Akron, OH Short-Term Rentals: Insurance Requirements (2026)

Under Akron City Code Section 111.622, no one may operate or advertise a short-term rental in the city without a registration certificate, and the annual application filed with the Director must include "proof of general liability insurance in the amount of at least one million dollars" as item (B)(8) of the required package. Insurance is one of thirteen mandatory application components under subsections (B)(1) through (12): full contact information for every owner, operator, and a twenty-four-hour responsible person; a current list of hosting platforms; certificates of tax and utility compliance; evidence the property is entered in the rental registry required by Section 150.30 of the Housing Code; an affidavit of life-safety compliance tied to the smoke-alarm, carbon-monoxide-detector, and fire-extinguisher rules in Section 111.624; a basic site plan showing sleeping rooms; and a $250 nonrefundable application fee.

Registrations run for one calendar year and must be renewed by January 31, so the insurance proof has to be refreshed with every renewal filing under Section 111.623. Section 111.622(D)(1) lets the city deny a registration outright whenever "the applicant failed to provide all required application materials," which covers a missing or expired insurance certificate. Because Akron classifies an unregistered short-term rental as "a public safety hazard and a nuisance" under 111.622(A), an operator who skips the insurance requirement and rents anyway is exposed to the full enforcement scheme in Section 111.629, not just a paperwork rejection.