Short-Term Rental Laws in Hocking Hills, Ohio

Hocking Hills (centered around Logan, Ohio and the Hocking Hills State Park) is THE major Ohio STR market — the cabin economy is the dominant industry. Most STR activity sits in unincorporated Hocking County (Laurel Township, Good Hope Township, Falls Township) rather than within the city of Logan, with very light regulation: a Lodging Excise Tax registration + designated responsible-party contact is typically the entire framework. No zoning-class restriction, no county-wide cap, no inspection requirement at the county level. Properties within the city of Logan face the city's separate (still light) framework.

Logan (the small city at the center of the Hocking Hills area) has a light city framework; most STR cabin inventory is in unincorporated Hocking County under the County Auditor's Lodging Excise Tax program. Zoning is rural-residential / agricultural with broad permission for cabin/STR use. The Hocking Hills State Park boundary is the major tourism driver; the densest investor-cabin inventory sits within a 15-mile radius of the park. Note: ordinance dates here are NULL pending primary-source confirmation — Hocking County's STR framework has been stable for years but specific effective dates require County Commissioner records to confirm.

Operators must hold a short-term rental permit before listing. See the official permit portal.

Hocking County Auditor administers the Lodging Excise Tax (5.5%) — quarterly filings. The county's Lodging Excise Tax registration is essentially the only county-level requirement; the City of Logan administers a separate (similar) framework for parcels within city limits. Operating without registration: back-tax assessment + civil penalties. Enforcement is minimal and primarily complaint-driven; the Hocking Hills tourism economy has produced a permissive regulatory posture that the County Commissioners have maintained despite periodic neighborhood discussions about tightening.

Combined short-term lodging tax in Hocking Hills is approximately 12.750% of gross nightly revenue (state sales + state TRT + local TRT + applicable resort/city options).

Ohio State sales tax 5.75% + Hocking County local sales 1.5% + Hocking County Lodging Excise Tax 5.5% — combined ~12.75% on transient lodging

Verify the current combined rate via the Utah State Tax Commission before remitting — rates drift quarterly.