Where short-term rentals are allowed in Seaside, OR
Seaside treats a short-term rental as an accessory use of a home, whether a personal residence or a second home. Every new license brings annual compliance inspections. A local contact living in Clatsop County answers complaints within 2 hours.[3]
Every rule below links to the official source it comes from, verified October 2, 2026.
Can you rent short term in Seaside?
Your zoning decides
What you apply for: Short-term rental license
- Seasonal homes
- 1,239
- Housing units
- 5,077
- Residents
- 7,192
U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 ACS 5-year estimates
- City ruleAllowed by zone
- City fee$500
- Tax on each stay14.5%
- Seasonal homes244 per 1,000
Seaside short-term rental license
Any stay of less than 30 days in Seaside needs a short-term rental license. Vacation rental dwellings are licensed only in mapped areas, from Sunset Blvd. near Tillamook Head to the Necanicum River estuary. Inside them, a density limit of 30%, 50% or 100% applies within 100 feet. The application and inspection fee is $500, never refunded. An annual business license follows, priced by occupancy from $475 to $550. Occupancy is 3 people per bedroom, capped at 10, or 12 with fire sprinklers.[2]
What Seaside asks of you
A dwelling unit, rooms in one, or a guest house rented for less than 30 days is a short-term rental under Seaside's ordinance.[2]
Ordinance 2024-04, adopted June 10, 2024, moved short-term rentals out of the zoning ordinance and into business licensing.[4]
The city's page lists one later amendment to Chapter 120, Ordinance 2025-01, approved February 25, 2025 and in effect from March 25, 2025.[3]
The mapped areas run from Sunset Blvd. near Tillamook Head north to the Necanicum River estuary. Vacation rental dwellings are licensed nowhere else.[2]
Within 100 feet of the property, licensed vacation rentals may not exceed 30% of tax lots in the R2 and R3 zones. The limit is 50% on the west side of Beach Drive.[4]
Oceanfront properties and the RR zone are set at 100%, which means no density limit.[4]
The city approves one short-term rental business license per owner or ownership.[3]
The application and inspection fee is $500, due at submittal, with no refund. An inspection outside an application costs $100.[2]
A vacation rental dwelling then needs an annual business license. It costs $475 for 1 to 5 occupants, $500 for 6 to 10, $550 for 11 or more.[5]
A new vacation rental dwelling waits 90 days between approval and license, unless the property was licensed in the prior 30 days. Areas at 100% density skip the wait.[2]
In a newly built house, a vacation rental dwelling may not apply until two years after the certificate of occupancy.[2]
The license is void once the property changes hands. New owners get 90 days to honor existing bookings, with no new ones taken.[2]
Short-term rentals are barred on properties with an accessory dwelling unit. Apartment buildings not held as condominiums are excluded too.[2]
The occupancy limit is 3 people per bedroom and 10 in total, raised to 12 with an automatic fire sprinkler system.[2]
Parking means two off-street spaces, plus one per bedroom beyond two.[3]
Guests of a vacation rental dwelling may not park on the street.[2]
A homestay must be the owner's residence, occupied by the owner during the stay. It may hold two rentable units at most.[2]
Fines are $250 for a first offense, then $500 with a 6-month suspension. A third offense within a year brings $1,000 and revocation.[2]
What Oregon asks wherever you host
These rules apply at this address whatever the city decides.
Oregon keeps no state license or registry of short-term rentals. Hosts open a transient lodging tax account with the state instead, through Revenue Online.[1]
The state tax is 1.5% of the rent through December 31, 2026, and 2.75% from January 1, 2027. Receipts must call the added 1.25% a nature conservation fee.[1]
Whoever collects the payment for a stay must collect and remit the state tax. That is the host, or a booking platform acting as intermediary.[1]
What a guest pays on top of your nightly rate in Seaside
Each layer is set by a different authority, and not all of them are collected by the platform.
| Layer | Rate | Remitted to |
|---|---|---|
| Oregon state transient lodging tax[1] | 1.5% | The state revenue department |
| Clatsop County transient room tax[7] | 3% | The county |
| Seaside transient room tax[6] | 10% | The city |
| Total on a taxable stay | 14.5% |
The county-wide tax rose from 1% to 3% on January 1, 2026. Collectors register with the county's Assessment and Taxation office, which receives the county tax.[7]
Airbnb taxes for hostsWhat the census counts
How much of Seaside is already a second home
The Census Bureau counts 1,239 of Seaside's 5,077 homes as vacant for seasonal, recreational or occasional use. That is 244 out of every 1,000. It ranks Seaside 2nd of the 4 Oregon cities on this site for the share of its housing stock kept for part-year use.
- Rank in the state
- 2nd of 4
- Share of housing
- 244 per 1,000
- Median home value
- $459,500
U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 ACS 5-year estimates, tables B25004, B25001, B01003 and B25077.
Nearby and comparable
Where Seaside sits among its neighbors
Lincoln City, OR
Capped
2,328 seasonal homes, 324 per 1,000 housing units.
Lincoln City short-term rental rulesBend, OR
Permit required
2,096 seasonal homes, 44 per 1,000 housing units.
Bend short-term rental rulesPortland, OR
Permit required
2,186 seasonal homes, 7 per 1,000 housing units.
Portland short-term rental rulesShow Low, AZ
Permit required
2,296 seasonal homes, 296 per 1,000 housing units.
Show Low short-term rental rulesFAQ
Seaside short-term rental questions
Where can I run a vacation rental in Seaside?
How many short-term rental licenses can I hold in Seaside?
What does a Seaside short-term rental application cost?
Can I rent an ADU short term in Seaside?
Sources
- Transient Lodging Tax, Oregon Department of Revenue, read on October 2, 2026
- Short Term Rental Ordinance, Ordinance No. 2024-04, Chapter 120 of the Code of Ordinances, City of Seaside, read on October 1, 2026
- Short Term Rental Application and Information, City of Seaside, read on October 2, 2026
- VRD Ordinance Amendment, City of Seaside, read on October 2, 2026
- Application and Business License Fees, City of Seaside, read on October 1, 2026
- Transient Room Taxes, City of Seaside, read on October 1, 2026
- County-wide 3% transient room tax, Clatsop County, read on October 1, 2026
This page is not legal advice. It summarizes the official sources listed on this page as they read on October 2, 2026. Rules can change after that date, so check with the issuing office before you apply or publish a listing.
Before you list
Free tools for new hosts
Short-term rental agreement generator
Parties, dates, rent, deposit checked against your state's cap, and the house rules clauses you enforce. A signed-ready PDF for direct and Vrbo bookings.
Airbnb host fee calculator
What Airbnb takes on a booking under the 15.5% host-only fee or the old split fee, what the guest pays on top, and the payout that reaches you.
Airbnb profit calculator
Nightly rate, occupancy, Airbnb fee, management, mortgage, taxes and depreciation. You get cash flow, cash-on-cash return and what is left after the IRS.
Airbnb cleaning checklist generator
Build a printable turnover checklist by room, with restock, photos to take and a place for the cleaner to sign. Free PDF, no sign-up.