San Antonio vacation rental hosts face February 11 registration deadline
- Feb 4, 2019 | Jennifer Sokolowsky
Short-term rental hosts in San Antonio, Texas, have until February 11 to register with the city under a new law that was passed last November. The city is working with Airbnb to educate hosts about the new requirements.
The new ordinance requires short-term rental operators to register for a city permit and pay a $100 fee, with a $100 renewal fee every three years.
The measure also requires short-term rental operators to be registered for Hotel Occupancy Tax collection with the city’s finance department before they can be approved for a short-term rental permit.
The number of short-term rental hosts in the city is estimated at 2,000. While 750 vacation-rental operators are actively paying hotel taxes in San Antonio, only 335 had applied for the city short-term rental permit as of January 25.
The city has contracted with company Host Compliance to identify unregistered vacation rentals for enforcement efforts once the deadline has passed. Violations may result in minimum fines of $500 per day.
Along with city hotel taxes, San Antonio short-term rental hosts are also required to pay county and state hotel taxes. Hosts must register for tax collection with the state in addition to city tax registration.
Airbnb collects the state occupancy tax on behalf of its short-term rental hosts, but not county or city taxes. Airbnb does not collect city short-term rental permit application or tax registration for its hosts. Hosts are solely responsible for all registrations.
Other short-term rental platforms, such as HomeAway and VRBO, do not collect any taxes or help with registrations for their short-term rental hosts in Texas.
MyLodgeTax can help San Antonio short-term rental hosts comply with all short-term rental tax obligations, including tax registrations and filing for all jurisdictions. For more information on short-term rental taxes in Texas, see our state Hotel Occupancy Tax guide.
Most parts of San Antonio’s short-term rental law went into effect when it was passed, including limits on how many “type 2” short-term rentals — those not occupied by the operator — can exist within a certain area.
Only one type 2 rental is allowed in a multifamily development with fewer than eight units. In larger multifamily buildings and on residential blocks, type 2 rentals are limited to 12.5 percent of housing. Once the density limits are reached, prospective short-term rental operators can ask for an exception from the Board of Adjustments.
Properties that have received city housing incentives are barred from operating as type 2 short-term rentals. There are no density limitations for type 1 short-term rentals, which are properties occupied by their operator.
The new law also prohibits short-term rentals from being used for large events or for hosts to provide food and beverages to guests.
