Portage

Yes, and there is no City of Portage permit, license, or registration to obtain. Portage has not adopted a short-term rental ordinance, so renting a whole home for stays of 30 days or less is generally treated as an ordinary residential use of the property.^[1]

The zoning code does define a short-term rental dwelling as a dwelling leased or rented for 30 days or less, but it stops there: the term is not listed as a separate permitted or special land use in any residential district, and the city neither caps the number of STRs nor requires hosts to apply for anything.^[1] The single explicit restriction is that an accessory dwelling unit, a secondary unit such as a basement apartment or backyard cottage, may not be used as a short-term rental, and that prohibition applies to both the ADU and the principal house on the same lot.^[2]

Because the code is silent rather than affirmatively permissive, the safest move before closing on a property you intend to operate as an STR is a written zoning verification from the Zoning and Codes Administrator. The pending Unified Development Ordinance could also add STR rules, so confirm the current position rather than relying on today’s silence.^[12]

Short-term rentals can operate in any of Portage’s residential zoning districts, because the city treats them as a residential use of the dwelling and does not restrict them district by district.^[1] Portage’s residential districts are the one-family districts R-1A, R-1B, R-1C and R-1D, the attached and townhouse district R-1T, the multifamily districts RM-1 and RM-2, and the manufactured home community district MHC; residential units are also permitted within several mixed-use districts.^[1]

Occupancy is governed by the zoning code’s definition of family, which uses a functional single-housekeeping-unit test rather than a fixed numeric cap on the number of unrelated occupants.^[1] To confirm a specific parcel’s zoning, use the city’s FetchGIS map viewer or the BS&A property lookup, and check the official Zoning Map.^[11]

Your City of Portage cost to operate a standard short-term rental is $0. No STR permit or registration fee exists, because the city has no STR program.^[1] The only city fee in this area applies if you instead pursue the bed and breakfast route: a special land use permit costs $374.^[7]

At the state level, short stays, meaning rooms or lodging rented for one month or less, are subject to Michigan’s 6% use tax. The host is responsible for registering with the Michigan Department of Treasury and for collecting and remitting the tax, although booking platforms such as Airbnb may collect it on your behalf, so verify your obligations directly.^[13]

On penalties: because there is no STR ordinance, enforcement runs through Portage’s general codes. Operating in violation of zoning, exceeding the noise limits, or failing property-maintenance standards is handled as a municipal civil infraction, and unresolved property conditions can trigger nuisance-abatement cost recovery: the documented cost of the work plus a $385 administrative fee and $71 per hour of staff time, which can be placed on the tax roll if unpaid.^[7]

If you will live on-site and host overnight guests, Portage’s clearest sanctioned path is a bed and breakfast, which the zoning code treats as a recognized use rather than leaving it in the short-term-rental gray area.^[3] The code defines a bed and breakfast as an owner-occupied use subordinate to a single-family residence: it must be the operator’s primary residence, rent no more than 10 rooms, and serve breakfast to guests.^[3]

Where it is allowed depends on the district. In the one-family districts (R-1A through R-1D) a bed and breakfast is a special land use, which means Planning Commission review and approval; in the RM-1 and RM-2 multifamily districts it is a principal permitted use by right.^[3] Key conditions in the one-family districts: the use must occupy a pre-existing one-family residence, sit at least 500 feet from any other bed and breakfast, and abut a major or collector thoroughfare.^[3] The special land use permit fee is $374, and you apply using the city’s Special Land Use Application.^[7]

The rule a short-term rental is most likely to run into is Portage’s noise ordinance, which caps sound at residential property at 55 dB(A) during the day (7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.) and 50 dB(A) overnight (10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m.), the standard a guest’s late-night gathering would violate.^[6]

Every rental dwelling must also meet the 2021 International Property Maintenance Code, which Portage has adopted by reference and which sets minimum standards for the structure, heating, plumbing, electrical systems, ventilation, and sanitation.^[5] Portage does not inspect rentals proactively; enforcement is complaint-driven through the Community Development Neighborhood Services and code-enforcement team, and concerns are reported by property address through the city’s online reporting tool.^[10]

One related item to check: if your operation crosses into running a business from the dwelling, the home-occupation rules in Sec. 42-129 distinguish permit-free passive home occupations from active ones that require a $170 permit.^[4]

The most important pending change for Portage rental investors is the Unified Development Ordinance (UDO), a full rewrite of the city’s zoning, subdivision, and condominium codes that was moving through Planning Commission public hearings in spring 2026.^[12] The UDO is being done in two phases, residential standards first and commercial and mixed-use second, and the city has said it intends to complete the project later in 2026.^[12]

As of this guide’s verification date, Portage still has no short-term rental ordinance, but a comprehensive code rewrite is exactly the moment a city can introduce STR registration, caps, or district restrictions. If you are underwriting a short-term-rental purchase in Portage, track the UDO’s progress and confirm the current rules with Planning and Zoning before you close.^[8]