# Short-term rental rules in San Antonio, TX

- Status: **REGULATED**
- Last verified: 2026-07-18 (every legal claim checked against the official sources listed below)
- Canonical page: https://strwatch.ai/san-antonio-tx/

## Summary

San Antonio requires a Short Term Rental (STR) permit for any dwelling unit rented for less than 30 consecutive days, under City Code Chapter 16, Article XXII (adopted Nov. 1, 2018; amended by Ordinance 2024-06-13-0433). Type 1 permits ($300 per 3-year term) cover units that are the owner's or operator's primary residence and carry no density cap. Type 2 permits ($450 per 3-year term) cover non-owner/operator-occupied units and are capped by right at roughly 12.5% of dwelling units per block face (single-family) or per multi-family building of 8+ units, with every block face/building guaranteed at least one Type 2 by right; exceeding the cap requires a Board of Adjustment special exception ($400 with homestead exemption, $600 otherwise). Hosts must self-certify liability insurance and annual fire-extinguisher inspection, post quiet-hours notices (10pm-6am Sun-Thu, 11pm-6am Fri-Sat) if there are outdoor amenities, and include the permit number on every listing; the City can direct platforms to pull non-compliant listings. Operators owe three layers of Hotel Occupancy Tax totaling 16.75% of rent: 6% state, 9% city (7% general + 2% Convention Center expansion), and 1.75% Bexar County (collected by the City on the County's behalf) - all reportable monthly through Avenu, with platforms remitting state HOT (e.g. Airbnb, Vrbo) also required since Sept. 12, 2024 to remit City/County HOT directly. Violations run $100-$500 per day (Class C misdemeanor) or $200-$500 per day administratively; three accepted citations on a property within a rolling 3-year period triggers permit revocation and a 12-month reapplication bar.

## At a glance

- Unhosted whole-home rental: Conditional
- Hosted rental (host present): Yes
- Primary residence required: No
- Guest cap: none verified
- Rules apply to stays under: 30 days

Notes: Two permit tiers exist: Type 1 requires the unit to be the owner's/operator's primary residence (no density limit; ADUs qualify if the owner lives on-site). Type 2 covers non-owner/operator-occupied units, including whole-home unhosted rentals, but is capped at roughly 12.5% of units per block face/building by right, with a Board of Adjustment special exception available above the cap. Type 2 STRs may not operate in ADUs. Maximum occupancy is set per-unit under the San Antonio Property Maintenance Code / approved floor plan rather than a fixed citywide number. STR rules apply only to stays under 30 consecutive days; longer stays are unregulated as STRs.

## Requirements

### Short Term Rental Permit - Type 1 (Owner/Operator-Occupied) (permit)

- Authority: City of San Antonio, Development Services Department
- Cost: $300 (one-time fee, valid 3 years)
- Renewal: Every 3 years; renewal fee is also $300
- Official source: https://docsonline.sanantonio.gov/DSDUploads/2024-06-13-0433STROrdinance.pdf
- Notes: Required when the STR is the owner's or operator's primary residence (documented via homestead exemption, vehicle registration, or similar), including qualifying accessory dwelling units. No citywide density limit. Permits issue within 5 business days of a complete application. City Code Ch. 16, Art. XXII, Secs. 16-1103 to 16-1107, as amended by Ord. 2024-06-13-0433 (fee increase effective June 14, 2024).

### Short Term Rental Permit - Type 2 (Non-Owner/Operator-Occupied) (permit)

- Authority: City of San Antonio, Development Services Department
- Cost: $450 (one-time fee, valid 3 years)
- Renewal: Every 3 years; renewal fee is also $450
- Official source: https://docsonline.sanantonio.gov/DSDUploads/2024-06-13-0433STROrdinance.pdf
- Notes: Required when the unit is not the owner's/operator's primary residence. Allowed by right up to ~12.5% of dwelling units per block face (single-family) or per multi-family building of 8+ units (buildings of 5-7 units: 1 Type 2 by right); every block face/building is guaranteed at least one Type 2 by right regardless of density math. May not rent less than the entire dwelling unit and may not operate in an ADU. City Code Ch. 16, Art. XXII, Secs. 16-1103 & 16-1107, as amended by Ord. 2024-06-13-0433.

