Lincoln County caps the strip between the Beaver Creek Bridge and the Alsea Bay Bridge at 26 short-term rental licenses. On January 30, 2023, the county's licensing map counted 137 there.
Lincoln County's short-term rental licensing code
Lincoln County regulates short-term rentals in unincorporated areas through its business licensing code, not its zoning code.
Region 4 has the largest cut in the county by license count
In February 2023, the county commissioners adopted Order 01-23-037. It split unincorporated Lincoln County into seven regions and set a license cap for each. Five regions sit west of Highway 101 and two sit east of it. Seal Rock's oceanside is in Region 4.
| Region | General area | Licensed rentals, Jan. 30, 2023 map | Cap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | North of the Depoe Bay Bridge | 138 | 42 |
| 2 | Depoe Bay Bridge to Yaquina Bay Bridge | 23 | 9 |
| 3 | Yaquina Bay Bridge to Beaver Creek Bridge | 40 | 5 |
| 4 | Beaver Creek Bridge to Alsea Bay Bridge | 137 | 26 |
| 5 | South of the Alsea Bay Bridge | 88 | 7 |
| 6 | East of 101, north of Highway 20 | 40 | 44, as amended in 2025 |
| 7 | East of 101, south of Highway 20 | 33 | 31, as amended in 2025 |
Region 4 started with nearly as many licensed rentals as Region 1. Its cap allows about one in five of them to remain. Measured from the 2023 map, that is a reduction of 111 licenses, the largest of any region. The Lincoln Chronicle's August 2026 report put the expected drop for this stretch at 139 rentals down to 26. The strip includes the Bayshore neighborhood north of Waldport, where the Lincoln Chronicle has reported that many houses along Oceania Drive are vacation rentals.
Countywide license numbers
The county is reaching its caps through attrition.
The countywide numbers show how fast attrition is moving. Unincorporated Lincoln County had 502 licensed vacation rentals when the regions were drawn in 2023. By the Lincoln Chronicle's August 20, 2026 report, the count was 422, and 138 property owners were on the county waiting list. The county's target is 181. That is a drop of 80 licenses in about three and a half years, with 241 still to go.
Seal Rock and the licensing regions
Seal Rock straddles the highway, and the regions follow it. Parcels east of 101 fall into Region 7, which the Lincoln Chronicle describes as running from south of Newport to the Lane County line. In March 2025, commissioners ended the moratorium on processing applications as of March 31. In the same vote, they lowered the caps in Regions 6 and 7 to their counts at the time, 44 and 31. That meant 17 licenses that had been open in those regions were never issued.
Region 4 started far above its cap. The Lincoln Chronicle reported in March 2025 that given the waiting lists west of Highway 101, new licenses there are expected to be "decades" away.
Seal Rock has no city government of its own. The county's short-term rental licensing program is administered by the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office. The incorporated cities have different rules. Yachats, Newport, Depoe Bay and Lincoln City set their own vacation rental limits, while Waldport, Siletz and Toledo do not.
The August ruling put the program on firmer footing
The caps have been in court almost since they were adopted. In 2021, voters approved a citizen ballot measure that would have phased out rentals in residential areas. The Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals struck it down in 2022 for conflicting with state land-use law. The county's own licensing ordinance stayed in place, and in February 2023 commissioners drew the seven regions.
In August 2026, a three-judge panel of the Oregon Court of Appeals ruled against the 20 rental owners who had challenged the ordinance. The panel agreed that the 2023 licensing ordinance was not a land-use decision. It also overturned a lower-court finding that three provisions were unconstitutionally vague and sent that issue back to Lincoln County circuit court. County Commissioner Casey Miller said in a statement reported by the Lincoln Chronicle that the decision "provides greater certainty that we can administer the licensing program." VIA Oregon, the group representing the owners, said it was reviewing the opinion, "including issues that may warrant a motion for reconsideration and potential review by the Oregon Supreme Court."
If you're weighing a Seal Rock or Bayshore home with a rental history, or deciding whether to sell a licensed property in Region 4, Audra Powell Homes can help. Let's Connect.
