Short-term rental permit rules in Lancaster County, PA — also called Airbnb permits, vacation rental licenses, or STR registration — list the application steps, fees, and operating requirements for hosting.
Lancaster County itself issues no short-term-rental permit. Under Pennsylvania's Municipalities Planning Code, each of the county's 60 municipalities regulates STRs. The City of Lancaster, for example, requires the dwelling to be registered as a transient dwelling rental unit with a Housing Inspector inspection before approval.
Pennsylvania counties do not do land-use zoning or permitting. Authority to permit or license short-term rentals rests with each municipality under the PA Municipalities Planning Code (Act 247, 53 P.S. Section 10101 et seq.). So whether you need an STR permit depends entirely on which of Lancaster County's 60 cities, boroughs, and townships your property sits in. The City of Lancaster is a representative example: its rules require the dwelling to be registered with the City as a transient dwelling rental unit, with an inspection by a City Housing Inspector before registration is approved, plus a Certificate of Zoning Compliance and a Residential Rental License Application. Manheim Township, Lititz Borough, East Hempfield, and others each adopted their own STR ordinances
Penalties are set by each municipality, not the county. In the City of Lancaster, operating a transient dwelling without the required registration, inspection, and rental license is a code violation enforced by the City Housing Unit; fines and license denial
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