STRWATCH.AI / TX / Austin

Is a short-term rental legal in Austin, TX?

REGULATED

Austin defines short-term rentals as housing rented for fewer than 30 consecutive days and allows them in full- and limited-purpose Austin with an operator's license.

See permits and requirements

Sources checked11 open items listed below

The current city program page allows hosted and unhosted STRs as an accessory use to residential uses in all zoning districts, conditional on licensing, within Austin's full- and limited-purpose jurisdictions. It states tenants may operate with landlord permission; an individual may operate up to two STR units on a small site, with additional sites at least 1,000 feet apart; and the larger-site caps are the greater of one unit or 25% for mixed-use sites and 10% for multifamily residential sites. It defines STRs as residences rented for fewer than 30 consecutive days and lists noise limits of 75 dB at the property line from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., no amplified sound audible beyond the property line from 10 p.m. to 10 a.m., and no noise audible to an adjacent business or residence from 10:30 p.m. to 7 a.m. No citywide numeric guest cap was established by the sources fetched in this audit. Private HOA, deed, or lease restrictions were not independently researched. Austin city hotel tax applies only in the full-purpose jurisdiction; limited-purpose properties still require an STR license, while ETJ properties require neither the city STR license nor city HOT under the current city program guidance. Section 4-23-31 treats qualifying all-individual trusts and LLCs as individuals and applies spacing across those entities. Part 3 protects licenses valid September 30, 2025 from new eligibility requirements if renewed at least 30 days before expiry; failure to renew an existing or subsequent license, or revocation, ends protection. The STR definition excludes short extensions of existing 30-day-or-longer agreements and rentals between the parties to a sale of that housing unit.

Permits and requirements

STR Operator's License $836.30 new ($789 license fee + $47.30 notification fee, FY2026)
City of Austin Development Services Department (Code Compliance)
Renewal: Valid for a maximum of two years under Section 4-23-32(C); renewal may be submitted within 60 days before expiration. Current posted renewal fee: $385.30 ($338 renewal fee plus $47.30 notification fee). A one-time 30-day extension is discretionary. Protected September 30, 2025 licenses must renew at least 30 days before expiry under Part 3.
Required before operating or advertising; one license per unit; non-transferable; license number required in advertisements. Application includes a safety self-certification checklist, platform and local-contact information, and owner authorization for lessee applicants. The director may require a third-party safety inspection where the unit had a state-law or City Code violation in the prior 24 months. The city page says a Certificate of Occupancy and proof of insurance are no longer required. Fees are non-refundable. Current application instructions require government ID, tenancy proof if applicable and notarized owner authorization for non-owner applicants. Section 4-23-41 also requires lessee utility-payment proof. Section 4-23-34(B) requires information updates within five days; city guidance says three business days for local-contact changes, an unresolved discrepancy.
official source
Local contact designation Cost not verified
City of Austin Development Services Department (City Code §4-23-33)
Every operator must designate an individual local contact present within Travis, Williamson, Hays, Bastrop, or Caldwell County, authorized to make decisions and resolve emergencies. The contact must respond within two hours and be present at the STR within two hours if requested by a City employee. The operator may serve as contact. The City notifies properties within 100 feet.
official source
City Hotel Occupancy Tax reporting (Austin Finance Online account) Cost not verified
City of Austin Financial Services
Renewal: Quarterly reports due the last day of the month following each quarter (Apr 30, Jul 31, Oct 31, Jan 31); next business day if a weekend or holiday
Operators must file quarterly HOT reports even though platforms have been required to collect and remit city HOT on bookings since April 1, 2025, and even for zero-activity quarters. Operators using a platform must report how much HOT each platform collected on their behalf. Proof of HOT payment is required at license renewal for operators not using a platform to collect payments (§4-23-42(A)(4)). City taxable charges include cleaning, reservation and pet-related fees. Retain reports and exemption documentation; receipts must disclose the separate 2% venue-project tax as described on the tax page.
official source
State Hotel Occupancy Tax collection/remittance Cost not verified
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts (Tax Code Ch. 156)
Renewal: Monthly (due the 20th of the following month) or quarterly if qualified
The 6% state HOT applies to residential STRs (houses, condos, apartments) costing $15 or more per day. A platform collects and remits state HOT only if it has an agreement with the owner to do so; otherwise the owner must collect and remit directly to the Comptroller (Comptroller Hotel Tax FAQ). State HOT is remitted separately from city HOT. Direct/non-collecting-platform operators use the Comptroller account process (Form AP-102); exclusively collecting-platform hosts need not collect/remit state HOT themselves. Permanent-resident exemption requires at least 30 consecutive days: prior written notice allows exemption from notification, while without notice the first 30 days remain taxable. Interruption defeats exemption.
official source
Guest information and operating standards Cost not verified
City of Austin (§§4-23-34 and 4-23-41)
Provide every guest the City information packet and fire-extinguisher locations. The packet covers local contact, noise, parking, trash collection, burn bans, water restrictions and applicable accessibility requirements; city guidance requires a conspicuous common-area copy. Partial-unit rentals must provide exclusive use of a bedroom and shared use of a full bathroom. Units must be habitable and operators must implement imposed mitigation requirements. Noise limits are stated in the legality notes; address-specific parking and building-code requirements remain to be checked.
official source

The full picture

Austin defines short-term rentals as housing rented for fewer than 30 consecutive days and allows them in full- and limited-purpose Austin with an operator's license. STRs are an accessory use to residential uses in all zoning districts. Operators may own or lease the unit; an individual may operate up to two STR units on a site of three or fewer units, with additional sites at least 1,000 feet apart, while sites with four or more units allow the greater of one unit or 25% of the units the operator owns or leases if the site includes commercial use, or the greater of one unit or 10% without commercial use. Qualifying licenses valid September 30, 2025 have renewal-based eligibility protections. Current posted fees are $836.30 new and $385.30 renewal; licenses last up to two years and are non-transferable. A local contact in the five-county Austin metro must respond within two hours. Platforms collect Austin hotel occupancy tax; effective July 1, 2026 they must require license numbers and remove an unlicensed listing within 10 days of a City notice. Chapter 4-23 violations are daily offenses punishable by up to $500 without proof of culpable mental state.

