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STR Laws by State · Updated July 22, 2026

Texas Short-Term Rental Laws: State Overview (2026)

Texas has no statewide short-term rental ban, no statewide STR license, and—critically—no state law that stops its cities from regulating or banning short-term rentals. That last point is what makes Texas different from a state like Arizona. Bills to preempt local STR rules have been filed in the Legislature session after session and have repeatedly failed. So whether you can legally run an Airbnb or Vrbo in Texas is decided entirely by your city—and the single most important check on what a Texas city can do is not a statute at all. It’s a 2019 court decision, Zaatari v. City of Austin. This page explains the no-preemption patchwork, that case, the 6% state hotel tax, and how the biggest Texas markets differ.

Statewide STR ban? No — short-term rentals are regulated locally, city by city
Statewide license/permit? None — permits/registrations are issued by individual cities
State preemption of local STR rules? No. Unlike Arizona, Texas has not enacted a law barring cities from restricting or banning STRs. Multiple preemption bills (SB 451 in 2017, SB 1888 in 2019, and others since) were filed and failed
Governing framework Local ordinances, checked by the Texas Constitution’s retroactivity clause (Art. I, § 16) as applied in Zaatari v. City of Austin (2019)
Owner-occupancy required statewide? No — depends entirely on the local ordinance
State Hotel Occupancy Tax 6% of the room price (Tax Code § 156.052), on stays under 30 days
Local Hotel Occupancy Tax Cities add their own HOT on top — municipal rate generally capped at 7% (Tax Code § 351.003), higher in some qualifying cities
Last verified 2026-07-22

This page is a plain-language summary of public Texas law, not legal advice. State statutes, city ordinances, and pending appeals change — confirm the current rules with the Texas Comptroller and your city before operating.

Yes, in general—but where and how is a local question. Nothing in Texas state law prohibits short-term rentals, and the state does not issue an STR permit. Texas leaves licensing, zoning, and registration to its cities. That means the binding operating rules for your property come from your city hall: Austin’s operating-license types, San Antonio’s Type 1/Type 2 permits, Galveston’s registration, and so on.

What makes Texas different from Tennessee (which has an explicit state STR-protection statute) or Arizona (which flatly preempts local bans) is that Texas has neither. There is no state law telling cities they must allow STRs, and no state license telling hosts what to do. Instead, the ceiling on how far a Texas city can go is set by the state constitution, as a court applied it in the case below.

No state preemption: the Texas patchwork

Short-term rental operators in many states benefit from a “preemption” law—a state statute that bars local governments from banning rentals. Arizona is the textbook example: under SB 1350 (2016), Arizona cities “may not prohibit” vacation or short-term rentals (A.R.S. § 9-500.39). Texas has no equivalent.

The preemption bills that keep failing

It is not for lack of trying. Industry-backed bills to stop Texas cities from restricting STRs have been introduced repeatedly and have died each time:

  • SB 451 (2017, 85th Legislature) — would have limited how cities and counties regulate STRs. It passed the Senate but died in a House committee.
  • SB 1888 (2019, 86th Legislature) — a similar preemption measure; it died in Senate committee without reaching the floor.
  • Further attempts in later sessions (including a 2023 measure that was watered down and failed in the Senate) met the same fate.

The practical result: as of mid-2026, no Texas statute preempts local STR regulation. Cities are free to license, restrict, or attempt to ban short-term rentals—subject only to the Texas Constitution. That is exactly why Texas has so many live courtroom fights over city STR ordinances, while a preemption state like Arizona does not.

Zaatari v. City of Austin: the case every Texas host should know

Because Texas has no preemption statute, the most important STR law in the state is a court decision. In Zaatari v. City of Austin, 615 S.W.3d 172 (Tex. App.—Austin 2019, pet. denied), the Texas Third Court of Appeals struck down key parts of Austin’s attempt to phase out non-owner-occupied (“Type 2”) short-term rentals.

