Houston, TX Short-Term Rentals: Registration Rules (2026)

On April 16, 2025 Houston City Council adopted Ordinance 2025-322 creating Article XXIII of Chapter 28 (Hotel Occupancy Tax) of the Code of Ordinances, the city's first comprehensive STR registration regime. Registration opened October 1, 2025 and the ordinance became effective January 1, 2026. Every dwelling unit rented for less than 30 consecutive days within Houston city limits, owner-occupied or not, must hold an active certificate of registration issued by the Administration & Regulatory Affairs Department. The application requires registrant identification, property address, a 24-hour emergency contact, listing platform URLs, proof of Hotel Occupancy Tax (HOT) registration, owner authorization or current lease, and a certificate of completion for an approved human trafficking awareness training. Houston imposes a 7% city HOT under Tex. Tax Code Ch. 351 on top of the 6% state HOT under Ch. 156, and STR operators must remit both. The annual registration fee is $275; certificates issued on or before December 31, 2026 expire December 31, 2027. Beginning April 1, 2026, Airbnb and Vrbo began delisting unregistered Houston properties.