Minneapolis, MN Airbnb & Short-Term Rental Regulations 2026

Regulation Overview

Minnesota's largest city, with year-round convention, sports (Twins/Vikings/Timberwolves), and Mall of America-adjacent tourism demand; STRs are legal citywide with a lighter registration path for owner-occupied homes and a full rental license for investment units.

STRs are allowed citywide with no confirmed cap or owner-occupancy mandate — owner-occupied hosts use a lighter registration while non-owner-occupied units need a standard tiered rental license, and no zone bans or caps were found.

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.

Minneapolis Rules

Governing jurisdiction: City of Minneapolis.

• Minneapolis allows short-term rentals citywide as of 2026, splitting operators into two tracks: a lighter Short-Term Rental registration for owner-occupied (homesteaded) properties, and a full Rental License for non-owner-occupied investment properties.
• Homesteaded STR registration runs roughly $46-50/year, while non-homesteaded STR fees run roughly $70-175/year depending on the specific fee tier.
• Standard rental license fees, which apply to non-owner-occupied STR properties, are tiered by building size, e.g., a 1-3 unit Tier 1 building runs roughly $98 plus about $41 per unit.
• No numeric citywide cap on STR licenses or units was identified in this research.
• Minneapolis-area cities take very different approaches: neighboring Bloomington bans all short-term rentals under 30 days citywide with no zoning district permitting the use, illustrating how much STR legality varies block-to-block across the Twin Cities metro even though Minneapolis itself is permissive.
• Minnesota has no statewide STR preemption law, so Minneapolis' relatively permissive approach is a local policy choice, not a state mandate, and could change via City Council action.

Not confirmed

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

• Local Minneapolis lodging/entertainment tax rate applicable to STRs
• Occupancy limits and minimum stay length
• Whether a license/registration transfers on sale
• Any zoning-district-specific restrictions

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