Portland's STR registration runs on a calendar-year basis with renewal due by January 1 (Sec. 6-154(b)(c)). Beginning calendar year 2026, non-owner-occupied mainland STRs are capped at 1.5% of the prior year's registered long-term rental stock (about 285 units), down from the prior 400-unit cap, with a first-come, first-registered allocation and waitlist.
Portland Code Sec. 6-152(c) sets a cumulative tiered fee schedule. Owner-occupied, tenant-occupied, seasonal, Peaks Island, and Outer Island units: $100 (1st), $250 (2nd), $500 (3rd), $1,000 (4th), $2,000 (5th). Non-owner-occupied mainland units: $200 (1st), $500 (2nd), $1,000 (3rd), $2,000 (4th), $4,000 (5th). Sec. 6-153(b) caps non-owner-occupied mainland units at 400 for calendar year 2025 and, starting 2026, at 1.5% of the total registered long-term rental units the prior year, set annually each September 1. Registrants validly registered as of December 31, 2025 are grandfathered. Mainland accessory dwelling units constructed and given a certificate of occupancy within five years before registration are excluded from the 1.5% cap. Sec. 6-153(c) caps Peaks Island non-owner-occupied units at 40 beginning in 2026, with no cap on owner-occupied or seasonal Peaks Island STRs and only one STR per single-family home or multi-unit on Peaks Island (none in buildings with three or more dwelling units). Sec. 6-153(e) limits any individual or entity to five STR registrations citywide. Allocation under Sec. 6-154(a) is first-come, first-registered; a waitlist forms once the cap is hit (Sec. 6-154(a)(b)). Failure to renew by January 1 forfeits the renewal right and any later application is treated as new (Sec. 6-154(b)(c)(1)). Registrations are not transferable or assignable (Sec. 6-154(c)).
Per Sec. 6-155, failing to register, failing to renew on time, failing to update registration, and renting or permitting occupancy of an unregistered unit are all violations enforceable under Sec. 6-1. False information carries a fixed $1,000 penalty under Sec. 6-155(d). Operating without an allocation once the 1.5% cap is met is a violation of Sec. 6-153(b) and forces the operator to the waitlist under Sec. 6-154(a)(b).
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