Texas Short-Term Rental Laws by City (2026)
Short-term rental rules in Texas are set city by city — a property that is legal to rent nightly in one town can be prohibited a few miles away. The table below covers 8 Texas cities (8 human-verified against official sources), with each city's legal status, permit cost, and last-verified date.
Statewide short-term rental rules in Texas
Texas has no statewide short-term rental license, registration, or permit — regulation is left almost entirely to cities and counties, and the Legislature has repeatedly failed to pass STR-specific preemption (most recently SB 1592 on platform tax collection, which died in the House in 2025). The state does tax STR stays: a 6% state hotel occupancy tax applies to rentals of residential property for under 30 days, and Airbnb and Vrbo collect it on their bookings under agreements with the Texas Comptroller. Texas courts, not the Legislature, are the main statewide check on local rules — appellate decisions (Zaatari v. Austin, City of Grapevine v. Muns, and the injunction against Dallas's ban now before the Texas Supreme Court) have blocked outright city bans as unconstitutional. City and county rules apply on top of state law — check your local market's page.
Full statewide rules: permits, taxes & enforcement
Texas has no statewide short-term rental license, registration, or permit — regulation is left almost entirely to cities and counties, and the Legislature has repeatedly failed to pass STR-specific preemption (most recently SB 1592 on platform tax collection, which died in the House in 2025). The state does tax STR stays: a 6% state hotel occupancy tax applies to rentals of residential property for under 30 days, and Airbnb and Vrbo collect it on their bookings under agreements with the Texas Comptroller. Texas courts, not the Legislature, are the main statewide check on local rules — appellate decisions (Zaatari v. Austin, City of Grapevine v. Muns, and the injunction against Dallas's ban now before the Texas Supreme Court) have blocked outright city bans as unconstitutional. City and county rules apply on top of state law — check your local market's page.
Reviewed by the STR Rule Watch research team against 9 official sources. How we verify data
Texas statewide STR rules at a glance
| Legal status | Allowed, no permit required |
|---|---|
| Permit required | No |
| Renewal | No renewal required |
| Total occupancy taxes | ~6% of gross revenue |
| Enforcement | There is no state STR enforcement agency; enforcement of operating rules is entirely local. |
State law & local authority
Texas has no STR-specific preemption statute: home-rule cities and counties may adopt registration, zoning, and operating rules for STRs, and the Legislature has not enacted an Arizona SB1350-style law despite repeated attempts (2017 SB 451/HB 2551 through 2025 bills all failed). Two statewide constraints exist. First, HB 2127 (the 2023 'Texas Regulatory Consistency Act') broadly preempts local rules in fields occupied by certain state codes, but it does not mention STRs; a Travis County ruling that it was unconstitutional was reversed on standing grounds by the Third Court of Appeals on July 18, 2025, leaving the law in effect, and its application to STR ordinances remains untested. Second, Texas appellate courts have repeatedly struck down or enjoined outright city bans: Zaatari v. City of Austin (Tex. App.—Austin 2019) voided Austin's phase-out of non-homestead STRs as unconstitutionally retroactive; City of Grapevine v. Muns (Tex. App.—Fort Worth 2021, review denied by the Texas Supreme Court in 2023) let owners' constitutional challenges to a ban proceed; and Dallas's 2023 single-family-zoning ban has been enjoined since 2023, with the Texas Supreme Court asked in late 2025 to decide the issue. Bans and heavy restrictions are legally vulnerable but not categorically prohibited by statute.
State-level taxes
| Tax | Rate | Who collects |
|---|---|---|
| Texas state hotel occupancy taxTax Code ch. 156: 6% of the price paid for a room costing $15 or more per day; 'short-term rental' (rental of all or part of a residential property to a non-permanent resident, i.e., 29 days or less) is expressly covered, and guests staying 30+ consecutive days are exempt as permanent residents. Airbnb (since May 1, 2017) and Vrbo collect and remit the state 6% on their bookings under agreements with the Comptroller; hosts must register with the Comptroller and file monthly or quarterly returns for direct bookings or platforms that do not collect. Local (city/county) hotel occupancy taxes are separate and collection by platforms varies by jurisdiction. | 6% | varies |
Enforcement & penalties
There is no state STR enforcement agency; enforcement of operating rules is entirely local. The Comptroller of Public Accounts administers the state hotel occupancy tax. At the state level the courts are the main actor: injunctions and appellate rulings (Zaatari, Grapevine, Dallas) currently prevent several Texas cities from enforcing STR bans, and the Dallas case is pending before the Texas Supreme Court.
State-level exposure is limited to hotel occupancy tax noncompliance (penalties and interest on late or unfiled Tax Code ch. 156 returns). Fines for operating without a permit, over-occupancy, etc. exist only under local ordinances.
Statewide sources
- Texas Comptroller — Hotel Occupancy Taxretrieved July 12, 2026
- Texas Comptroller — Hotel Occupancy Tax FAQ (short-term rentals and platforms)retrieved July 12, 2026
- Texas Tax Code Chapter 156 — Hotel Occupancy Taxretrieved July 10, 2026
- Texas Legislature Online — SB 1592 (89R, 2025) bill history (accommodations intermediary HOT collection; died in House committee)retrieved July 12, 2026
- Supreme Court of Texas, No. 22-0044, City of Grapevine v. Muns (concurring opinion accompanying denial of review, June 16, 2023)retrieved July 10, 2026
- Zaatari v. City of Austin, 615 S.W.3d 172 (Tex. App.—Austin 2019)retrieved July 10, 2026
- KERA News — Dallas asks Texas Supreme Court to lift block on its short-term rental ban (Oct. 2025)retrieved July 12, 2026
- Airbnb Help Center — Occupancy tax collection and remittance by Airbnb in Texasretrieved July 12, 2026
- Texas Tribune — Appeals court upholds Texas law limiting cities' enforcement of local ordinances (HB 2127 reversal, July 18, 2025)retrieved July 12, 2026
| City | Status | Permit fee | Last verified |
|---|---|---|---|
| Austin | Permit required | $836.30 | August 15, 2026 |
| Dallas | Permit required | — | July 12, 2026 |
| Fort Worth | Restricted | $150 | July 21, 2026 |
| Fredericksburg | Permit required | $300 | July 10, 2026 |
| Galveston | Permit required | $250 | July 10, 2026 |
| Houston | Permit required | $275 | July 12, 2026 |
| New Braunfels | Restricted | $206 | July 21, 2026 |
| San Antonio | Permit required | $300 | July 13, 2026 |
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This page is informational only and is not legal, tax, or financial advice. Regulations change frequently — verify current requirements with each jurisdiction before operating. HOA and condo rules may prohibit short-term rentals regardless of city law — if your property is in an association, review Texas HOA law and your CC&Rs before listing.