Brainerd, MN Airbnb & Short-Term Rental Regulations 2026

Regulation Overview

Minnesota's classic lake-cabin vacation belt (Gull Lake, Pelican Lake, the Whitefish Chain) anchored by Brainerd/Baxter; most rental cabins sit in unincorporated Crow Wing County under a 2023 countywide licensing ordinance with shoreland-specific conditions.

A real countywide license with shoreland-specific conditions (setbacks, impervious surface limits, septic capacity tied to occupancy) applies, but no numeric cap or owner-occupancy requirement was confirmed.

Minnesota State Law

State preemption: None — Minnesota has no statewide STR license, permit, or registry, and no state law preempts a city or county from regulating short-term rentals through zoning or licensing; each city sets its own ordinance.

Statewide rules: No statewide STR license. State sales tax of 6.875% applies to stays under 30 days; there is no separate statewide lodging tax, but counties, cities, or special districts commonly add their own local lodging tax (often 3%-5%).

Taxes: 6.875% state sales tax + local sales tax + local lodging tax (commonly 3%-5%, varies by city/county).

2025–2026 legislation: No statewide STR preemption bill identified as passed; the legislature has generally defended local zoning authority in recent sessions rather than curtailing it — VERIFY current session activity.

Brainerd Rules

Governing jurisdiction: Crow Wing County (Planning & Zoning / Land Services) for unincorporated areas and contracting cities; individual cities (e.g., Breezy Point, Crosslake) may instead regulate independently or opt into the county's ordinance by contract..

• Crow Wing County passed a countywide Short-Term Rental Licensing Ordinance effective January 3, 2023, requiring any short-term rental within the county's planning and zoning jurisdiction (plus any city or township that contracts with the county for STR regulation) to obtain an annual license.
• The license fee is charged per advertised bedroom at $100/bedroom/year, so a 4-bedroom lake cabin would run roughly $400/year in county licensing fees alone.
• Because most of the region's classic lake cabins sit on shoreland, the ordinance layers in Shoreland Management compliance: setbacks, impervious-surface limits, and vegetative buffer requirements specific to lakeshore parcels.
• Maximum occupancy is tied to verified septic system capacity, which can meaningfully constrain how many guests an older lake cabin can legally sleep even if the structure has enough bedrooms.
• Cities and townships within Crow Wing County can either opt into county enforcement by contract or set up their own independent short-term rental regulations — so an investor should confirm which specific regime governs a given property (e.g., Breezy Point, Crosslake, Nisswa) rather than assuming the countywide ordinance automatically applies everywhere.
• The region is anchored by Brainerd and Baxter and covers the Gull Lake, Pelican Lake, and Whitefish Chain of Lakes areas, among Minnesota's best-known cabin-country vacation destinations.

Not confirmed

We could not verify the following against a primary source. Confirm each with the jurisdiction before you rely on it:

• Local lodging tax rate
• Whether there is any numeric cap on STR licenses in high-demand lake areas
• Occupancy limit specifics beyond the septic-capacity link
• Minimum stay length
• Whether the license transfers on sale

Buyer Due Diligence Checklist

Before you write an offer on a short-term rental here:

• Get a written determination from the governing jurisdiction for the specific parcel. Verbal guidance from anyone else is not diligence.
• Establish which jurisdiction governs — city, town, village and unincorporated county can differ sharply within a few miles.
• Ask whether an existing permit transfers on sale. In many markets it does not, and a listing marketed as a running short-term rental may convey nothing of the sort.
• Read the HOA or condo covenants during your inspection period. Private covenants bind even where the jurisdiction permits the use.
• Model revenue against the legal occupancy cap, not the bedroom count.

Frequently Asked Questions