Short-term rental rules for Seattle ADUs
Seattle's STR ordinance, how it applies to ADUs and DADUs, and the licensing math for owners considering Airbnb instead of long-term rental.
The two-license rule
Seattle's short-term rental ordinance limits an operator to two STR licenses citywide. One must be the operator's primary residence; the other can be any second dwelling unit the operator owns in the city — which is where ADUs and DADUs come in.
If you live in your primary house and own a DADU on the same lot, you can license the DADU as your second STR. If you already operate an Airbnb in a separate property elsewhere in Seattle, the DADU does not qualify because you have hit the two-license cap.
Sources:City of Seattle
License, fees, and compliance
Each STR unit requires a city-issued short-term rental operator license (annually renewable) plus a regulatory license. Combined fees run roughly $260/year per unit. The unit must carry $1M of liability insurance and post the license number in every listing.
The city also collects an STR-specific tax of $14 per night per bedroom (capped at $4 in some classifications), in addition to standard lodging tax. That tax is the single biggest economic factor that closes the gap between STR and long-term rental yield.
The yield comparison, with real numbers
A well-staged 1-bedroom DADU in Ballard or Capitol Hill achieves $185–$245 average daily rate at 65–72% occupancy. Gross monthly revenue: $3,600–$5,300. Net of taxes, fees, cleaning, and the platform cut, the operator-realized number lands $2,800–$3,900/month.
The same unit rents long-term at $2,400–$2,800/month with effectively zero turnover labor. STR therefore wins by $400–$1,100/month — meaningful but smaller than most owners assume going in, and it comes with substantially more operational overhead.