Taxes on guests & hosts

TaxRateApplies toPlatform collectsOfficial source
Texas State Hotel Occupancy Tax 6% Taxable sleeping accommodations costing $15 or more per day, including houses, condos and apartments. Permanent-resident exemption requires at least 30 consecutive days; prior written notice governs when exemption begins, so the first 30 days may remain taxable without notice. Not verified source
City of Austin Hotel Occupancy Tax 11% (9% occupancy tax + 2% venue project tax) Taxable lodging within Austin's full-purpose jurisdiction. STRs in the limited-purpose jurisdiction and extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ) are not subject to City of Austin HOT. Licensing still applies in the limited-purpose jurisdiction. Includes amounts for use, cleaning and readying the room, subject to exemptions. Yes source

Enforcement

PenaltiesCity Code Chapter 4-23 makes each day a separate offense, punishable by a fine up to $500 without proof of a culpable mental state. The director may revoke for life/health/safety threats, nuisance status, failure to follow mitigation or compliance plans, local-contact nonresponse, or erroneous issuance, with notice and a pre-revocation conference except in specified cases. New-license disqualification periods are six months after ordinary revocation and twelve months for a nuisance property or its operator, subject to the ordinance's exceptions. Written appeals are due within 10 days of the director’s action; while revocation, renewal-denial or nuisance appeals are pending, pre-existing bookings may be honored but no new bookings accepted (§4-23-3). City HOT late penalties are 5%, another 5% on day 61, and 10% annual interest beginning day 61.
Platform liabilityEffective July 1, 2026, platforms must require license numbers in Austin STR advertisements, remove a listing within 10 days after a compliant City delist notice, provide users at least quarterly documentation of hotel taxes collected, and may not accept a booking fee for an unlicensed STR. Compliance with the license-field and delisting sections creates a presumption of compliance with the fee prohibition. The city page separately confirms mandatory platform collection and remittance of Austin HOT.
NotesThe current city page directs complaints to Austin 3-1-1, states that the city began requesting removal of unlicensed properties from platforms July 1, 2026, and allows continued rental while a complete paid renewal is queued. The April 30, 2026 DSD memo reports enforcement activity and program statistics.

Proposals and updates on record

Statuses reflect the review date above. A listed date may have passed; check the linked source for the current status.

  • An April 30, 2026 staff memo discussed possible STR fee reductions through the FY2027 budget and recommended against a provisional license. Subsequent budget disposition was not verified; this is a dated watch item, not an enacted fee change. — Proposed, FY2027 budget process [official]

What we could not verify (11)

  • The Zaatari opinion and current case-specific enforcement effects were not verified from an official court source; no holding is asserted here.
  • No numeric guest/occupancy cap appears anywhere in the replaced Chapter 4-23 (full 18-page executed ordinance reviewed), so max_guests is null; confirm no generally applicable occupancy limit elsewhere in the Property Maintenance Code applies to STRs.
  • Codified City Code text on library.municode.com could not be fetched (HTTP 403); this profile relies on the executed ordinance PDF (Ord. 20250911-012). Confirm Municode codification matches, including any renumbering.
  • Whether a specific platform (Airbnb, Vrbo, etc.) collects the 6% STATE hotel tax for a given Austin host depends on that platform's agreement with the owner (Comptroller FAQ); collectedByPlatform for the state tax is therefore null — hosts must confirm per platform and remit directly if not collected.
  • HB 2767 (89R) official history ends at Calendars on April 25, 2025 without enactment. That single bill does not establish absence of other state preemption; broader current-law and special-session effects remain unresolved.
  • Current state preemption and related litigation, including any Texas Regulatory Consistency Act effects, remain unresolved; no conclusion about those effects is asserted.
  • Directly read city program text confirms no Austin license or Austin HOT in the ETJ, and licensing without Austin HOT in limited-purpose areas. An address-specific jurisdiction lookup remains necessary.
  • New-license fee of $836.30 reflects the FY2026 fee schedule ($789 + $47.30); the fee is set by separate ordinance annually and may change in the FY2027 budget.
  • City program has stale annual/one-year wording alongside explicit October 2025 two-year changes and renewal guidance. The executed ordinance permits a maximum two-year term; confirm the expiry on the license.
  • Local-contact update deadline conflicts: city guidance says three business days, executed law five days for application-information updates. Confirm with the City.
  • HOA, deed, lease, property-specific parking and general building/occupancy requirements were not established for any individual property.

Sources

A markdown mirror of this page lives at /austin-tx.md for AI tools and researchers.

STRWatch publishes educational information about short-term rental regulation, checked against the official sources linked above as of the date shown. It is not legal advice, and rules change — a city can move between the times we check it. For decisions with money at stake, confirm with the authority linked above or a local attorney.