Short-Term Rental Laws in Davenport, Iowa

Davenport permits STRs across all residential and mixed-use zones with registration. The Quad Cities metro (Davenport + Bettendorf, IA + Rock Island + Moline + East Moline, IL) operates as a cross-state market — Iowa-side cities (Davenport, Bettendorf) are more STR-permissive than the Illinois-side (which falls under Illinois municipal regulation). The downtown Mississippi riverfront and the Village of East Davenport are the most-developed STR submarkets. Properties in flood-zone overlays face additional building-code requirements.

Operators must hold a short-term rental permit before listing. See the official permit portal.

Davenport Community Planning + Economic Development administers the STR registration program. Annual renewal. Required: STR registration + Iowa Hotel/Motel Tax registration + standard business license. Operating without registration: administrative fines + back-tax assessment + stop-rental authority. Bettendorf (adjacent Iowa-side suburb) operates its own separate registration framework — confirm which city's jurisdiction the parcel falls within. Enforcement is primarily complaint-driven.

Combined short-term lodging tax in Davenport is approximately 12.000% of gross nightly revenue (state sales + state TRT + local TRT + applicable resort/city options).

Iowa State sales 6% + Scott County local option 1% + Davenport Hotel/Motel Tax 7% — combined ~12.0% on transient lodging

Verify the current combined rate via the Utah State Tax Commission before remitting — rates drift quarterly.