Short-Term Rental Laws in Austin, Texas

Austin operates a two-tier STR framework under the post-Bohannan-v-Austin (2019) regime: Type 1 (Owner-Occupied) STRs allowed in nearly all residential zones provided primary-residence test is met; Type 2 (Non-Owner-Occupied / Investor) restricted to commercial and mixed-use zones (CS, CMU, DMU, downtown). The 2016 ordinance capped Type 2 in single-family residential at 3% of housing stock per census tract; the 2019 TX Supreme Court ruling (Bohannan v. Austin) struck portions of the cap but the zoning restrictions remain. Type 3 (Commercial Hotel Substitute) is essentially the same as Type 2 with hotel-tax accounting.

Type 1 (Owner-Occupied): allowed in all residential zones (SF-1, SF-2, SF-3, SF-4A/B, MF) with primary-residence test. Type 2 (Investor): restricted to CS Commercial Services, CMU Commercial Mixed-Use, DMU Downtown Mixed-Use, GR Community Commercial, MF-4/5/6 high-density residential, and the downtown overlay districts. Post-Bohannan ruling, new Type 2 issuance in single-family residential is more permissive than pre-2019 but still requires conditional-use approval in many tracts.

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

Austin Code Enforcement + Development Services jointly administer with annual permit renewal. Type 1 requires primary-residence re-verification (utility bills + driver's license + voter registration). Type 2 requires designated 24/7 local contact + property insurance ($500K+) + safety inspection. Operating without permit: $500-$2,000 per violation + back Hotel Occupancy Tax to TX Comptroller and City of Austin. Platform integration with Airbnb/Vrbo for non-compliant listing removal.

Combined short-term lodging tax in Austin is approximately 17.000% of gross nightly revenue (state sales + state TRT + local TRT + applicable resort/city options).

Texas State Hotel Occupancy Tax 6% + Travis County 7% + City of Austin Hotel Occupancy Tax 4% — combined ~17% on transient lodging

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