The retroactivity holding

Austin’s ordinance set a 2022 deadline to eliminate existing Type 2 STRs in residential areas—including rentals that owners had already been operating lawfully. The court held this was unconstitutionally retroactive under Article I, § 16 of the Texas Constitution. Applying the Texas Supreme Court’s Robinson v. Crown Cork & Seal test, the court found the ban destroyed a vested property right—“the right to lease one’s property on a short-term basis”—while serving only a “minimal, if any, public interest.” A separate provision (§ 25-2-795) restricting assembly at STRs was also struck, as violating the right to peaceably assemble (Art. I, § 27) under strict scrutiny.

The Texas Supreme Court denied review on June 11, 2021 (No. 20-0470), leaving Zaatari as controlling appellate authority.

Why it shapes every Texas city fight

The Zaatari retroactivity principle—that a city cannot simply extinguish an STR use an owner was already lawfully making—is now the frame for every Texas municipal STR battle. A city ordinance that bans existing rentals is on shaky constitutional ground; an ordinance that regulates going forward (registration, taxes, safety, occupancy) is far more defensible. This is Texas’s version of what the Coastal Act is to California or the legacy clause is to Tennessee: the legal hinge the whole state turns on. Note that Zaatari reads on vested rights and retroactivity, and its reach to any specific new ordinance is a fact-specific legal question—confirm your city’s current rules and any pending appeal before relying on it.

Texas short-term rental taxes

Texas does tax short-term stays—through the Hotel Occupancy Tax (HOT), which comes in a state layer and a local layer.

The 6% state Hotel Occupancy Tax

The state HOT is 6% of the price paid for a room (Tax Code § 156.052), imposed under § 156.051 on rooms costing $15 or more per day. The definition of “hotel” in § 156.001 expressly includes short-term rentals—renting all or part of a residential property to someone who is not a permanent resident. A guest becomes a “permanent resident” (and the tax stops applying) after 30 consecutive days (§ 156.101). So Texas HOT applies to the same sub-30-day stays that make a property an Airbnb in the first place.

Local Hotel Occupancy Tax on top

Cities—and some counties and special districts—levy their own HOT on top of the state 6%, under Tax Code Chapter 351 (municipal) and Chapter 352 (county). The municipal rate is generally capped at 7% (§ 351.003), though certain qualifying cities are authorized to go higher (Galveston, for example, levies a 9% city HOT). Add the two layers and a Texas STR guest commonly pays somewhere in the low-to-mid teens in total occupancy tax, depending on the city.

Who actually collects it

Hosts are legally responsible for the tax, but in practice the platforms handle much of the state layer: Airbnb and Vrbo collect and remit the 6% state HOT for Texas listings under agreements with the Comptroller. The local HOT is the trap—many Texas cities require STR operators to register and remit the city HOT themselves, because the platforms do not collect every local tax. Confirm with your city whether it collects its HOT through the platform or expects you to file.

Tax Rate Authority / notes
State Hotel Occupancy Tax 6% Tax Code §§ 156.051–156.052; applies to stays under 30 days; Airbnb/Vrbo generally collect this layer
City (municipal) HOT Up to 7% (higher in some cities) Tax Code Ch. 351 (§ 351.003 cap); often self-remitted by the host
County / special-district HOT Varies Tax Code Ch. 352 where adopted
State sales tax on the stay — None — occupancy is taxed under HOT, not sales tax

How the big Texas markets differ

With no state rulebook, the five largest STR markets in Texas look completely different from one another—and several are mid-litigation because of the no-preemption dynamic above.

City Register/permit? Non-owner-occupied STRs? Current status
Austin City operating license Yes (Type 2) Type 2 reopened citywide in a Feb 2025 overhaul (post-Zaatari)
Dallas Registration required Contested 2023 residential-zone restriction enjoined; on appeal
Fort Worth Registration required Banned in residential zones 2023 ban upheld at trial (2025); operators appealing
San Antonio Type 1 / Type 2 permit Yes (Type 2, density limits) Permitting + density rules in effect
Galveston Registration (GVR number) Yes STR-friendly; no owner-occupancy rule; 9% city HOT

Austin licenses STRs by type (Type 1 owner-occupied, Type 2 non-owner-occupied, Type 3 multifamily). After Zaatari and a February 2025 overhaul, Type 2 rentals are again permitted in all residential zoning districts with a valid license. Platform HOT collection took effect April 2025. See our full Austin STR license guide for fees and density caps.

