Article

The STR Regulation Tracker: Every Major Rule Change We Can Verify, 2025–2026

August 4, 2026

Short-term rental regulation used to mean a city trying to catch unlicensed listings on its own, one complaint at a time. That's changed. City after city is now building the enforcement into the booking platforms themselves: No valid registration number, no listing. Austin did it in July. Anchorage did it days later. New Orleans has been running it since June 2025. This is the new default, and it's spreading fast.

This tracker exists so you can check your own market in one place instead of digging through a dozen city websites. It's organized by how confident we are in each entry, not just alphabetically, because that distinction matters more than it usually gets credit for.

A note on verification, before anything else: Every location on this list is checked directly against a government source, court record or official city document, not restated from a blog or industry aggregator. Where a specific detail came from something other than the primary source, that's said plainly in the entry itself rather than hidden. This is a living document, new rules pass constantly, so treat this as current as of the date below, not permanent.

Quick-Reference Table

City/County	State	Status	One-Line Takeaway	What To Do
Austin	TX	✅ Enforcing (July 1, 2026)	Platforms must remove city-flagged unlicensed listings	Apply for a license now if you're not currently licensed
Anchorage	AK	✅ Enforcing (July 31, 2026)	Registration number required to post on any platform	If you missed the deadline, apply within the 14-day violation-notice window before fines apply
New York City	NY	✅ Enforcing since Sept 2023	Local Law 18; platforms verify OSE registration before any booking, fines up to $5,000 per unregistered transaction	Abandon any unhosted whole-apartment strategy, it's effectively unworkable here
New Orleans	LA	✅ Enforcing since June 2025	Dual owner/operator permits; platforms need a $10,000/year permit and must delist within 7 days of city notice	If investing remotely, line up a legitimate on-site operator, not just an occasional check-in co-host
Nashville	TN	✅ Enforcing	STRP permit; Airbnb and VRBO auto-suspend listings without one	Set a renewal reminder well before permit expiration
Denver	CO	✅ Enforcing	Primary residence only; 1 license per person	Keep primary residence documentation airtight; skip multi-unit/corporate plans here
Houston	TX	✅ Enforcing since Jan 1, 2026	$275/year fee; platform delisting begins Jan 2027	Register now to be positioned ahead of the Jan 2027 enforcement date
San Diego	CA	✅ Enforcing	Whole-home licenses capped at 1% of housing stock citywide, 30% in Mission Beach	Confirm license availability before closing on a property, licenses don't transfer with a sale
Dallas	TX	✅ Verified, legally unsettled	Residential ban blocked by injunction, case pending at Texas Supreme Court	Treat this market as legally unsettled, don't assume today's status holds
Los Angeles County (unincorporated)	CA	✅ Enforcing since Sept 2024	$914/year registration; platforms fined up to $1,000/day per listing for non-compliance	Drop any ADU-based STR strategy, it's not viable here
Smithville	TX	✅ Enforcing since Jan 7, 2026	Non-transferable permit; revocation triggers a 1-year reapplication ban	Stay compliant, a revocation costs you a full year, not just a fine
New York (statewide)	NY	✅ Enforcing (Dec 22, 2025)	Platforms file quarterly county-level stay reports with the state	No host action needed directly, but know the state now has county-level visibility
Illinois (statewide)	IL	✅ Enforcing (July 1, 2025)	Platforms redefined as "re-renters," must collect state hotel tax	Confirm your platform has actually updated its tax remittance process
Jamaica Beach	TX	✅ Enforcing	Automated scanning of 70+ listing sites; $500/day fine	Assume you'll be found if unregistered, this isn't complaint-driven
Salt Lake City	UT	✅ Enforcing, applications paused until Aug 8, 2026	Confined to mixed-use/commercial zones; excluded from residential zoning	Check the zoning map before assuming your property even qualifies
Florida (statewide)	FL	✅ Ongoing since 2011	DBPR license required; local rules vary sharply by city	Check your specific city's rules independently, a state license alone isn't enough
