RuleGridTexas · Austin
Austin
Short-term rentals are legal in Austin but every owner/operator must hold a City STR operating license, applied for by type (Type 1 owner-occupied single-family; Type 2 residential/commercial non-owner-occupied; Type 3 multi-family). Following the City's 2025 ordinance overhaul, STRs are permitted as an accessory use to all residential uses in all zoning districts citywide (adopted Feb 2025), and as of October 2025 licenses are valid for two years, the Certificate of Occupancy/insurance requirements were removed, and tenants (not just owners) may operate; the earlier Type-2 phase-out ban had already been struck down as unconstitutional in Zaatari v. City of Austin (Tex. App. 3d Dist. 2019, 615 S.W.3d 172). Lodging tax is 17% total: 6% Texas state HOT plus Austin's 11% city HOT (9% occupancy + 2% venue project tax); since April 1, 2025 booking platforms must collect and remit the city HOT on operators' behalf while operators still report quarterly. Per-site unit caps apply (up to two units on single-family sites; the greater of one unit or 25% on mixed-use sites and 10% on multi-family sites). All confirmed verbatim against austintexas.gov and comptroller.texas.gov on 2026-07-11.
Not legal advice. Last verified 2026-07-11 · sources linked below.
Requirements checklist
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city Short-Term Rental (STR) Operating License Required
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city City of Austin Hotel Occupancy Tax registration/reporting Required
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state Texas Hotel Occupancy Tax registration (Comptroller) Required
Taxes
| Tax | Rate | Administered by | Airbnb remits | Vrbo remits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texas State Hotel Occupancy Tax | 6% | Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts | — | — |
| City of Austin Hotel Occupancy Tax | 11% | City of Austin (Financial Services / Hotel Occupancy Tax) | — | — |
Lodging-tax estimator
Estimate the combined transient/lodging tax (~17.0%) on a stay in Austin. Estimate only — not tax advice.
Operating rules
- Primary residence
- No
- Min stay (nights)
- —
- Max nights / year
- —
- Max occupancy
- —
- Zoning-restricted
- No
- Cap on licenses
- No citywide numeric license cap identified; instead per-site unit caps apply: single-family sites up to two STR units per site (additional units elsewhere if 1,000+ ft apart); mixed-use sites (4+ residential units plus commercial) the greater of one unit or 25% of units; multi-family residential sites the greater of one unit or 10% of units. Confirmed on the official City STR page 2026-07-11.
Grandfathering: Historical: the pre-2019 ordinance phased out Type 2 STRs; that ban was declared void in Zaatari (2019) before taking full effect, and the 2025 ordinance now permits non-owner-occupied STRs citywide with a license.
Zoning: As of the February 2025 ordinance, STRs are permitted as an additional (accessory) use to all residential uses in all zoning districts within Austin's full- and limited-purpose jurisdiction, provided a valid operating license is held. This reversed the prior regime that barred Type 2 (non-owner-occupied) STRs in single-family/residential zones. Confirmed verbatim on the official City STR page 2026-07-11. (Note: some third-party sources still describe Type 2 as restricted to commercial/mixed-use zones; the official City page states all zoning districts.)
- Type 1 = owner-occupied single-family; Type 2 = non-owner-occupied (residential and commercial variants); Type 3 = multi-family residential buildings. The City still issues licenses under these three types as of the October 2025 rollout.
- October 2025 changes extended license validity to two years, removed prior Certificate of Occupancy/insurance requirements, and allowed tenants (not just owners) to operate.
- Effective July 1, 2026, booking platforms must add license-display fields and remove unlicensed listings.
- The Zaatari v. City of Austin decision (Tex. App. 3d Dist., Nov. 27, 2019, 615 S.W.3d 172) struck the Type-2 ban as unconstitutionally retroactive.
Enforcement
- Active enforcement
- yes
- Fines
- —
- Notes
- Austin operates a licensed-STR program administered by Development Services/Code with mandatory (now biennial) licensing and quarterly HOT reporting; unlicensed operation and unpaid HOT are enforceable. As of July 1, 2026, platforms must remove unlicensed listings. HOT late-filing penalties are stated on the official page: 5% penalty on late filing, an additional 5% at 61 days past due, plus 10% annual interest. No specific per-violation STR-license fine amount was found on an official City page (fines_summary left null rather than fabricated); confirm against the City Code / Development Services enforcement materials before publishing a figure.
Recent rule changes
- Austin moves to two-year STR licenses after a 2025 overhaul
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Frequently asked questions
Is Airbnb legal in Austin?
Do I need a license or registration for a short-term rental in Austin?
What taxes apply to short-term rentals in Austin?
Official sources
- gov_program Short-Term Rentals | Austin Development Services ↗
- gov_tax Hotel Occupancy Taxes | Austin Financial Services ↗
- gov_tax Hotel Occupancy Taxes FAQ | Austin Financial Services ↗
- gov_tax Hotel Occupancy Tax | Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts ↗
- gov_reference US Census Geocoder — Austin city GEOID 4805000 / Travis County 48453 / TX 48 ↗
- case_law Zaatari v. City of Austin, 615 S.W.3d 172 (Tex. App. 2019) ↗
Informational summary of publicly available sources; not legal advice. Verify against the linked official sources.