Houston

Certificate of registration

Register each rental with the city before you operate, rent or advertise it.[1] The certificate is valid for one year and only for the address on it.[1] Apply through the city's online portal, which can't save your progress, so you must finish within one hour.[8]

Per-unit rule

Each unit needs its own certificate, including apartments where a tenant sublets.[2] A certificate can't be transferred, and it becomes void if the registrant sells or conveys an ownership or leasehold interest in the property.[1]

Owner permission

If you aren't the owner, you need the owner's sworn or unsworn declaration giving permission.[1] The city's owner form says the use must not violate covenants, HOA rules, deed restrictions or rental agreement terms.[9] The city's registration page also accepts a current valid lease that authorizes a short-term rental.[10]

Application papers

Send contact details for every owner and operator, a 24-hour emergency contact, the platforms you list on, and proof of hotel occupancy tax registration or payment.[1] The ordinance has you acknowledge in the application that the owner or operator completed annual human trafficking training, and the city's registration page says to keep the certificate to give the city on request.[1, 8]

Fee and renewal

The ordinance sets an annual fee of $275, and the application fee is non-refundable.[1] The city's FAQ adds an administrative fee, $33.10 for 2025, and says both change each year with the Consumer Price Index.[2] File a renewal no more than 90 days before the certificate expires, and report changes to your application within 15 calendar days.[1]

Listing rules

Show your registration number and the maximum occupancy in every ad.[1] Platforms may not list a rental without a city registration number.[1] Give the number to each platform once you're registered.[8]

Emergency contact

Name a 24-hour contact who can be reached by phone whenever guests are on the premises.[1] That person must respond within one hour after emergency personnel or the city's director notify them, and must be able to make decisions and resolve the problem.[1, 11]

Posted notices

Post a copy of your certificate inside the front entrance, along with the emergency contact's name and phone number.[1, 11]

Events and parties

You can't advertise or promote a special event at the rental, such as a banquet, wedding, reception, reunion, bachelor or bachelorette party or concert.[1] The city's FAQ says personal gatherings are allowed, but no event can be promoted on platforms, social media or signs.[2]

City codes

Follow the city's noise, building and neighborhood, solid waste, construction and fire code rules, and don't rent for less than one night.[1] The city's FAQ says insurance isn't required and sets no maximum occupancy limit.[2]

State hotel tax

Texas charges a 6% hotel occupancy tax, and it applies to houses and condos as well as hotels.[3] People who lease their houses must collect it from guests the way a hotel does.[3] Returns are due monthly by the 20th, or quarterly if you qualify.[3]

City hotel tax

Houston First, which collects the city's hotel tax, says it is 7% of the cost of the room and that people leasing houses must collect it, and the city code sets the same 7% rate.[4, 5, 12] Reports and payments are due quarterly, by the last day of the month after each quarter.[4]

County and sports authority

The Harris County Tax Office says the total hotel tax combines state, city, county and Houston Sports Authority taxes, and its page lists no rates.[6] It also requires quarterly reports.[6]

Proof for your application

The city asks for proof that you pay or have registered for hotel tax.[8] If you list only on Airbnb you check a box in the portal, Vrbo hosts can use a stay tax report, and on other platforms you register with Houston First and keep the confirmation.[12]

No certificate

Operating, renting or advertising a short-term rental without a valid certificate is unlawful.[1] The fine is $100 to $500 per violation, and each day a violation continues counts as a separate violation.[1]

Listing removal

On Jan 1, 2027, the city will begin notifying platforms to remove listings that lack a certificate, and a platform must remove a listing within 10 business days of the notice.[1, 8] The city says that if you applied but haven't received an approval email and a certificate, your property is non-compliant.[8]

Revocation

The city can revoke a certificate for false or incomplete information, late hotel tax payments, two or more nuisance removals or abatements after notice, or two or more noise convictions on separate occasions within 12 months.[1] A conviction of the owner, operator or a guest for a listed serious crime is also grounds.[1] After most revocations you can't reapply for the same property for one year.[1]

Appeals

You have 20 calendar days after notice to ask in writing for a hearing, and an appeal doesn't stop the city's decision.[1]

State law

House Bill 2464 (2025) is a home-based business bill, signed Jun 12, 2025, that adds Local Government Code 229.902.[13, 14] The new section says it does not prohibit a city from adopting or enforcing an ordinance regulating the operation of a short-term rental unit.[13] Our search of the Texas Legislature site found no 2025 bill that preempts city short-term rental rules, and no 2026 session as of Oct 6, 2026.