Allentown, PA Short-Term Rentals: Short-Term Rental Permits (2026)

As of the Pennsylvania Joint State Government Commission's August 2024 statewide review, the City of Allentown had not adopted a stand-alone short-term-rental ordinance. STR hosts are therefore regulated under Allentown's general rental-licensing scheme, Article 1759 of the Codified Ordinances (Licensing Residential Rental Units), part of the city's Property Rehabilitation and Maintenance Code. The City's own Building Standards & Safety pages state: 'If you rent out a house or apartment in Allentown, you must register it with the city by law,' that owners 'need to renew their license every year, and it stays valid for that calendar year,' and that the renewal cost is '$75 per unit,' with the renewal bill due by December 31 annually.

An inspection from Residential Property Inspections is required to obtain the initial rental license, and owners must display the Owner and Occupant Duties document in every rental unit. Owners who reside outside Lehigh County must designate a responsible agent residing or working within Lehigh County (610-437-7695, Bureau of Building Standards and Safety, 435 Hamilton Street, 3rd Floor). Separately, true short-term lodging uses are addressed in the Zoning Ordinance only through the 'Hotel or Motel' use (transient stays customarily 30 days or less, a Commercial use) and the 'Bed and Breakfast Inn' use, which is allowed by Special Exception in limited districts subject to a maximum of 10 guest rooms and a requirement that the owner/operator live on-site.