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Austin, Texas · Short-term rentals & real estate

Can you Airbnb it in Austin? Start here.

Austin changed its short-term-rental rules in 2025: STRs are now an allowed accessory use in every zoning district, as long as the home holds a valid city license. This is the free field guide to how that works — which license type fits, what it costs, the live registry of licensed rentals, and honest market tools for buying, selling and estimating income.

Find my license typeRead the rulesSearch licensed STRs
3license types (1, 2, 3)
17%combined hotel tax on stays
2-yrlicense term since Oct 2025
$736.60new-license fee

Every way in

Pick the question you actually have.

Each path answers one real question an Austin owner, host or buyer asks. Nothing here is a ranking or a “best of” list — just the rules, the data and the math.

Can I Airbnb this address?

A guided check: jurisdiction, ownership, building type and the density limits — then which license type and form you need.

The Austin STR rules

Plain-English walkthrough of the 2025 ordinance, the 2026 platform enforcement, occupancy, the local-contact rule and taxes.

Licensed-STR registry

Search the city’s own list of licensed short-term rentals by ZIP, council district and type. Live from Austin Open Data.

Market & calculators

A mortgage calculator, an STR revenue estimator, and live counts of licensed rentals by ZIP.

Buying in Austin

How to read a listing for STR potential without assuming the income, and what to confirm with the city before you make an offer.

Selling in Austin

Why a licensed, running rental can widen your buyer pool — and why the license does not simply transfer with the deed.

Neighborhoods

East Austin, South Congress, Travis Heights, Mueller, Zilker, Hyde Park and the Lake Travis area, in plain terms.

HOT & taxes

The 11% city hotel tax, the 6% state tax, who collects them now, and the quarterly report you still owe.

What changed in 2025–2026

The short version.

  • Feb 27, 2025: the City Council made short-term rentals an accessory use allowed in all zoning districts, as long as the home holds a valid operating license. Zoning is no longer the thing that blocks you.
  • Oct 1, 2025: licenses now run two years, a certificate of occupancy and proof of insurance are no longer required to apply, tenants may host with the landlord’s written permission, and new density limits cap how many units one person can run on a site.
  • July 1, 2026: rules for the booking platforms took effect — Airbnb, Vrbo and the rest must show a license field and pull unlicensed listings when the city asks.
  • Nov 16 – Dec 3, 2026: the city paused new applications, renewals and HOT payments while it moved to a new licensing system that launches Dec 4, 2026.
None of this is legal or tax advice. The rules move — confirm anything that matters for your address with the City of Austin before you buy, list or file. Every figure on this site is dated and sourced.

Read the full rules guide →

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Tell us what you’re trying to do and we’ll point you to the right city office, form or tool. We don’t file applications for you, and we don’t publish anyone’s private details.

Goes to the BNB ATX team. We point you to the right City office or resource; we do not file your application for you.