Dallas passed 2023 ordinances confining STRs to non-residential and mixed-use zones. Operators sued, and a Dallas County district court enjoined enforcement; an appeals court upheld the injunction, and the city has sought review from the Texas Supreme Court. For now, the residential-zone restriction is not being enforced—but this is actively changing, so confirm before relying on it.

Fort Worth went the other direction. Its February 2023 ordinance bans STRs in residential zoning districts and requires registration for those in permitted zones. Unlike Dallas, a Fort Worth trial court upheld the ban in 2025; operators are appealing. The split between Dallas (enjoined) and Fort Worth (upheld) is the clearest sign that, absent a preemption statute, Texas STR law is being written courtroom by courtroom.

San Antonio requires an STR permit, split into Type 1 (owner-occupied) and Type 2 (non-owner-occupied), with density limits on Type 2 in some residential zoning. Monthly HOT reporting to the city is required.

Galveston is among the most STR-friendly markets in the state: annual registration (a GVR number that must appear on listings), no owner-occupancy requirement, and city-administered HOT collection at a 9% local rate. It is a useful contrast to Fort Worth’s residential ban.

Pending and changing rules

Texas STR law is unusually unsettled because it is being decided in two places at once: the Legislature (which keeps trying, and failing, to pass preemption) and the courts (Dallas and Fort Worth appeals are both live). A future session could still enact a preemption law that overrides every city ordinance on this page, and the appellate courts could split further. Nothing here is the final word—before you buy or list, confirm your city’s current ordinance, its enforcement status, and any pending appeal.

Sources & verification

Every rule above is drawn from Texas state government sources, the Legislature’s bill records, and published court authority. Verified 2026-07-22:

Regulations change — verify with the Texas Comptroller and your city government before operating.

Compare short-term rental rules in Texas & other states

Frequently asked questions

Does Texas require a state license for Airbnb?

No. Texas does not issue a statewide short-term rental license. You register for state Hotel Occupancy Tax with the Comptroller, but the operating permit or registration—and any city HOT—comes from your city.

Can a Texas city ban short-term rentals?

It can try, but it faces a constitutional limit. Texas has no law preempting local STR bans, so cities regulate freely—but under Zaatari v. City of Austin (2019), a city generally cannot retroactively eliminate an STR use an owner was already operating lawfully, because that violates the Texas Constitution’s ban on retroactive laws (art. I, § 16). Whether a specific ban survives is being fought out in court (Dallas’s was enjoined; Fort Worth’s was upheld at trial and is on appeal).

How much is hotel occupancy tax on a Texas short-term rental?

The state Hotel Occupancy Tax is 6% of the room price (Tax Code § 156.052) on stays under 30 days. Cities add their own HOT on top—usually capped at 7% (Tax Code § 351.003), higher in some cities like Galveston (9%)—so total occupancy tax commonly lands in the low-to-mid teens depending on the city.

Does Airbnb collect Texas hotel tax for me?

Airbnb and Vrbo collect and remit the 6% state Hotel Occupancy Tax for Texas listings. Many local (city) hotel taxes are not collected by the platforms, so you often must register with the city and remit the local HOT yourself. Confirm with your city.

Is Texas a short-term-rental-friendly state?

It depends on the city, and that is the point. There is no statewide ban, no state license, and no preemption, so friendliness ranges from very permissive (Galveston, post-2025 Austin) to a residential-zone ban upheld at trial (Fort Worth). Always check the specific city before buying or listing.

Last verified: 2026-07-22. Rules change — confirm current requirements with the Texas Comptroller and your local city government before operating.