Decatur	AL	✅ Enforcing (grace period through July 2026)	$500/day fines after grace period ends	File for registration now, before the grace period closes
Arapahoe County	CO	✅ Adopted, effective late June 2026	500-foot separation buffer between STRs	Apply early, this is first-come, first-served
Minnetonka	MN	✅ Adopted (June 8, 2026)	Registration limited to homesteaded primary residences	Skip this market for investor-owned or secondary properties
Maui County	HI	✅ Enforcing (phased sunset)	Minatoya units phased out: 2029 (West Maui), 2031 (rest of county)	Start an exit or conversion plan now if you hold a Minatoya-listed condo
Arvada	CO	✅ Enforcing, with a caveat	Natural-person license holder required; LLCs can still own the property	Put a qualifying individual's name on the license application
Aspen	CO	✅ Enforcing (June 1, 2026)	Natural-person ownership required; 120-night cap on owner-occupied permits	Use a real individual's name on the application, not an entity name
South Salt Lake	UT	✅ Enforcing (March 12, 2025)	Owner-occupied or local-resident-owned only; ADUs banned	Drop any ADU-based plan here specifically
Columbia	SC	✅ Enforcing (May 20, 2026)	Non-owner-occupied STRs restricted to major road frontage	Check road classification before buying a non-owner-occupied property
Pooler	GA	✅ Enforcing (March 18, 2025)	500-foot buffer; certificates don't transfer on sale	Apply early, a neighbor's certificate can permanently block yours
Kennesaw	GA	✅ Enforcing, self-contradicting document	250-ft vs 500-ft buffer conflict in city's own docs; 2-property cap	Confirm the real buffer distance directly with the city before relying on either figure
DeKalb County	GA	✅ Enforcing (May 20, 2026)	24-hour local contact required; STRs banned in historic districts	Confirm your property isn't inside a historic district boundary
Scottsdale	AZ	✅ Enforcing	License required; event-center use banned	Strip event/wedding marketing language from your listing entirely
Madison	WI	✅ Proposed only	190-permit citywide cap under consideration	Monitor, not yet law, no action required
West Columbia	SC	✅ Proposed only	Public comment closed, no ordinance passed	Monitor, nothing adopted yet
Washington, D.C.	DC	✅ Proposed	Bill would allow tenant hosting, second property capped at 90 nights	Renters: watch this if you want to host at your primary residence
Ohio (statewide)	OH	✅ Proposed	SB 104 would limit local bans, standardize state tax collection	Monitor if you operate in a heavily-restricted Ohio city
Claremont	CA	✅ Proposed	Would replace a total ban with a regulated permit path	Prepare application materials in advance of the shift
Lakewood	OH	✅ Proposed	Framework being built where none currently exists	Track committee updates, nothing in effect yet
West Bountiful	UT	✅ Proposed	Considering a moratorium prioritizing DADUs	Hold off on DADU-to-STR conversion plans here
Las Vegas	NV	✅ Enforcing	Owner-occupied, 3 bedrooms max; 660-ft buffer	Drop any absentee-investor plan, occupancy is strictly enforced
Charleston	SC	✅ Proposed, corrected	Flat 8-guest cap proposed, regardless of bedroom count	Larger property owners: watch this closely, it disproportionately affects you
Myrtle Beach	SC	✅ Enforcing (Dec 2024)	Multi-unit STR-to-long-term conversions banned in overlay zone	Know that a property here is locked into the STR strategy permanently
Anaheim	CA	✅ Enforcing	No new permits since 2016; ~241 grandfathered STRs remain	Don't pursue a new permit here, none are being issued
Joshua Tree / San Bernardino County	CA	✅ Enforcing	County permit required; platforms must display it	Expect tighter scrutiny in Joshua Tree specifically vs. other county resort areas
Park County	CO	✅ Enforcing (July 19, 2026)	No license cap; density controlled via septic capacity	Confirm your septic system can support your advertised occupancy before applying
Buncombe County	NC	✅ No ordinance yet, drafting	Urban/Rural STR framework in development	Watch closely if investing here specifically to avoid Asheville's restrictions

Verified: Cities Where the Platform Itself Is Now the Enforcer

This is the core trend. Instead of a city trying to catch unlicensed listings after the fact, these cities have made the booking platform legally responsible for checking before a listing can even go live.

