Home · Blog · Short-term rental laws
Short-term rental laws by city: what hosts need in NYC, LA, San Francisco, Chicago, Austin and 10 more US markets
Sergej Sitki · founder of ReceptionGO and host
Published October 17, 2026 · 7 min read
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change often and vary by state, county and city — confirm your situation with the local agency or a CPA.
There is no federal short-term rental law in the US — cities and counties set the rules, within limits some states impose. Most big cities now require registration or a permit, many allow only a host’s primary residence, some cap unhosted nights (90 in San Francisco and DC, 120 in Los Angeles), and platforms increasingly must block unregistered listings.
We set up online check-in, payments and door codes with you, free. →
Asking “is Airbnb legal in the US?” gets you nowhere — the honest answer is “it depends on the block.” Short-term rental (STR) rules are written by cities and counties, sometimes limited by state law, and layered over zoning, HOA covenants and leases. The trend since 2022 is clear, though: registration everywhere, primary-residence rules in the biggest cities, and platforms forced to do the checking. Here is where the major markets stand in October 2026.
The patterns you will meet
- Registration or permit with a number you must show in every listing.
- Primary-residence rules: you can rent only the home you live in (Boston, Denver, DC, San Francisco, Los Angeles).
- Hosted vs. unhosted: renting a room while you are there is treated more leniently than renting the whole home.
- Night caps on unhosted stays: 90 a year in San Francisco and DC, 120 in Los Angeles without extended approval.
- Density caps and lotteries: San Diego’s whole-home licenses, New Orleans’ licenses by square.
- Platform accountability: booking services must verify registration or face fines per transaction.
15 markets at a glance
| City | Headline rule (October 2026) | Whole-home rentals by investors? |
|---|---|---|
| New York City | Local Law 18 registration; host must live there and be present; max 2 guests; platforms verify | No (outside legal Class B buildings) |
| Los Angeles | Home-Sharing Ordinance: primary residence, registration, 120 unhosted nights unless Extended Home-Sharing | No |
| San Francisco | Primary residence (275 nights/yr), registration, 90 unhosted nights a year | No |
| San Diego | STRO licenses in four tiers; whole-home licenses capped (~1% of housing units); Mission Beach separate | Yes, if you win a capped license |
| Chicago | Registration with the city; primary-residence rules in small buildings; prohibited buildings list; extra lodging surcharge | Limited |
| Boston | Primary residence (9 months/yr); limited share, home share or owner-adjacent unit; number in listings | No |
| Washington, DC | Primary residence; 90 unhosted nights a year; a 2026 mayoral bill to loosen it is pending | No |
| Denver | License required for stays under 30 nights; primary residence only | No |
| Austin | 2025 ordinance: two-year licenses; platforms must show the license field and remove unlicensed listings from July 1, 2026; $500/day fines | Yes, with license and limits |
| Dallas | 2023 ban in single-family zones blocked by court injunction; city has asked the Texas Supreme Court to step in | Yes, for now |
| New Orleans | Non-commercial licenses through quarterly lotteries by square; commercial STRs need conditional use | Very limited |
| Nashville | Permits by type; non-owner-occupied permits restricted in most residential zones | Mostly in commercial and mixed-use zones |
| Miami Beach | STRs prohibited in most residential neighborhoods, with steep escalating fines; allowed in specific districts | Only in permitted districts |
| Seattle | Operator license; up to two units (your home plus one more) | One extra unit |
| Honolulu | Rentals under the city’s minimum stay allowed mainly in resort areas or with a nonconforming use certificate | Mainly in resort zones |
Rules move fast; each row is a starting point, not legal advice. The city pages in the sources list are where to confirm current fees and caps.
What changed in 2025–2026
- Austin rewrote its STR code in 2025 after years of litigation: operator rules from October 1, 2025, platform duties from July 1, 2026.
- New York City marked three years of Local Law 18 in September 2026 with more than 3,500 active registrations and a prohibited buildings list of over 21,000 buildings.
- Dallas still cannot enforce its 2023 zoning ban; appeals courts kept the injunction in place and the case is now before the Texas Supreme Court on a petition.
