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.

Check jurisdiction

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 DSD Code Compliance at strlicensing@austintexas.gov or visiting the Short-Term Rental Office on the first floor of the Planning and Development Center, 6310 Wilhelmina Delco Drive, Austin, TX, 78752.

Non-Short-Term Rental license types

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. The Development Services Department (DSD) 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 Code Compliance Guide to Short-Term Rentals to find out more about this process.
 

Short-Term Rental license types

Type 1

(Owner-Occupied) Short-term rental primary structures are:

  1. rented for periods of less than 30 consecutive days,
  2. not part of a multifamily use,
  3. an entire dwelling unit, and
  4. recorded with Travis County Appraisal District (TCAD) as a homestead.

Type 1A

(Owner-Occupied) Short-term rental partial units:

  1. must include the exclusive use of a sleeping room and shared use of a full bathroom,
  2. the owner is generally present at the licensed short-term rental property for the duration of any short-term rental of a partial unit,
  3. not more than one partial unit at the property is simultaneously rented for any period less than 30 consecutive days, and
  4. limited to a single party of individuals, and
  5. recorded with Travis County Appraisal District (TCAD) as a homestead.

Type 1 Secondary

(Owner-Occupied) Short-term rental secondary structures are:

  1. rented for periods of less than 30 consecutive days,
  2. not part of a multifamily use,
  3. associated with an owner-occupied principal residential unit,
  4. an entire dwelling unit, and
  5. recorded with Travis County Appraisal District (TCAD) as a homestead.

Type 2 Commercial

(Non Owner-Occupied) Short-term rental structures may not be located on a lot that is within 1000 feet of a lot on which another short-term rental (Type 2) use is located and are a permitted use in the following base districts:

  • Central Business District (CBD);
  • Downtown Mixed Use (DMU);
  • Planned Unit Development (PUD);
  • General-Retail Mixed Use (GR-MU);
  • Commercial Services Mixed Use (CS-MU);
  • Commercial Services Vertical Mixed Use (CS-V); and
  • General Retail Vertical Mixed Use (GR-V).

Type 3

Short-term rental multifamily use structures are:

  1. rented for periods of less than 30 consecutive days,
  2. part of a multifamily residential use, and
  3. an entire dwelling unit.

Apply for a license

Determine which STR license type you need and download the short-term rental license application for your type.

Mail to: City of Austin – DSD Code Compliance,   Attn: Finance – STR, PO Box 1088, Austin, TX 78767. Or visit the office at 6310 Wilhelmina Delco Dr., Austin, TX 78752 between 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Application forms

Apply online

Log in to your Austin Finance Online (AFO) account to apply for a license online. Don’t have an account? Create account

Log in to AFO

Required documents and fee

When you apply for a license, you’ll need:

  1. Application
  2. $863.80 (non-refundable) Fee
    1. Cash, Check or Money Order Payable to the City of Austin.
    2. The application fee is non-refundable. (Includes $817.00 Application Fee, $45.00 Notification Fee, and $1.80 DSD Technology Fee
  3. Proof of Property Insurance
    1. Declarations, Information or Summary Pages from your Policy
  4. Proof of Payment of City of Austin Hotel Occupancy Taxes (if applicable)
  5. Certificate of Occupancy
    1. To obtain your Certificate of Occupancy please email DSDCertificateofOccupancy@austintexas.gov.

Renew a license

To renew the Operating License of your Short Term Rental (STR), mail the required documents and licensing fee or bring them in to our office. Licenses can only be renewed prior to the expiration date. If your license has expired, please email strlicensing@austintexas.gov. 

Mail to: City of Austin – DSD Code Compliance,   Attn: Finance – STR, PO Box 1088, Austin, TX 78767. Or visit the office at 6310 Wilhelmina Delco Dr., Austin, TX 78752 between 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Required documents and fee

When you renew your license, you’ll need:

  1. $490.00 (non-refundable) Fee
    1. Cash, Check or Money Order Payable to the City of Austin. The application fee is non-refundable.
  2. Proof of Current Property Insurance
    1. Declarations, Information or Summary Pages from your Policy
  3. Proof of Payment of City of Austin Hotel Occupancy Taxes
    1. Copy of cancelled check, AND
    2. Copy of the Most Recent Quarter Tax report submitted to the City Controller’s Office, OR
    3. If you have not had any renters in this quarter, a copy of the zero report filed