Austin, TX. As of July 1, 2026, platforms operating in Austin must display a license number field on every listing and remove any listing the city flags as unlicensed. What this means for you: If you're not currently licensed, apply now. Enforcement no longer depends on the city finding you first.

Anchorage, AK. The registration deadline was July 30, 2026, and as of July 31, no listing can post on any platform without a municipal registration number. What this means for you: If you missed the deadline, existing code gives a 14-day window to register after a violation notice before fines apply. Apply before that notice arrives.

New York City, NY. This is actually the oldest and most-tested example of the whole trend. Local Law 18 was enacted January 9, 2022, with enforcement beginning September 5, 2023. Hosts must register with the Mayor's Office of Special Enforcement as a natural person who is the permanent occupant of the unit, no more than 2 guests are allowed, and entire apartments can't be rented short-term at all, only a room in an occupied home. Platforms must verify registration before processing any booking, and unregistered transactions carry fines up to $5,000. The effect has been dramatic: an estimated 22,000 to 38,000 active listings before enforcement dropped to fewer than 3,000 by mid-2025. What this means for you: A traditional unhosted whole-apartment Airbnb strategy is effectively dead in New York City. This is the strictest version of platform enforcement on this entire list.

New Orleans, LA. Running since June 2025, this is the deepest system we found. STRs need both an owner permit and a separate operator permit, and platforms themselves need a $10,000-a-year permit just to operate in the parish. To keep that permit, a platform must block listings missing valid permit data and remove non-compliant ones within 7 days of city notice. Non-commercial rentals also require a live-in operator present during guest stays, which makes a fully remote, unhosted whole-home rental essentially impossible in residential zones. STRs are banned outright in the Garden District, and most of the French Quarter is excluded too. What this means for you: If you're investing remotely, you need a legitimate on-site operator, someone who's actually there, not a co-host who checks in occasionally.

Nashville, TN. Every listing needs an STRP-2 (owner-occupied) or STRP-3 (non-owner-occupied) permit, and both Airbnb and VRBO auto-suspend listings the moment a permit lapses. What this means for you: Set a renewal reminder well before expiration. An auto-suspension pauses bookings immediately and can cost you your search ranking once the listing comes back.

Denver, CO. Short-term rentals are restricted to primary residences only, one license per person, and the city has been tightening platform-side verification through 2026. What this means for you: A multi-unit or corporate hosting structure won't work here. Keep your primary residence documentation airtight.

Houston, TX. Registration has required a $275 annual fee since January 1, 2026, with fines of $100 to $500 a day for operating without one. Platform-side delisting enforcement doesn't start until January 2027. What this means for you: Registering now, ahead of that January 2027 enforcement date, puts you in position to absorb bookings from hosts who get delisted when it kicks in.

San Diego, CA. Every short-term rental needs a Short-Term Residential Occupancy (STRO) license, and platforms are required to verify that license number before a listing goes live and to remove listings that don't display one. The city also caps the total number of whole-home rental licenses at 1% of housing stock citywide, 30% within the Mission Beach area specifically, and licenses don't transfer when a property sells. What this means for you: Existing license scarcity is the real barrier here, more than the application process itself. If you're buying specifically to operate an STR, confirm the license situation before closing, since the previous owner's license doesn't come with the property.

Dallas, TX. This one needs real context, not just a status label. Dallas City Council voted in June 2023 to ban short-term rentals from residential areas entirely, restricting them to areas where hotels are already allowed, alongside a registration system and platform accountability requirements. That residential ban is currently blocked by a court injunction and is not being enforced, with the underlying case pending before the Texas Supreme Court. Registration and platform-reporting requirements are still active. What this means for you: Treat Dallas as legally unsettled. A property that's fine to operate today could face a very different legal landscape depending on how the Supreme Court case resolves.

