4 county-level rules, plus city-specific rules for 1 city in Jefferson County, Texas.
Verified from official government sources
Jefferson County has no county-level short-term rental permit ordinance for unincorporated areas. Texas counties generally lack the zoning authority that cities use to license STRs. The City of Beaumont adopted its STR ordinance (Ord. ORD-26-001, codified at Sec. 28.04.009) requiring a permit and applying the city's 15% hotel occupancy tax to STRs. Texas Tax Code Chapter 156 (state hotel occupancy tax, 6%) applies to stays under 30 days regardless of location. Texas HB 2127 (88R, 2023) preemption litigation remains unresolved.
Jefferson County imposes a 2% county Hotel Occupancy Tax on stays under 30 days, on top of the 6% state HOT. STRs in Beaumont, Port Arthur, Nederland, Groves, or Port Neches also pay that city's HOT. Filings due by the 20th of the following month.
Jefferson County does not regulate STR parking in unincorporated areas. Texas counties cannot impose off-street parking minimums on residential lots (Tex. Loc. Gov. Code Ch. 232). On-street parking on county roads must not block travel lanes, mailboxes, or driveways. City limits add their own STR parking rules.
Tex. Transp. Code Sec. 545.302
Sec. 545.302. STOPPING, STANDING, OR PARKING PROHIBITED IN CERTAIN PLACES. (a) An operator may not stop, stand, or park a vehicle: (1) on the roadway side of a vehicle stopped or parked at the edge or curb of a street; (2) on a sidewalk; (3) in an intersection; (4) on a crosswalk; ... (b) An operator may not, except momentarily to pick up or discharge a passenger, stand or park an occupied or u...
Jefferson County does not set occupancy limits for short-term rentals in unincorporated areas. Texas counties have no zoning or building-code authority over single-family dwellings (Tex. Loc. Gov. Code Ch. 232). Inside Beaumont, Port Arthur, Nederland, or other city limits, that city's STR or housing code applies.
Tex. Prop. Code Sec. 92.010
Sec. 92.010. OCCUPANCY LIMITS. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), the maximum number of adults that a landlord may allow to occupy a dwelling is three times the number of bedrooms in the dwelling. (b) A landlord may allow an occupancy rate of more than three adult tenants per bedroom: (1) to the extent that the landlord is required by a state or federal fair housing law to allow a higher...
1 cities in Jefferson County have their own short-term rentals rules. Each link goes to that city's dedicated page with code citations.
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