Travis County does not require short-term rental hosts to be present during guest stays. State law HB 1620 (2025) preempts most local STR rules, leaving owner-absent rentals broadly permissible across unincorporated areas.
Under Texas HB 1620 (2025), Texas cities and counties cannot impose ownership-occupancy or host-presence conditions on short-term rentals as a condition of operation. Travis County never adopted host-presence rules in unincorporated areas, and any future attempt would conflict with statewide preemption. STR operators may run absentee whole-home rentals without an on-site host. Hosts must still respond to nuisance complaints, maintain a 24-hour contact, and comply with Texas hotel occupancy tax obligations under Tax Code Chapter 156.
No host-presence violations exist; complaints route to TCSO for noise or to the Texas Comptroller for unpaid hotel occupancy taxes on absentee STRs.
Travis County, TX
Travis County does not operate a three-strikes or escalating-penalty system for short-term rental nuisance complaints. Each incident is handled separately by...
Travis County, TX
Travis County does not restrict short-term rentals to a host's primary residence. Investor-owned and second-home STRs are permitted across unincorporated are...
See how Travis County's host presence rule rules stack up against other locations.
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