United States. Read against the published rules of New York City and Austin, plus the federal tax position
Short term rental regulations: which lever is pointed at you?
Every list of city short-term rental rules on the open web is out of date, because the rules move faster than anybody maintains a table. What does not move is the structure. Cities regulate short-term lets with five levers, and knowing which one your city has pulled tells you what to look up and in what order. New York, for example, is not a permit problem: it is a host-presence problem, and no amount of paperwork gets round it. Four questions, and you will know which lever decides your case and what to search for.
Question 1
How would the property be used?
Almost every regime treats a whole-home let differently from a spare room, and the difference is usually the single biggest factor.
What this checker covers
- The five levers: registration, host presence, night caps, zoning and density, and platform accountability
- How the definition of a short-term rental is set, and why 30 days is the usual line
- New York City's registration law and its host-presence condition, quoted from the city's own guidance
- Austin's annual licensing and its published fees
- The federal tax position, including the fewer-than-15-days rule
- Structure only. This does not hold a per-city rule database, and it says so rather than serving a stale one
STR Rules Check is an independent site operated by Ellul Solutions Ltd. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to the City of New York, the City of Austin, the Internal Revenue Service, any booking platform or any government body, and it is not a law firm, a tax adviser or a property manager. Nothing here is legal or tax advice on a particular property. This site deliberately does not hold a rule database by city: those change on hundreds of independent local calendars and a stale table actively misleads a reader who checks it and stops. Every figure quoted is taken from the official page cited beside it and read on the date at the top of this page. Local rules change, so treat this as the order to check things in rather than as the answer for your address.
The five levers US cities use on short-term rentals, 2026
Last updated
City rules change faster than anybody maintains a table of them, which is why every published list is wrong somewhere. The structure underneath is stable: five levers, in a reliable order of how decisive they are. This is that structure, with worked examples from two cities that publish their rules clearly.
The New York City rows are quoted from the Mayor's Office of Special Enforcement's own guidance for prospective hosts and its registration law pages, read on 15 August 2026. The Austin rows are quoted from the City of Austin's short-term rentals department page, read the same day, including its published fee amounts and the 1 July 2026 platform date. The federal row is quoted from IRS Topic 415. Two cities is not a survey and this table does not claim to describe any other jurisdiction: they are here because they publish clearly and because between them they demonstrate two different primary levers. Deliberately absent: any per-city rule database. Maintaining one accurately across thousands of US jurisdictions is not something this site does, and serving a stale one would be worse than serving none, because a reader who checks a table and stops has been actively misled rather than merely unhelped. What the table gives instead is the order to check things in, which does not go stale. Every figure is quoted as published on the date shown and city rules change on their own schedules.
| Lever | What it does | Worked example | Why it sits here in the order |
|---|---|---|---|
| The definition | Sets the boundary of the whole regime by naming a maximum stay length | New York City: "a rental for fewer than 30 consecutive days of a dwelling unit within a private dwelling". Austin: "residences rented for less than 30 consecutive days" | First, because if your lets are longer than the local line, most of the rest does not reach you at all |
| Host presence | Requires the host to be living in, or staying in, the property during the stay | New York City permits short-term rentals "only if you are staying in the same unit or apartment as your guests", with a maximum of "two paying guests at a time" and guest access to all parts of the unit | Second, because it cannot be bought round. Where it applies, a whole-home let is unavailable at any fee |
| Registration or licence | Requires a permit before letting, usually with a fee and a term | Austin: a valid operating licence, $836.30 for a new licence ($789 plus a $47.30 notification fee) and $385.30 to renew ($338 plus $47.30), valid two years. New York City: registration with the Office of Special Enforcement, $145 plus processing, non-refundable, initial determination targeted within 3 business days | Third. This is the lever people assume is the whole subject, and it is usually the most tractable one |
| Caps, limits and exclusions | Night caps, guest caps, density quotas, and categories of property that cannot register at all | New York City cannot register units on the Prohibited Buildings List, rent-controlled apartments, rent-stabilized apartments, NYCHA apartments, entire units in one and two family homes, or Class A units in buildings where the owner prohibits short-term rentals | Fourth, because an exclusion can close the route even where you satisfy every other condition |
| Platform accountability | Makes the booking platform check the city register before processing a transaction | New York City prohibits platforms from processing transactions for unregistered short-term rentals. Austin: from 1 July 2026 unlicensed properties are subject to removal requests from booking platforms | Fifth, because it decides how the other four are enforced. Where it is in force, non-compliance stops being a risk and becomes a delisting |
| Federal income tax | A separate regime that does not touch local permission | IRS Topic 415: rent a dwelling used as a home for fewer than 15 days and you "don't report any of the rental income and don't deduct any expenses as rental expenses". A unit is a residence where personal use exceeds the greater of 14 days or 10% of days rented at a fair rental price | Outside the five, and frequently confused with them. It changes your return, not your right to let |
| Lodging or occupancy tax | A separate registration with a separate authority, often at both state and city level | Not covered by the pages cited here. It is a distinct obligation from the permit and is commonly missed by hosts who registered correctly | Outside the five, and worth checking as its own item rather than assuming a permit covered it |
| Private restrictions | A lease, an HOA, a condominium declaration or a deed covenant | Not a city rule at all, and binding regardless of what the city permits. New York City also excludes rent-controlled, rent-stabilized and NYCHA units from registration outright | Outside the five, and the most common reason a fully permitted let has to stop |
- New York City and Austin both define a short-term rental as a let of fewer than 30 consecutive days, which is the usual line across US jurisdictions.