### Board of Adjustment Special Exception (density cap exceedance) (permit)

- Authority: City of San Antonio Board of Adjustment
- Cost: $400 (property with homestead exemption) or $600 (all other properties)
- Renewal: One-time, tied to the underlying permit
- Official source: https://docsonline.sanantonio.gov/DSDUploads/STRApplicationPermitsEnforcement.pdf
- Notes: Only required for a Type 2 STR application that would exceed the block-face/building density limit. Applicant has 45 days after notice to submit the special-exception application or the STR permit record is denied. Submitted via the BuildSA online portal. Director-level permit denials/revocations are also appealable to the BOA within 20 calendar days under UDC Sec. 35-481 (Ord. 2024-06-13-0433, Sec. 16-1112).

### Personal Injury Liability Insurance (insurance)

- Authority: City of San Antonio (City Code Ch. 16, Sec. 16-1108(c))
- Cost: not verified
- Renewal: Maintained continuously; self-certified with each application/renewal
- Official source: https://docsonline.sanantonio.gov/DSDUploads/2024-06-13-0433STROrdinance.pdf
- Notes: Ordinance requires, at minimum, 'an insurance policy sufficient for personal injury liability of guests.' No specific coverage dollar amount is set in the code.

### Annual Fire Extinguisher Inspection & Life-Safety Standards (inspection)

- Authority: City of San Antonio Development Services Department / Fire Code
- Cost: not verified
- Renewal: Annual (fire extinguisher inspection); self-certified at each permit application/renewal
- Official source: https://docsonline.sanantonio.gov/DSDUploads/2024-06-13-0433STROrdinance.pdf
- Notes: A 2A:10B:C (5-lb) fire extinguisher must be mounted within 75 feet of all portions of the STR on each floor and independently inspected annually; smoke/CO detectors, emergency escape openings, and a posted evacuation plan are also required (Ord. 2024-06-13-0433, Secs. 16-1104(a)(6), 16-1108(d)).

### Hotel Occupancy Tax Account Registration & Monthly Reporting (registration)

- Authority: City of San Antonio Finance Department (administered by Avenu Insights & Analytics)
- Cost: not verified
- Renewal: Monthly report required indefinitely, even if $0 due or a platform remitted tax on the operator's behalf
- Official source: https://docsonline.sanantonio.gov/DSDUploads/STRHOTFAQ.pdf
- Notes: Every STR operator in Bexar County (inside or outside San Antonio city limits) must hold a HOT account and file monthly reports through Avenu covering City and County HOT, regardless of whether a booking platform remits tax directly to the City.

## Taxes

- **Texas State Hotel Occupancy Tax**: 6% — applies to Receipts from sleeping rooms/space rented for less than 30 days where the cost is $15 or more per day; platform collects: yes. Source: https://comptroller.texas.gov/taxes/hotel/
- **City of San Antonio Hotel Occupancy Tax**: 9% (7% general occupancy tax + 2% Convention Center expansion) — applies to Same STR stays under 30 days, properties within San Antonio city limits; platform collects: yes. Source: https://docsonline.sanantonio.gov/DSDUploads/STRHOTFAQ.pdf
- **Bexar County Hotel Occupancy Tax**: 1.75% — applies to Same STR stays under 30 days, anywhere in Bexar County; collected by the City of San Antonio on the County's behalf; platform collects: yes. Source: https://docsonline.sanantonio.gov/DSDUploads/STRHOTFAQ.pdf

