1. Do I need a license?
Yes — if you rent any residence (whole home, ADU, spare room) for less than 30 consecutive days inside Austin city limits, you need an STR operating license from Austin Development Services. Since February 2025, STRs are allowed as an accessory use in every zoning district — the old zoning-type restrictions are gone. Since the September 2025 overhaul, even tenants can apply, if their lease allows it.
2. What does an Austin STR license cost?
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| New license (incl. $47.30 notification fee) | $836.30 |
| Renewal (incl. notification fee) | $385.30 |
| License term | 2 years |
| Operating unlicensed | Up to $500 per day, per offense |
Ready to actually apply? We wrote a separate step-by-step application walkthrough — documents, portal, processing times. Applications go through the city's online portal. You'll need: proof of property ownership (or lease authorization), a self-certified safety checklist (smoke/CO detectors, etc.), Hotel Occupancy Tax registration, and a qualifying local contact (see #4). Renew at least 30 days before expiration — miss it and you may have to re-qualify under the new eligibility rules.
Yes, the fee is the highest of any major Texas city — Houston is $308/year, San Antonio as low as $100/year. That's what our current fight is about.
3. Who can operate where? The density rules
Adopted September 2025, effective October 2025 — these mostly affect new licenses; existing licenses were grandfathered as long as they stay valid and ownership doesn't change:
- Small sites (1–3 units): STR licenses limited to individual owners (not LLCs with corporate structures designed to stack properties), max 2 STRs per lot, and an individual's STRs must be at least 1,000 feet apart.
- Apartment complexes: up to 10% of units may be STRs.
- Mixed-use buildings: up to 25% of units.
If you hold a license today, guard it. Grandfathered status survives renewal — but not a lapse or a revocation.
4. The local contact rule (the one that trips people up)
Every STR must designate a local contact who lives in the Austin metro (Travis, Williamson, Hays, Bastrop, or Caldwell County) and can respond within 2 hours of being contacted by the city — by phone or in person. A contact who misses the 2-hour window is grounds for license revocation. Out-of-town owner? You need someone on the ground, contractually.
5. Platform rules & the delisting deadline
Since July 1, 2026, Airbnb, Vrbo, and every other platform must (a) require your license number in the listing before it publishes, and (b) remove your listing when the city says it's unlicensed. The city runs listing-scraping software that has already identified 2,700+ unlicensed addresses, and delist notices are being phased in — nuisance properties first. Platforms are also barred from collecting fees on unlicensed rentals.
If you're unlicensed: the city has said it pauses enforcement for operators with a pending application. Filing now is the difference between a review and a citation.
6. What taxes do platforms handle — and what do you still owe?
Platforms now collect and remit Austin's 11% city Hotel Occupancy Tax (plus 6% state) on bookings made through them. You're not off the hook: you must still file a quarterly report with the city stating what was collected on your behalf, and direct bookings mean you collect and remit yourself. Questions go to the city's Financial Services Department — or to someone who files these every quarter.
7. How do Austin STR licenses get revoked?
The Development Services director can revoke a license for: safety threats, repeated violations, a local contact missing the 2-hour window, or a nuisance declaration (built from 311/911 calls, noise complaints, and party-house incidents). Repeat problems trigger mandatory mitigation plans; ignoring them ends the license — and delisting follows. You get notice, a conference, and appeal rights, but the cleanest strategy is boring: licensed, quiet, responsive.
Want it all handled?
This is what the chapter is for. Tell us where you are — unlicensed, renewing, buying, or drowning in quarterly filings — and we'll match you with a vetted member who does this every day.
Sources
- City of Austin — Short-Term Rentals (Development Services: fees, application, deadlines)
- Ordinance repealing and replacing City Code Ch. 4-23 (Council item 25-1824, adopted Sept 11, 2025 — density limits, platform rules, enforcement)
- Austin City Council meeting, Sept 11, 2025 (adoption record)
- Development Services memo to Council, Apr 30, 2026 (fee history, licensing system, enforcement statistics)
This guide summarizes City of Austin ordinances (Ch. 4-23 and related) as of July 2026 for education only — it is not legal or tax advice, and rules change. Verify current requirements with Austin Development Services (austintexas.gov/development-services/short-term-rentals).