About Operating Licenses
No person may operate a boarding house, hotel, rooming house, short-term rental or bed and breakfast establishment unless a license for the operation, in the name of the owner or operator and for the specific dwelling unit, partial unit, accessory unit, building, structure or property used, has been issued by the code official and is currently valid and in good standing. (Ordinance 20130926-144 Chapter 13-1302)
Properties in Austin’s Full Purpose Jurisdiction and in Limited Purpose Jurisdiction require an operating license.
Only properties in the Austin Full Purpose Jurisdiction can register and renew their operating license on this website. All others will need to obtain information about how to submit an application or renewal by contacting Austin Development Services Code Compliance at strlicensing@austintexas.gov or visiting the Short-Term Rental Office on the first floor of the Permitting and Development Center, 6310 Wilhelmina Delco Drive, Austin, TX, 78752.
- Non-Short-Term Rental License Types
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Bed and Breakfast
The use of an owner-occupied single-family residential structure to provide limited meal service and rooms for temporary lodging for overnight guests in return for compensation.
Boarding House Commercial
A building, other than a hotel, where lodging and meals are provided for more than six (6) unrelated persons in return for compensation.
Boarding House Residential
A building, other than a hotel, where lodging and meals are provided for more than six (6) unrelated persons in return for compensation.
Hotel
A building or a part of a building, in which there are guest rooms, rooming units or apartments which may be rented on a daily basis and are used primarily for transient occupancy and for which desk service is provided. In addition, one or more of the following services may be provided: maid, telephone, bellboy or furnishing of linen.
Motel
A building or a part of a building, in which there are guest rooms, rooming units or apartments which may be rented on a daily basis and are used primarily for transient occupancy and for which desk service is provided. In addition, one or more of the following services may be provided: maid, telephone, bellboy or furnishing of linen.
Rooming House Commercial
A building, other than a hotel, where lodging for more than six (6) unrelated persons is provided without meals in return for compensation.
Short-Term Rental (STR) Licenses
If the hotel is a short-term rental registering with the City of Austin for the first time, a short-term rental license must first be obtained, and it must be renewed annually in order to operate. Even if the STR ordinance does not apply to you, the ordinances regarding the collection and remittance of hotel occupancy taxes still apply. Austin Development Services Code Compliance will require confirmation that Quarterly Hotel Occupancy Tax Reports have been filed for each quarter as part of the STR license process.
Not all properties in the City of Austin can operate as a short-term rental property. There are limitations to which properties may receive a license to operate as a short-term rental. Once it is determined that a property can operate as a short-term rental, the property is responsible for complying with the City of Austin Hotel Occupancy Tax law if the property is in Austin Full Purpose Jurisdiction.
Please visit the Short-Term Rental webpage to find out more about this process.