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Verified: Other Significant Changes, Not Platform-Enforcement Specific

Salt Lake City, UT. The ordinance took effect July 1, 2026, requiring a business license, a 2-night minimum stay and a 200-night annual cap. One critical correction: The city's own finance page states applications are not currently being processed, with a note to check back after August 8, 2026. STRs are also excluded from residential zones entirely, permitted only in mixed-use, downtown, and specific commercial districts, and buildings with more than 11 units can license up to 10% of their units as STRs. Fines run $1,000 every 7 days for unlicensed operation. What this means for you: Don't assume you can apply and launch right now, even though the ordinance is technically in effect. Check the zoning map before assuming your property even qualifies.

Los Angeles County, CA (unincorporated areas). Passed April 2, 2024, effective around September 29, 2024. Registration costs $914 a year, STRs are limited to the host's primary residence, and accessory dwellings or rent-restricted units can't be used as STRs at all. Platforms must display the host's valid registration certificate number on every booking and remove listings within 10 days of being notified of a missing or invalid one, facing fines up to $1,000 a day per listing for non-compliance. What this means for you: This is one of the strictest platform-enforcement setups on this whole list. An accessory dwelling unit strategy simply doesn't work in unincorporated LA County.

Smithville, TX. Adopted December 8, 2025, effective January 7, 2026. Permits run $150 a year, platforms must display the permit number, and the city can order removal of non-compliant listings within 10 business days of notice. Permits are non-transferable, and a revocation triggers a 1-year ban on reapplying. What this means for you: A revocation here takes the property off the table for a full year, a real consequence worth avoiding.

New York State (statewide). Effective December 22, 2025, booking platforms must report aggregate guest stays per county quarterly to the Department of State, under a $25 filing fee per report. What this means for you: This is a reporting mandate on platforms rather than a new host-facing permit, but it means the state now has visibility into county-level STR activity it didn't have before.

Illinois (statewide). Effective July 1, 2025, short-term rental platforms are legally redefined as "re-renters" and are required to collect and remit the state's Hotel Operators' Occupation Tax. What this means for you: If you're relying on a platform to handle tax remittance in Illinois, confirm they've actually updated their process to reflect this redefinition.

Jamaica Beach, TX. The city uses Granicus software to actively scan more than 70 listing sites for unregistered rentals. Violations are a Class C Misdemeanor carrying a $500-a-day fine. What this means for you: This is automated, ongoing detection rather than complaint-driven enforcement. Assume you'll be found if you're not registered.

Florida (statewide). Florida requires a DBPR license under Chapter 509 for any unit rented more than 3 times a year for stays under 30 days. A 2024 bill (SB 280) that would have created a statewide registry was vetoed, so the pre-2011 local patchwork continues. Some cities with ordinances predating June 2011, Miami Beach among them, are grandfathered into much stricter local bans. What this means for you: A state DBPR license covers the state layer only. Check your specific city's rules independently before assuming you're fully compliant.

Decatur, AL. Registration opened with a grace period running through July 2026, after which fines of $500 a day apply. What this means for you: File now, before the grace period closes.

Arapahoe County, CO. A 500-foot separation buffer between STRs took effect in late June 2026. What this means for you: This is genuinely first-come, first-served. If a neighboring property secures a permit first, you may be locked out of that buffer zone permanently.

Minnetonka, MN. Adopted June 8, 2026, registration is now limited to owners who homestead the property as their primary residence. What this means for you: Investor-owned and secondary vacation properties don't qualify here at all.

Maui County, HI. This is a genuinely major one. Minatoya List units (apartment-zoned condos that had operated as short-term rentals under a decades-old zoning exemption) are being phased out entirely: West Maui units must stop by January 1, 2029, and units in the rest of Maui County by January 1, 2031. Roughly 6,500 units are affected. Hotel-zoned properties are untouched. What this means for you: If you own or are considering a Minatoya-listed condo, start planning your exit or conversion timeline now. The ordinance is already being challenged in court by affected owners, so there's real uncertainty about whether the exact dates or scope could still shift.

