Can You Get a DSCR Loan on a Duplex You'll Airbnb One Side Of?
Yes, most DSCR lenders will finance a duplex where you Airbnb one unit and rent the other long-term — but they underwrite each side separately, using STR comps for the short-term unit and a lease or market rent schedule for the other. The combined number is what drives your ratio, not either side alone.
NightYield Editorial
STR-DSCR research & underwriting desk
Published 2026-07-04
Why the two units don't get treated the same
A DSCR loan qualifies the property on projected rental income, not your personal income. When a duplex has a split use case — one side short-term, one side long-term (or owner-occupied) — the lender can't just apply one income methodology to the whole building.
For the STR side, expect the same tools used on any single-unit STR deal: a market rent report pulling comparable short-term listings nearby, adjusted for bedroom count, seasonality, and local caps if they exist. For the long-term side, it's simpler — either an existing lease, or a standard rent schedule (like a Fannie Mae Form 1007-style estimate) if it's vacant or about to be re-tenanted.
If you plan to live in one side yourself, most DSCR programs won't count owner-occupied space as income at all — that unit contributes zero to the ratio, and only the Airbnb'd unit's projected revenue counts. That can make a duplex house-hack meaningfully harder to get over 1.0x than a duplex where both sides are rented out.
What actually trips these deals up
- Not every DSCR lender does mixed-use duplex underwriting — some only want to see one income methodology per property, which pushes you toward lenders who specifically support split-use multi-unit deals.
- Local short-term rental rules apply per-unit in some cities, not per-building — confirm the STR side is actually legal to rent nightly before you bank on that income. Check /short-term-rental-laws/ for your market.
- If you're owner-occupying one side, some lenders reclassify the whole loan as owner-occupied financing, which usually means conventional underwriting instead of DSCR — ask this up front, not at underwriting.
Key takeaways
- Each unit is underwritten on its own income methodology — STR comps for the Airbnb'd side, lease or rent schedule for the other.
- Owner-occupied space typically counts as zero income, which can hurt your ratio versus renting both sides out.
- Confirm the lender explicitly supports split-use duplex deals before you get deep into the process — not all of them do.