Rutherford County

Operating rules

Primary residence

No

Min stay (nights)

—

Max nights / year

—

Max occupancy

—

Zoning-restricted

Yes

Cap on licenses

—

Grandfathering: The county ordinance contains no STR-specific grandfathering clause (verified: no STR use exists in the ordinance). At the state layer, Tennessee's Short-Term Rental Unit Act (Tenn. Code Ann. tit. 13, ch. 7, pt. 6) generally protects STRs lawfully operating before a local prohibition takes effect; this was NOT independently verified against a fetched primary source in this pass and should be treated as unverified state-law context.

Zoning: The Rutherford County Zoning Ordinance (Appendix B Land Use Activity Table) contains NO 'short-term rental' use (verified by full-text search). Two adjacent uses are relevant. (1) 'Transient Accommodations' (defined as 'the provision of lodging services for transient guests'; Appendix B groups Hotel, Motel, Extended Stay Hotel/Motel, Commercial Campground, SRO): verbatim table row = SE(AR) N(RL) N(RM) N(RMF) N(MHP) N(OP) N(IN) N(CN) P(CS) P(CG) N(LI) N(HI) SE(VNC) N(RC) P(EAC) — i.e. not permitted in all residential districts, special exception in AR and VNC, by right only in CS, CG, EAC. (2) 'Bed & Breakfast Homestay' (owner-occupied building 'formerly a single-family dwelling'): verbatim row = P(AR) SE(RL) SE(RM) N(RMF) N(MHP) N(OP) N(IN) P(CN) N(CS) N(CG) N(LI) N(HI) P(VNC) P(RC) N(EAC); codified limits include owner-occupancy, max 4 guest rooms occupying <=50% of habitable floor area, breakfast-only meal service, and a 14-consecutive-day maximum guest stay. 'Motel' is defined as transient lodging 'rented on a less than monthly basis.' IMPORTANT INTERPRETIVE CAVEAT: the ordinance does not state that a whole-home short-term rental IS a 'Transient Accommodations' use; that classification is a Planning Department interpretation, so a specific property's zoning treatment must be confirmed with the Planning Department. No blanket countywide primary-residence rule exists, but the B&B Homestay use (the only residential-district lodging path other than a special exception) requires owner-occupancy.

• There is no dedicated county short-term-rental permit; compliance runs through (a) 5% occupancy-tax collection/remittance, (b) a $15 county business license via the County Clerk, and (c) zoning use compliance under an unwritten Planning Department classification.
• This record covers UNINCORPORATED Rutherford County only. The incorporated cities (Murfreesboro, Smyrna, La Vergne, Eagleville) have their own STR rules and their own city occupancy tax/business license (city license also $15 per the county page).
• The county STR page also lists two STATE taxes that apply to STR operators: a state business tax 'Paid yearly on gross receipts to the State of Tennessee' and 'Local and state' sales tax 'paid quarterly to the State of Tennessee'. Specific rates for these are not stated on the county page and are not reproduced here to avoid guessing.
• Whether a specific STR is 'Transient Accommodations' vs 'Bed & Breakfast Homestay' vs unaddressed is a Planning Department determination not explicitly defined in the code.