Franklin, TN Short-Term Rentals: Short-Term Rental Permits (2026)
Short-term rental permit rules in Franklin, TN, also called Airbnb permits, vacation rental licenses, or STR registration, list the application steps, fees, and operating requirements for hosting.
Key Facts
- Permit type
- Certificate of use and occupancy update
- Issuing department
- Building and Neighborhood Services (BNS)
- Renewal cycle
- Every 365 days
- Sleeping room cap defining STVR
- 4 rooms or fewer
- Responsible party
- Must be within 25 miles
- Fee source
- Appendix A, Comprehensive Fees and Penalties
Summary
Franklin requires every short-term vacation rental (STVR), a dwelling with four or fewer sleeping rooms rented for transient stays, to hold a certificate of use and occupancy from Building and Neighborhood Services before operating or even advertising (Sec. 13-202). That certificate must be renewed every 365 days under Sec. 13-214, and the owner must name a responsible party within 25 miles who can address problems around the clock.
No person or entity shall operate a short term vacation rental (STVR) or advertise a residential property for use as a STVR without the owner of the property first having made application to the building and neighborhood services (BNS) department to update their certificate of use and occupancy....A STVR application shall be required every 365 days. STVR application fees are as stated in appendix A, comprehensive fees and penalties.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 30 Update 1).
Full Breakdown
Section 13-201 defines an STVR as a residential dwelling unit containing not more than four sleeping rooms that is used and/or advertised for rent for transient occupancy by guests, expressly excluding units rented to the same occupant more than 21 continuous days, bed and breakfasts, boarding houses, hotels, and motels. Sec. 13-202 states that no person or entity shall operate a short term vacation rental or advertise a residential property for use as a STVR without the owner of the property first having made application to the Building and Neighborhood Services (BNS) department to update their certificate of use and occupancy; both operating and merely advertising without that update are prohibited.
Sec. 13-214 makes the permit recurring: a STVR application shall be required every 365 days, with fees set in Appendix A, Comprehensive Fees and Penalties. The owner remains personally on the hook for compliance: Sec. 13-203 requires the owner to keep the city current on the name, telephone number, address, and email address of the owner and of a responsible party residing or located within 25 miles of the STVR who handles maintenance and safety concerns. Owners must also collect and remit all applicable room, occupancy, and sales taxes under Sec.
13-215. All these obligations run alongside the STVR's other operating rules in title 13, chapter 2, including insurance, occupancy caps, smoke alarms, and a signage ban, and BNS can act against the certificate for noncompliance with any of them.
Violations & Fines
Operating or advertising an STVR without an updated certificate, or without renewing the application every 365 days, violates title 13, chapter 2. BNS reviews complaints against a permit holder and, after 15 days' written notice of the alleged violations, can bring a revocation action before the board of mayor and aldermen, which can end the right to operate the STVR entirely.
Frequently Asked Questions
What permit does a Franklin STVR need?
Can I advertise my Franklin home as a short-term rental before getting permitted?
Does a Franklin STVR permit expire?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Franklin
How Franklin compares: Most Airbnb-Friendly Cities in America·Compare Franklin to another location·View the Tennessee short-term rentals overview
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