- New York City permits short-term rentals only if the host is staying in the same unit or apartment as the guests, with a maximum of two paying guests at a time.
- New York City requires guests to have access to all parts of the dwelling unit: privacy locks are acceptable, but a lock excluding guests from a room defeats the common-household requirement.
- New York City cannot register rent-controlled, rent-stabilized or NYCHA apartments, entire units in one and two family homes, or units on the Prohibited Buildings List.
- Registration in New York City costs $145 plus a processing fee, is non-refundable, and the Office of Special Enforcement targets an initial determination within 3 business days.
- An Austin short-term rental licence is $836.30 new ($789 plus a $47.30 notification fee) and $385.30 to renew ($338 plus $47.30), valid for two years from issuance.
- From 1 July 2026, unlicensed Austin properties are subject to removal requests from booking platforms.
- Under IRS Topic 415, a dwelling used as a home and rented for fewer than 15 days generates no reportable rental income and no deductible rental expenses.
Cite this page
“The five levers US cities use on short-term rentals, 2026”, STR Rules Check, https://strrulescheck.com/ (updated 2026-08-15). The New York City rows are quoted from the Mayor's Office of Special Enforcement's own guidance for prospective hosts and its registration law pages, read on 15 August 2026. The Austin rows are quoted from the City of Austin's short-term rentals department page, read the same day, including its published fee amounts and the 1 July 2026 platform date. The federal row is quoted from IRS Topic 415. Two cities is not a survey and this table does not claim to describe any other jurisdiction: they are here because they publish clearly and because between them they demonstrate two different primary levers. Deliberately absent: any per-city rule database. Maintaining one accurately across thousands of US jurisdictions is not something this site does, and serving a stale one would be worse than serving none, because a reader who checks a table and stops has been actively misled rather than merely unhelped. What the table gives instead is the order to check things in, which does not go stale. Every figure is quoted as published on the date shown and city rules change on their own schedules.
Want somebody local to check the address?
Tell us where the property is and how you would use it. Local property advisers and short-term rental managers will contact you directly.
Go deeper
Each one cites where its numbers come from.
Frequently asked
What counts as a short-term rental?
Almost always a let of fewer than 30 consecutive days, and both cities cited here draw the line there. New York City defines it as a rental for fewer than 30 consecutive days of a dwelling unit within a private dwelling, and Austin describes short-term rentals as residences rented for less than 30 consecutive days. The definition is the first thing to check in any jurisdiction, because if your stays are longer than the local line, most of the regime does not reach you at all.
Can I rent out my whole apartment in New York City?
Generally no. New York City permits short-term rentals only if you are staying in the same unit or apartment as your guests, with a maximum of two paying guests at a time, and guests must have access to all parts of the dwelling unit. That is a host-presence requirement, which is not something a registration can substitute for. Several categories cannot be registered at all, including rent-controlled, rent-stabilized and NYCHA apartments, entire units in one and two family homes, and units on the Prohibited Buildings List.
How much does a short-term rental licence cost?
It depends entirely on the city, and this site publishes only figures it has read on a city's own page. Austin charges $836.30 for a new licence, comprising a $789 licence fee and a $47.30 notification fee, and $385.30 to renew, comprising $338 plus $47.30, with licences valid for two years from issuance. New York City charges $145 plus a processing fee to register, non-refundable, and targets an initial determination within 3 business days.
Do booking platforms check whether I am registered?
Increasingly yes, and where they do it changes the calculation completely. New York City prohibits platforms from processing transactions for unregistered short-term rentals and requires them to use the city's verification system. Austin states that from 1 July 2026 unlicensed properties are subject to removal requests from booking platforms. Under a verification regime, non-compliance is not a risk weighed against revenue, it is a listing that cannot take a booking.
Is there a 14 day rule for short-term rental tax?
There are two related federal numbers and they do different jobs. Under IRS Topic 415, if you use a dwelling unit as a home and rent it for fewer than 15 days, you report none of the rental income and deduct none of the expenses. Separately, a dwelling counts as a residence where your personal use exceeds the greater of 14 days, or 10% of the total days you rent it at a fair rental price. Neither has any effect on whether the city permits the let.
Can I short-term let a property I rent?
Only with both the city's permission and the landlord's, and the lease is usually where it ends. Most residential leases prohibit subletting without written consent, and a short-term let is a sublet even for a spare room. Some categories are excluded by the city regardless: New York City cannot register rent-controlled, rent-stabilized or NYCHA apartments. If both permit it, get consent in writing and specific to short-term letting, because consent to sublet to a long-term tenant is not consent to a platform listing.
Why do you not publish a table of rules by city?
Because it would be wrong within weeks and a reader who checks a stale table and stops has been actively misled, which is worse than not being helped at all. Short-term rental rules change on hundreds of independent local calendars, and no site maintains them accurately at national scale however confidently it presents them. What does not go stale is the structure: five levers, in a reliable order of how decisive they are. Checking your own city against that order takes ten minutes and gives an answer you can trust.
Find the lever before you read the ordinance
Three questions, and you know which of the five decides your case and what to search for first.
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