Arvada, CO (Ordinance 4917). Effective May 1, 2026, occupancy is capped at 240 days a year, confirmed directly on the city's own ordinance page. The natural-person ownership requirement (no LLC as license holder) is real, and city council confirmed a 3-permit cap per person in its final amendments, though that specific number comes from meeting coverage rather than the city's own top-level ordinance summary. One important nuance the coverage of this often blurs: The property can still be owned by an LLC, the license itself just has to be held by an individual.

Aspen, CO. Confirmed directly via the city's own site: as of the June 1, 2026 transition to the Localgov platform, Owner-Occupied and Classic permits require a verifiable natural person's name, LLCs without one won't be accepted, and Owner-Occupied permits cap out at 120 rental nights a year. What this means for you: Same practical effect as Arvada, get a real individual's name on the application, not just an entity name.

South Salt Lake, UT. Confirmed via the city's own page: as of a March 12, 2025 ordinance, STRs must be owner-occupied or owned by a primary resident of South Salt Lake, and ADUs are strictly prohibited from STR use. What this means for you: An ADU strategy is a non-starter here specifically, even though it may work in a neighboring city.

Columbia, SC. Confirmed via the city's own announcement: the Tolemi registration platform launched May 20, 2026, with fees of $100 for owner-occupied units and $250 for non-owner-occupied ones. Non-owner-occupied STRs must front a 4-lane arterial or collector road (Ordinance 2025-107), while owner-occupied units are exempt from that requirement (Ordinance 2026-013). What this means for you: Check road classification before buying anything you plan to operate as a non-owner-occupied STR here.

Pooler, GA. Confirmed via the city's own public notice: Ordinance O2025-09 took effect March 18, 2025, with a $350 application fee, $250 renewal, a 500-foot separation requirement from other licensed STRs and non-transferable certificates. What this means for you: Same first-come, first-served risk as Arapahoe County, a neighbor's certificate can permanently block yours.

Kennesaw, GA. Confirmed via the city's own page: effective October 1, 2025, with a December 31, 2025 grandfathering deadline, a 2-property cap per owner, and rules that revoke nonconforming status on sale, 50% property damage or 12 months vacant. One thing worth flagging directly: the city's own official document contradicts itself on the separation distance, the body text says 250 feet, the FAQ section says 500 feet. What this means for you: Confirm the actual distance with the city directly before relying on either figure.

DeKalb County, GA. Confirmed via the county's own announcement: the program went live May 20, 2026, requiring a 24-hour local agent, an 8% excise tax and a ban on STRs within locally designated historic districts.

Scottsdale, AZ. Confirmed via the city's own code page: Ordinance 4719 defines "event center" specifically to strengthen enforcement against commercial gatherings, weddings, and large parties in residential STRs, and every rental under 30 days needs a city STR license. The exact passage date (reported as June 23, 2026) came from a news source rather than the city's own page directly. What this means for you: Strip event marketing language from your listing entirely, this is specifically what the city is watching for.

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Proposed Only, Not Yet Law: Watch List

These are real, active proposals still moving through the process. Treating any of these as current law would be a mistake.

Madison, WI: a citywide cap of 190 total STR permits is under consideration.
West Columbia, SC: public comment closed, but no ordinance has been voted on yet.
Washington, D.C.: Bill 26-647, introduced March 13, 2026, confirmed via the Mayor's office. Would allow renters to host, create a special event license, and allow a second property capped at 90 nights a year.
Ohio (statewide): SB 104, confirmed via the state legislature's own site. Would limit local governments' authority to regulate STRs while extending local lodging taxes to them.
Claremont, CA: confirmed via an April 22, 2025 City Council staff report. Would introduce Chapter 16.110 to replace the city's historical blanket ban with a regulated pathway.
Lakewood, OH: confirmed via city committee documents from July 2026. Ordinance 28-2026 has been introduced to build a full STR framework where none currently exists.
West Bountiful, UT: confirmed via Planning Commission packets from early 2026. Actively debating lifting its STR ban, prioritizing DADUs, and a possible moratorium.