- California’s SB 346 (in effect January 1, 2026) gives cities easier access to platform data to enforce local rules — see our California guide.
- Hawaii: Maui passed Bill 9 to phase out thousands of apartment-zoned vacation rentals by 2029–2031 — details in Hawaii vacation rental rules.
- New Orleans required all non-commercial licenses to renew by June 2026; licenses not renewed went back into the lottery.
State laws that limit cities
A few states restrict what local governments can do:
- Florida: cities and counties cannot ban vacation rentals or regulate their duration or frequency, unless the rule dates from before June 1, 2011. They can still require registration and inspections. A 2024 bill to centralize rules was vetoed. More in our Florida guide.
- Arizona preempted local bans in 2016 and since 2022 lets cities require permits and fine repeat offenders.
- Texas has no statewide STR framework; cities regulate, and courts have repeatedly checked outright bans.
A five-step legality check
- Find the jurisdiction. An address with a city mailing name can sit in unincorporated county land with entirely different rules.
- Check zoning and private rules. Zoning, then your HOA covenants, condo bylaws, lease and mortgage.
- Register or get the permit and put the number in every listing.
- Register for taxes. Platform collection rarely covers every tax or every booking — see our occupancy tax guide.
- Build the rules into operations: occupancy limits, quiet hours, parking, trash days and a 24/7 local contact.
Neighbors are the enforcement system
Most cities enforce on complaints. A rental that is technically registered can still lose its permit after repeated noise, trash or parking violations — Boston, for example, suspends registration after three qualifying violations in six months. What keeps a rental out of trouble is boring operational detail: the right number of guests, people who know the rules before they arrive, and a host who answers at 11pm.
Hosting in New York? The city’s rules are the strictest in the country — read the NYC Local Law 18 guide. Screening guests well is the other half of staying legal; see guest ID verification for vacation rentals and motels.
Frequently asked questions
Is Airbnb legal in my city?
In almost every large US city, short-term rentals are legal in some form — but often only in your primary residence, only with a registration number, or only in certain zones. Check the city’s short-term rental page first, then zoning, then your HOA or lease.
What does “primary residence” mean for short-term rentals?
Usually the home you live in for most of the year — for example at least nine months in Boston, or 275 nights in San Francisco — proven with documents such as a driver’s license, voter registration or a homestead exemption. It typically rules out investor-owned second homes.
Do Airbnb and Vrbo check my registration?
In a growing number of cities, yes. New York, San Francisco, Boston and others require platforms to verify a registration number before a booking goes through, and Austin requires platforms to show a license field from July 1, 2026. California’s SB 346 also makes it easier for cities to get host data from platforms.
Can my state stop my city from banning short-term rentals?
Some states limit local rules. Florida bars cities from banning vacation rentals or regulating their duration or frequency, unless the rule predates June 1, 2011. Arizona has a similar preemption with room for permits. Most states leave it to cities.
What if I rent for 30 days or more?
Most city short-term rental rules apply to stays under 30 nights (under 29 in Denver, under 28 in Boston). Longer stays usually fall under landlord-tenant law instead — which brings its own rules on deposits and eviction.
Do HOA rules override city law?
They add to it. An HOA or condo association can ban or restrict short-term rentals in its covenants even where the city allows them, and Florida’s preemption does not protect you from an HOA.
Free help with setup
We connect your channels, Stripe and smart locks with you and set up the check-in page. The first 30 days are free, and setup help is always free.
Start freeSources
- NYC Office of Special Enforcement — Short-term rental registration (Local Law 18)
- San Francisco Office of Short-Term Rentals
- City of San Diego — Short-term residential occupancy (STRO) licensing
- City of Boston — Short-term rentals
- City and County of Denver — Short-term rentals
- City of New Orleans — Short-term rental administration
- Avalara MyLodgeTax — Austin enacts new rules for short-term rental operators and marketplaces (October 2025)
- KERA — Short-term rentals can keep operating in Dallas for now, appeals court says
- Florida Statutes §509.032(7) — preemption of vacation rental regulation
Rules last checked on October 15, 2026.