## Enforcement

- Penalties: Operating without a valid permit, or violating any permit term, is a Class C misdemeanor punishable by a fine of $100-$500 upon conviction (each day is a separate violation); administrative/civil violations of permit terms carry a $200-$500 fine per occurrence, with each day of a violating occupancy a separate offense. Permits are revoked if a property accrues three or more citations accepted by Municipal Court (issued to the operator or any occupant) within a rolling 3-year period; a revoked property cannot reapply for a permit for 12 months. Failure to timely pay Hotel Occupancy Tax is a separate violation and results in permit revocation if the arrearage is not paid within 90 days of a delinquency notice. City Code Ch. 16, Art. XXII, Secs. 16-1110 & 16-1111, as amended by Ord. 2024-06-13-0433 (source: https://docsonline.sanantonio.gov/DSDUploads/2024-06-13-0433STROrdinance.pdf).
- Platform liability: All platforms displaying San Antonio STR listings must require owners to include a valid permit number in the listing. The City notifies a platform to remove any listing lacking a valid, non-expired, non-revoked permit number (identifying the listing by URL and reason), and the platform must remove it within 10 business days (Ord. 2024-06-13-0433, Sec. 16-1103(c)). Separately, since September 12, 2024, any platform that collects Texas state Hotel Occupancy Tax on San Antonio bookings (e.g., Airbnb, Vrbo) must also collect and remit City and Bexar County HOT directly to the City monthly (Sec. 16-1104.01).
- Notes: Complaint-driven enforcement: a 311 report is forwarded to Code Enforcement, which inspects within 3 days; a violation triggers a 14-day compliance notice, a re-inspection, and - if still non-compliant - a City email to the platform requesting listing removal. Properties generating habitual complaints can be required to meet with the DSD Director on a compliance plan or face administrative revocation as a 'problem property' (Ord. 2024-06-13-0433, Sec. 16-1110(j)).

## Not yet verified (we say so instead of guessing)

- The precise UDC (City Code Chapter 35) section number that codifies the Type 2 block-face density-limit calculation (~12.5% of units) could not be confirmed against the primary code text this session: library.municode.com (the City's own code portal) returned only an empty JavaScript shell to curl/WebFetch, and no Chrome-extension or headless-browser fallback was available to render it. The 12.5% figure and calculation method are nonetheless independently confirmed across three official City of San Antonio Development Services Department documents (Ord. 2024-06-13-0433 Sec. 16-1103(b); the 'Density Limits' DSD Academy training slide; and the 2026-05-14 Application/Permits/Enforcement fact sheet), so the substantive rule is verified even though its exact UDC citation is not.

## Sources

- Ordinance 2024-06-13-0433 (amending City Code Chapter 16, Article XXII - Short Term Rentals) (official, accessed 2026-07-18): https://docsonline.sanantonio.gov/DSDUploads/2024-06-13-0433STROrdinance.pdf
- Short Term Rentals - Application, Permits & Enforcement (Fact Sheet, updated 2026-05-14) (official, accessed 2026-07-18): https://docsonline.sanantonio.gov/DSDUploads/STRApplicationPermitsEnforcement.pdf
- Hotel Occupancy Tax - Short Term Rentals (Fact Sheet) (official, accessed 2026-07-18): https://docsonline.sanantonio.gov/DSDUploads/STRHOTFAQ.pdf
- Short Term Rentals - Updates to Current Ordinance, Amendment Overview (Fact Sheet) (official, accessed 2026-07-18): https://docsonline.sanantonio.gov/DSDUploads/STRFactSheet.pdf
- Current Short-Term Rental Ordinance (DSD Academy training slide deck: General Provisions, Density Limits, STRs & ADUs) (official, accessed 2026-07-18): https://docsonline.sanantonio.gov/DSDUploads/202312723CurrentSTROrdinance.pdf
- Hotel Occupancy Tax - Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts (official, accessed 2026-07-18): https://comptroller.texas.gov/taxes/hotel/

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Educational information, not legal advice. Published by STRWatch (Laniakea Technologies LLC).