Vermont Short-Term Rental Laws by City (2026)
Short-term rental rules in Vermont 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 1 Vermont city (1 human-verified against official sources), with each city's legal status, permit cost, and last-verified date.
Statewide short-term rental rules in Vermont
Vermont has no statewide short-term rental license or registry and does not preempt local regulation — towns like Burlington, Stowe, and Woodstock set their own STR rules, and courts have upheld broad municipal authority to do so. Statewide, an STR (a dwelling rented under 30 consecutive days and more than 14 days per year) must collect Vermont's 9% rooms tax plus a 3% short-term rental surcharge (effective Aug 1, 2024), with a 1% local option tax in some towns; platforms like Airbnb and Vrbo are required to collect these for platform bookings, while hosts booking directly must register a free meals-and-rooms tax account and post the account number on any advertisement. Operators must also post emergency contact info and state safety guidance in the unit and comply with fire-safety (smoke/CO alarm) codes enforced by the Division of Fire Safety. City and county rules apply on top of state law — check your local market's page.
Full statewide rules: permits, taxes & enforcement
Vermont has no statewide short-term rental license or registry and does not preempt local regulation — towns like Burlington, Stowe, and Woodstock set their own STR rules, and courts have upheld broad municipal authority to do so. Statewide, an STR (a dwelling rented under 30 consecutive days and more than 14 days per year) must collect Vermont's 9% rooms tax plus a 3% short-term rental surcharge (effective Aug 1, 2024), with a 1% local option tax in some towns; platforms like Airbnb and Vrbo are required to collect these for platform bookings, while hosts booking directly must register a free meals-and-rooms tax account and post the account number on any advertisement. Operators must also post emergency contact info and state safety guidance in the unit and comply with fire-safety (smoke/CO alarm) codes enforced by the Division of Fire Safety. 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 8 official sources. How we verify data
Vermont statewide STR rules at a glance
| Legal status | Allowed, no permit required |
|---|---|
| Permit required | No |
| Renewal | No renewal required |
| Total occupancy taxes | ~13% of gross revenue |
| Insurance | No statewide insurance mandate. The state-prepared operator information packet must include 'information regarding the importance of reviewing options for property and liability insurance' (18 V.S.A. § 4468(a)), but carrying coverage is not required by state law. |
| Enforcement | A. |
| Current rules effective | 2024-08-01 |
State law & local authority
No state preemption: Vermont leaves STR zoning and permitting to municipalities, which regulate under general ordinance powers (24 V.S.A. § 2291) and zoning enabling law (24 V.S.A. ch. 117). Towns including Burlington, Stowe, Woodstock, Killington, and Warren have adopted STR ordinances ranging from simple registries to owner-occupancy mandates. A host challenge to Burlington's owner-occupancy ordinance failed: the Chittenden Superior Court ruled on Nov 19, 2024 that the city 'plainly has broad authority to regulate short-term rentals,' and the Vermont Supreme Court on June 6, 2025 affirmed dismissal of the civil suit (on venue grounds, routing the fight to the Environmental Division). State law defines 'short-term rental' (18 V.S.A. § 4301) and expressly excludes STRs from the 'lodging establishment' license requirement when 2 or fewer units are offered and no food is prepared on site.
State-level taxes
| Tax | Rate | Who collects |
|---|---|---|
| Vermont Meals and Rooms Tax (rooms)32 V.S.A. § 9241. Applies to sleeping accommodations rented more than 14 days per calendar year. Platforms (Airbnb, Vrbo, etc.) are required under Vermont law to register with the Department of Taxes and collect/remit for platform bookings; hosts collect and remit via Form MRT-441/myVTax for direct bookings. | 9% | varies |
| Short-Term Rental Surcharge32 V.S.A. § 9301, added by Act 183 of 2024, effective for rents collected on or after Aug 1, 2024. In addition to the 9% rooms tax. Does not apply to stays in lodging establishments licensed under 18 V.S.A. ch. 85. Platforms collect for platform bookings; hosts collect for direct bookings. | 3% | varies |
| Local Option Rooms Tax (state-administered, adopting municipalities only)1% local option tax on rooms applies only in municipalities that have adopted it; administered by the Vermont Department of Taxes and collected alongside the rooms tax and surcharge. | 1% | varies |
Enforcement & penalties
Short-term rentals fall under the Division of Fire Safety's rental housing health and safety jurisdiction (20 V.S.A. ch. 172, Act 181 of 2022), with complaint-driven inspections; the Department of Health may also inspect STRs and operator records (18 V.S.A. § 4466). Operators must: post in the unit a phone number for the responsible person plus Health Department and Fire Safety contact info (18 V.S.A. § 4467); physically post DFS health/safety guidance in the unit and include it in any listing (20 V.S.A. § 2678, added 2024); post their meals-and-rooms tax account number on any advertisement (32 V.S.A. § 9282(a)); and retain a health/safety self-certification form (18 V.S.A. § 4468(b)). Fire code (2025 Vermont Fire and Building Safety Code / NFPA 101) requires smoke alarms in and near sleeping rooms on all levels, hard-wired CO alarms, and secondary means of escape; units sleeping more than 8 persons require a DFS change-of-use inspection to lodging-level occupancy, and units sleeping 8 or fewer must keep a completed Short-term Rental Checklist on the premises.
The Commissioner of Public Safety may impose an administrative penalty 'not to exceed $1,000.00 per violation' of rental housing health and safety requirements (20 V.S.A. § 2677(c)), and non-compliant units may not be re-rented to new tenants until violations are corrected. Failure to collect or remit the rooms tax and STR surcharge is enforced under the meals and rooms tax chapter with standard tax penalties and interest.
Statewide sources
- 18 V.S.A. § 4301 — Definitions (short-term rental), Vermont Statutes Onlineretrieved July 11, 2026
- 18 V.S.A. ch. 85, subch. 7 — Short-Term Rentals (§§ 4466-4468)retrieved July 11, 2026
- 32 V.S.A. § 9301 — Imposition; short-term rental impact surchargeretrieved July 11, 2026
- 20 V.S.A. ch. 172 — Rental Housing Health and Safety (§§ 2676-2678)retrieved July 11, 2026
- Vermont Department of Taxes — Short-Term Rentals (industry guidance)retrieved July 11, 2026
- Vermont Department of Taxes — Act 10 (Special Session) 2018 Legislation Relating to Short-Term Rentalsretrieved July 11, 2026
- Vermont Division of Fire Safety — Short-Term Rental / Transient Lodgingretrieved July 11, 2026
- VTDigger — Judge dismisses lawsuit against Burlington's short-term rental regulations (Nov 25, 2024)retrieved July 11, 2026
| City | Status | Permit fee | Last verified |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stowe | Permit required | $100 | 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.