combined or averaged. If you are unsure which license type actually fits your property's booking pattern, resolve that question first, since it determines which fee table even applies.
Does the spare-room exemption apply if I travel occasionally?
The spare-room exemption is meant for hosts who are living in the home while a guest occupies an extra room, not for owners who step away entirely while guests take over the full unit. Occasional short trips where you remain the resident of record and the arrangement genuinely functions as a shared home likely still fit the spirit of the exemption, but if you regularly vacate the property for the length of a guest's stay, that pattern looks more like a standard short-term rental requiring its own license.
Where do I actually apply for a Minneapolis short-term rental license?
Short-term rental licensing runs through the City of Minneapolis's Inspections Services division, part of Regulatory Services, located at the Public Service Building, 505 Fourth Avenue South, Room 510. You can reach the office directly at 612-673-3000, or call the city's general line at 311 for routing help. For written questions or documentation, the licensing email is fispermit@minneapolismn.gov, and it is a good first stop before you begin the application itself.
Do I need to post my license number anywhere?
Yes. Once your short-term rental license is issued, Minneapolis requires that the license ID be posted on your listing itself, not simply kept on file. This is one of the easiest steps to forget once a new listing goes live, since the excitement of publishing often overshadows the administrative follow-through. Building a habit of adding the license ID the same day you receive it keeps your listing compliant and avoids a scramble later if the platform or the city asks for it.
Is Minneapolis's short-term rental market the same as Saint Paul's or Richfield's?
No, and they should not be treated as interchangeable even though some figures land close together. Minneapolis's 2026 typical-year revenue was $23,433 across 1,613 listings, while neighboring Saint Paul posted $23,158 across 640 listings — numbers near enough to invite averaging, but each city has its own separate listing pool and its own ordinance. Richfield is a third, distinct market with its own figures again. Each city's regulations and market data deserve to be read on their own line, not blended together.
Should I trust a vendor's 'high regulation' label for Minneapolis?
Treat it as a directional signal, not a legal fact. Labels like 'high regulation' or cited registration percentages from AirROI-style market data are vendor classifications built from scraped listing behavior across the web, not figures pulled from the city clerk's actual licensing records. They can be useful for sizing up a market at a glance, but they should never replace a direct read of the city's ordinance or a call to Inspections Services when you need a precise, current answer.
Can I rely on this article as guidance for my specific property?
No — this piece is a plain-language restatement of Minneapolis's published short-term rental framework, not a substitute for confirming your specific situation with the city or a qualified professional. Rules can apply differently depending on your building type, ownership structure, and booking pattern, and fee figures shift on their own schedule. Use this as an orientation to the questions worth asking, then verify the current details directly with Inspections Services or the live city short-term rental page before you file or renew.
Work with Crest & Cove Creative
Minneapolis hosts, before you file anything for the season ahead, sit down with the rules as they actually stand — the 30-day line, the one-rental cap, and the. Ask for a marketing-only read of the listing.
If you want a second set of eyes on how your Minneapolis listing presents itself — description, photos, guest-facing details — Crest & Cove Creative offers a marketing audit built for hosts, not paperwork. Reach out and we will walk through what is working and what could be sharper, no legal or lending angle attached.
Reach out at crestcove.co or (256) 998-7502.
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