Pella STR Rules: City Clerk vs Marion County
- Thomas Garner
- 3 days ago
- 5 min read
Updated: 3 days ago
Call Pella City Clerk Mandy Smith at 641-628-4173, 825 Broadway Street. Iowa Code 414.1 treats STR as residential on this pass. Confirm remaining 2026 hotel tax at Iowa DOR. Do not remesh Des Moines 240. Do not invent a Winterset year. Hosts who file a blended corridor year for Pella already mixed two halls. Keep this driveway on its own extract. The figures in this paragraph are the ones that belong on the note. Do not invent a third year and do not annualize a peak night as if it sold every night.
Typical listings earned about $20,593 on 56 listings, August 2025 through July 2026, $191 ADR, 38.7 percent occupancy, $78 RevPAR. Keep Des Moines at $16,916 on 619 listings on its own line. Hosts who file a blended corridor year for Pella already mixed two halls. Keep this driveway on its own extract. The figures in this paragraph are the ones that belong on the note. Do not invent a third year and do not annualize a peak night as if it sold every night.
Call this hall
Call Pella City Clerk at 641-628-4173. Hours change. Confirm 2026. Call the desk that actually covers the Pella parcel before you advertise. A listing scrape is not the permit file. Confirm remaining 2026 fees and tax on the live city page. Do not paste a neighbor hall onto this deed.
Do not invent a fee
If a dedicated fee was not confirmed on a primary page this pass, do not invent one. Read that line as Pella evidence, not as a metro dashboard. A neighbor year stays on its own line. If a packet still averages two towns, the underwrite is already wrong. Send the address before anyone files a blended caption.
Neighbor halls
Des Moines is another municipality. Do not ask this hall to bless that driveway. Call the desk that actually covers the Pella parcel before you advertise. A listing scrape is not the permit file. Confirm remaining 2026 fees and tax on the live city page. Do not paste a neighbor hall onto this deed.
Tax vs zoning
Ask each desk the question it owns. Read that line as Pella evidence, not as a metro dashboard. A neighbor year stays on its own line. If a packet still averages two towns, the underwrite is already wrong. Send the address before anyone files a blended caption.
Sample
56 listings. Professionally managed 21.4 percent. Superhost 78.6 percent. Read that line as Pella evidence, not as a metro dashboard. A neighbor year stays on its own line. If a packet still averages two towns, the underwrite is already wrong. Send the address before anyone files a blended caption.
Peak months are not a permit
August, May, September. February is the hole. Call the desk that actually covers the Pella parcel before you advertise. A listing scrape is not the permit file. Confirm remaining 2026 fees and tax on the live city page. Do not paste a neighbor hall onto this deed.
What to bring
Address, tax map, listing URL, 2026 questions. Read that line as Pella evidence, not as a metro dashboard. A neighbor year stays on its own line. If a packet still averages two towns, the underwrite is already wrong. Send the address before anyone files a blended caption.
Keep two years
File $20,593 on 56. Des Moines stays on its own line. Read that line as Pella evidence, not as a metro dashboard. A neighbor year stays on its own line. If a packet still averages two towns, the underwrite is already wrong. Send the address before anyone files a blended caption.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is the correct contact for a Pella short-term rental inside city limits?
For a property inside Pella's municipal boundary, call the Pella City Clerk's office at 641-628-4173, 825 Broadway Street. On this research pass, Iowa Code 414.1 treats short-term rentals as residential use, with no dedicated city STR-specific permit or license fee confirmed. This is not legal advice — hours and requirements can change, so confirm directly with the clerk before advertising a listing.
Who handles rules for a property outside Pella city limits but in Marion County?
That depends on the exact parcel location, and it's a different desk than the city clerk. Marion County's auditor is Jake Grandia, based in Knoxville, the county seat, and county-level questions about parcels outside city boundaries should route through the appropriate county office rather than Pella's own municipal clerk. This is not legal advice — confirm jurisdiction before assuming either desk is the right one.
How do I know whether my property falls under city or county rules?
Confirm your parcel's exact jurisdiction with either the Pella City Clerk or the Marion County Auditor's office in Knoxville before assuming which set of rules applies. A property just outside the municipal line can fall under different requirements than one clearly inside city limits. This is not legal advice — a quick jurisdiction check up front avoids advertising under the wrong assumption.
Is there a confirmed dedicated STR permit fee in Pella?
Not on this research pass — no dedicated city STR-specific conditional use permit or license fee was confirmed for properties inside Pella city limits. That does not mean no rules apply; generally applicable health and safety codes still govern the property. This is not legal advice, and fee schedules can be added or changed, so confirm current status directly with the city.
Does a listing scrape like AirROI count as a permit record?
No. A revenue and occupancy extract, even one covering 56 active Pella listings, says nothing about which of those listings hold valid permits or are properly registered with the city or county. This is not legal advice. Treat market data and permit compliance as two entirely separate questions that need separate sources to answer.
What should a host bring to a call with the city or county office?
Bring the property's street address, tax map or parcel information, and the listing URL if one already exists. Having those details ready lets the clerk or auditor's office answer the jurisdiction and permit questions specific to that parcel rather than giving general guidance that may not apply. This is not legal advice — write down the answer and the date it was confirmed for your own records.
Does the state hotel tax apply the same way to city and county properties?
The state hotel and motel tax rate of 5 percent applies broadly, but any additional local hotel tax should be confirmed with the Iowa Department of Revenue for the specific jurisdiction the property sits in, since city and county rates can differ. This is not tax advice — confirm the current combined rate for your exact parcel before setting rates or filing returns. Because city and county rates can be layered differently, a host should get the combined figure in writing rather than assuming the state rate alone covers every applicable tax.
What records should a host keep after confirming jurisdiction and requirements?
Keep a written or emailed record of who was contacted, at which office, on what date, and what was confirmed about permits, fees, and jurisdiction. This is not legal advice, but a dated record protects a host if a requirement is disputed later or if staff at either office changes. Revisit that confirmation periodically, since municipal and county rules can be updated without much public notice.
Related Reading
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