Short-term rentals in Bastrop, explained properly.

A short-term rental registration cannot be assigned or transferred to another person or entity, and an attempt to transfer one or to use another person's registration is grounds for revocation (Sec. 4.13.006). A registration expires on the earlier of one year after issue or a change in ownership of the short-term rental (Sec. 4.13.007), so a new owner files a new application.

The owner files an application to renew at least 30 days before the current registration expires, submitting a new application and paying a new registration fee each year (Sec. 4.13.007). The renewal application fee is $25.00 and non-refundable, as referenced in Appendix A (Fee Schedule), which was not read for this page. The Director may require certifications needed to ensure continuing compliance, and approves the renewal if the application meets this article and all other applicable ordinances. Any change in the information given on the application must be reported to the City within 10 days (Sec. 4.13.005).

The application lists the property address and Appraisal District property ID; the owner's name, address, email and phone (and a natural person with legal authority to act if the owner is not an individual); the operator's details with the owner's written authorization; the name and website link of every internet platform on which the rental is advertised or booked at any time during a 12-month period from the date of application; and the local contact person. The owner or operator must state that the rental complies, and will keep complying, with the article and all state and local laws, including Fire and Building Code requirements on occupancy, smoke and carbon monoxide detectors and fire extinguishers. The application must also verify that no hotel occupancy tax is delinquent for the current year, and give the number of bedrooms, the proposed number of occupants and the number of off-street parking spaces (Sec. 4.13.004(b)). The Director may ask for other information needed to review the application.

The Director may deny a registration if the applicant gave false or misleading information; the owner is overdue in paying the City taxes, fees, fines or penalties, or does not provide documentation, when asked, that all current-year occupancy taxes for the property have been paid; the owner information required by Sec. 4.13.004(2) is missing; the applicant or property has pending complaints or violations of this chapter or any other City Code provision; or the applicant or property had repeated substantiated violations of City Code or state law in the 24 months before applying or renewing. For repeated violations, denial is based on how often they occurred, whether they were intentional or knowing, and how far they endangered public health, safety or welfare. The applicant may appeal a denial (see the appeals rule).

The application names a local contact person who must be available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to respond promptly to complaints about the condition, operation or occupant conduct of the rental and to take remedial action to resolve them. The owner or operator may be listed as the local contact person. The contact's information must also be given to all occupants and posted in a prominent location in the rental (Secs. 4.13.002, 4.13.004(b)(7), 4.13.008(b)(1)).

The owner or operator must give all occupants: the local contact's information (also posted in the rental); City contact information, website and emergency numbers; a parking plan showing the on-site spaces used with the rental; a floor plan identifying bedrooms, other living spaces and emergency evacuation routes; and a summary of the applicable local regulations and restrictions on parking, noise, water conservation and emergency management protocol. The City gives the owner or operator the opportunity to display a registration sticker outside the entrance to the rental (Sec. 4.13.008).

It is a condition of the initial and continued validity of a registration that the owner or operator has paid, and remains current on, all hotel occupancy taxes for the current year owed to the City under the Texas Tax Code. Failure to pay on time is a violation of the article and may result in revocation (Sec. 4.13.009). Failure to pay a hotel occupancy tax required under Chapter 11, Article 11.04 of the Code of Ordinances is also a listed ground for revocation (Sec. 4.13.010(a)(4)). Chapter 11 was not read for this page.

A person or entity that violates the article or fails to comply with its requirements is subject to the general penalty provisions in Sec. 1.01.009 of the City's Code of Ordinances. These penalties are in addition to any other criminal or civil remedies the City may pursue under federal, state or local law (Sec. 4.13.012). Sec. 1.01.009 was not read for this page, so the penalty amounts are not stated here.

The Director may revoke a registration for failing to comply with City ordinances or state or federal law applicable to the rental or property, giving false or misleading information on the application, failing to report a change of information, failing to pay a hotel occupancy tax required under Chapter 11, Article 11.04, or failing to pay a fee when due (Sec. 4.13.010). Before denying or revoking, the Director delivers written notice of the possible revocation and its basis, and the owner or operator has 10 days after delivery to remedy the violation. Once during a registration period the Director may reinstate a revoked registration if the basis is remedied and a $25.00 reinstatement fee is paid. A denial or revocation is final unless the owner or operator files a written appeal with the City Manager within 10 calendar days of delivery of the notice; the City Manager hears it within 30 days of receipt unless otherwise agreed. A further written appeal to the City Council, filed with the City Secretary's Office within 10 calendar days of delivery of the notice of the denial of the appeal, is heard within 30 days; the City Council's decision is final (Sec. 4.13.011).

Texas Tax Code § 156.052 sets the state hotel occupancy tax at 6% of the price paid for a room, and § 156.051(a) applies it to rooms or spaces costing $15 or more a day. Section 156.001(b) makes a short-term rental (renting all or part of a residential property to someone who is not a permanent resident) a "hotel" for state and local hotel occupancy taxes. Stays of at least 30 consecutive days, with no interruption of payment, are not taxed (§ 156.101). Local hotel taxes are added on top and vary by city and county.

Whoever owns, operates, manages or controls a hotel must collect the state tax (Tax Code § 156.053), and the Comptroller's office treats short-term rentals the same way. The Comptroller does not issue printed hotel tax permits; a business that reports the tax sends Form AP-102 (Hotel Occupancy Tax Questionnaire) to the Comptroller. A short-term rental platform that has agreed with the owner to collect and remit state hotel tax files Form AP-102 itself, and an owner who rents only through such a platform does not collect and remit the state tax. An owner who takes bookings directly or through a platform that does not collect must collect and remit the state tax. Local hotel taxes are handled separately by the city and county.

Each calendar month is a reporting period, with the return and tax due to the Comptroller by the 20th of the following month (Tax Code § 156.151(b)). A taxpayer who owes less than $500 for a month or $1,500 for a quarter files quarterly, due the 20th day after the quarter ends (§ 156.151(c)). The Comptroller allows a 1% discount when the return is filed and paid on time.

Cities, some counties and special purpose districts may levy their own hotel taxes, generally up to 7%, and sports or community venue projects may add up to 2% (Dallas County up to 3%). Local hotel taxes apply to sleeping rooms costing $2 or more a day. The Comptroller collects only the 6% state tax; cities and counties collect their own local hotel taxes, so hosts should check with the city and county where the rental is.