Verified: Buffers, Caps, and Zoning Reversals

Las Vegas, NV. Confirmed directly on the city's own site: STRs are limited to owner-occupied homes of 3 bedrooms or less, at least 660 feet from another STR. Fractional-ownership structures don't get around the owner-occupied requirement, someone with a fractional share who doesn't live there is legally treated as a guest instead of an owner. One added detail from a separate research pass, a 2,500-foot buffer from resort hotels, wasn't confirmed on the specific city page checked here, worth a direct confirmation before relying on it. What this means for you: An absentee-investor model doesn't work here at all, and grandfathered nonconforming licenses disappear permanently once they lapse or get revoked.

Charleston, SC. A correction to what we previously had published: The actual proposal under debate is a flat cap of 8 guests across every STR, regardless of size or legal bedroom count, replacing the standard 2-adults-per-bedroom approach, a different structure than a cap tied to bedroom count. It's not adopted yet. What this means for you: If this passes as written, a large, legally compliant 5-bedroom home would be capped the same as a small 2-bedroom unit, worth watching if you own or are considering a larger property here.

Myrtle Beach, SC. Ordinance 2024-69 created a Short-Term Rental Conversion Overlay Zone in commercial districts between Kings Highway and the ocean. Multi-unit buildings historically used for STRs can't convert to long-term rentals (leases of 90-plus days), and back-to-back short-term leases designed to dodge that threshold are explicitly outlawed too. The city's own impact study found real numbers behind this: converting 1,000 STR units to long-term rental was projected to cost the city $2.48 million and the state $3.94 million in revenue, plus 48 local jobs. What this means for you: A property in this overlay zone is permanently locked into the STR strategy. There's no flexibility to convert later if the market shifts.

Anaheim, CA. Anaheim banned new STR permits in 2016 and initially tried to force existing STRs out entirely within 18 months. That amortization attempt collapsed under its own weight; owners flooded the city with hardship-extension paperwork, and Anaheim reversed course in 2019 via Ordinance 6405, letting roughly 241 grandfathered STRs continue operating indefinitely. The ban on any new permits remains absolute. Enforcement is active: 2 major violations in 12 months or 10 minor ones triggers permit revocation, and code enforcement patrols nightly from 8pm to 2am. What this means for you: If you don't already hold one of the grandfathered permits, there's no path to a new one here.

Joshua Tree / San Bernardino County, CA. A county permit is required under Chapter 84.28, and platforms must display the permit number and share data with the county on request. What's notable here is the underlying data: A county housing study found most of the county's resort areas (Big Bear, Lake Arrowhead) show STRs aren't meaningfully displacing long-term renters, most are purpose-built second homes earning modest income. Joshua Tree specifically is the exception, seasonal/second-home rates jumped from 5% in 2010 to 21% in 2021, and year-round rental occupancy fell to 26% by 2022. What this means for you: Joshua Tree is being regulated harder than the rest of the county precisely because its market behaves differently, worth knowing if you're comparing it to a seemingly similar mountain market nearby.

Park County, CO. The county's ordinance, effective July 19, 2026, explicitly does not cap the number of STR licenses. Instead, density is controlled through septic capacity, applicants must submit original septic design documents proving the system can handle the advertised occupancy, alongside detailed floor plans and parking requirements. What this means for you: Your property's septic system, not a citywide quota, is the real limiting factor on whether you can operate here at all.

Buncombe County, NC. No county-level STR ordinance exists yet, but that's actively changing. Asheville's 2018 ban on new STRs outside resort zoning pushed investment into the surrounding unincorporated county, and the county is now drafting real rules in response: a formal ad-hoc committee, and a proposed distinction between "Urban STRs" (up to 2 units per lot, with square footage caps) and "Rural STRs" (2-acre minimum lot size). What this means for you: If you're investing in unincorporated Buncombe County specifically to avoid Asheville's restrictions, that gap is closing. Watch this one closely.

Methodology

Last updated: August 2026

How we verify: Every entry on this tracker is checked directly against government ordinance text, official city or county pages, state agency guidance or court records. Where a specific detail (a passage date, a secondary figure) came from a source other than the primary government document, we've said so directly in that entry rather than presenting it with false confidence.

See something we're missing, or a rule that's changed? Send the primary source link to support@hostcamp.com and we'll get it reviewed and added.

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