Travis County does not restrict short-term rentals to a host's primary residence. Investor-owned and second-home STRs are permitted across unincorporated areas, consistent with Texas HB 1620 statewide preemption of ownership-status conditions.
Texas HB 1620 (2025) prevents Texas local governments from limiting STRs to primary residences or imposing ownership-tenure tests. Travis County never adopted such a rule for unincorporated areas. Investor-owned vacation rentals near Lake Travis, the Hill Country wineries, and Austin's edge are widely operated. Whole-home rentals, second homes, and LLC-owned properties qualify equally. Operators must still register with the Texas Comptroller for hotel occupancy tax under Tax Code Chapter 156 and comply with applicable building, septic, and access standards in unincorporated zones.
No primary-residence violations apply. Enforcement focuses on Texas hotel-tax compliance and septic-permit issues for high-occupancy rural STRs.
Travis County, TX
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 owne...
Travis County, TX
Texas Tax Code 156.103 requires marketplace facilitators like Airbnb and Vrbo to collect and remit state hotel occupancy tax on Travis County stays. Hosts re...
See how Travis County's primary-residence-only rule rules stack up against other locations.
Help us keep this page accurate. If you notice an error or outdated information, let us know.