Short-term rental rules · Brownsville, Texas
Short-term rentals in Brownsville, explained properly.
Brownsville requires every short-term rental (a home, room, accessory dwelling or guest house rented for 30 days or less) to be registered and permitted with the City before it is advertised or rented. The permit lasts one year, carries a unique number that must appear in every listing, and requires a local contact who can respond in person within one hour. Owners must also register to pay the City's 7% hotel occupancy tax before the permit is approved. Violations are Class C misdemeanors: a warning, then fines up to $250 and up to $500, with each day a separate violation, and the permit can be revoked on the third violation in a permit year. We haven't reviewed the zoning use tables or the City's fee schedule yet, so confirm zoning and the permit fee with the City before you buy. This page does not total state and city taxes.
At a glance
What you need to know before you buy or list
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Are short-term rentals allowed? | Conditional: allowed with a City registration and permit, but only where residential use is lawful in the zoning district; we haven't reviewed the zoning use tables yet, so confirm zoning before you buy [1] ClauseConfirming |
| Is a City short-term rental registration and permit required? | Yes: register and obtain a permit before operating or advertising; the permit carries a unique number and lasts one year, with renewal within 30 days after expiration [1] Clause |
| Must the owner live on the property? | No: the article covers owner-occupied, accessory dwelling and unoccupied short-term rentals alike, so the owner need not live on the property [1] ClauseConfirming |
| City hotel occupancy tax | 7% [2] [1] Clause |
| City hotel tax registration | Register with the City to pay hotel occupancy tax before the short-term rental permit application is approved; every person who operates a hotel must collect the tax [1] [2] Clause |
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Detailed rules
The full picture, section by section
Operating rules
| Which rentals does the article cover? | Rentals of a home, room, accessory dwelling or guest house for overnight lodging for not more than 30 days; hotels and motels are outside the definition [1] ClauseConfirming Sec. 94-132(h) defines a short-term rental as a rental for compensation of any residence or residential structure, or a portion of one, for overnight lodging for not more than 30 days. Sec. 94-134 and Sec. 94-136 refer instead to rentals of less than 30 consecutive days or less than 30 days, so the code is not consistent about a stay of exactly 30 days. The article applies to existing and future short-term rentals (Sec. 94-131). |
|---|---|
| 24-hour local contact | Required on the application: a local contact available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week who responds in person within one hour to complaints [1] Clause The application must give the name, address, email and 24-hour telephone number of the local contact person designated by the owner or operator (Sec. 94-135(c)(2)). That person must be available around the clock to respond in person within one hour to complaints about the condition, operation or conduct of occupants and to take remedial action to resolve them (Sec. 94-135(c)(3)). |
| Occupancy limit | The application states the number of bedrooms and the overnight and daytime occupancy limit of the unit [1] Clause Sec. 94-135(c)(5) requires the application to state the number of bedrooms and the applicable overnight and daytime occupancy limit. Any numeric limit set elsewhere in the City Code hasn't been reviewed yet. |
| Permit number in listings | Required: the unique permit number must appear in all listings, online, in print or in any other medium [1] Clause Once registered, each short-term rental gets a unique permit number (Sec. 94-135(h)). Permit information is provided to the Police Department and other departments the City Manager or designee considers reasonably necessary. Under Sec. 94-136(a), any listing for a stay of less than 30 days is prima facie evidence of use as a short-term rental. |
| Permit term and renewal | One-year permit; renew within 30 days after expiration, and a renewal application may be filed 30 days before expiration [1] Clause A permit expires one year from its effective date and is to be renewed within 30 days after expiration (Sec. 94-135(j)). Under Sec. 94-135(k), the owner or operator may apply for review 30 days before expiration but no later than the end of the renewal period, with the required permit fee and documentation. Operating after failing to renew is an offense (Sec. 94-136(a)(3)). The permit fee comes from the Master Fee Schedule, which hasn't been reviewed yet. |
| Changes to application information | Notify the City in writing within 30 calendar days of any change to the information submitted [1] Clause Sec. 94-135(i) puts a duty on the owner to notify the City of Brownsville in writing within 30 calendar days of any change to information submitted as part of the permit application. |
| Unpaid City fees or taxes | An owner who owes the City fees or taxes (including hotel occupancy tax and utility service fees) cannot register a short-term rental until paid in full or a resolution is approved [1] Clause Sec. 94-135(g) and (l) say a property owner delinquent in fees or taxes to the City, including hotel occupancy tax and utility service fees, is prohibited from registering a short-term rental until payment in full or another acceptable resolution is approved. Subsection (g) names the City of Brownsville and subsection (l) names the city finance department as the approving office. |
| Hotel operation fee | $50 fee for owning or operating a hotel, due within ten days of a change of owner or operator; whether it is collected from short-term rentals needs confirmation [2] ClauseConfirming Sec. 94-125 levies a $50.00 fee for the privilege of owning or operating a hotel, as that term is defined in Texas Tax Code Sec. 156.001, within the City; the initial fee was due by July 1, 2010, and later fees are due within ten days of a change in owner or operator. A receipt is issued and must be displayed in the lobby of the hotel, and operating without a valid receipt is a Class C misdemeanor for each day. Texas Tax Code Sec. 156.001(b) treats a short-term rental as a hotel (see the State layer), but the section was adopted in 2010 and defines the fee by reference to that statute. Confirm with the City whether short-term rental owners and operators pay it. |
Penalties & enforcement
| Fines and offenses | Class C misdemeanor: a warning for the first violation, a fine up to $250 for a second violation within one year, and up to $500 for later violations; each day is a separate violation [1] Clause An owner, operator or occupant commits an offense by violating the regulations, allowing an unregistered short-term rental to operate, continuing to operate without renewing, or giving false or incomplete information on an application (Sec. 94-136(a)). The graduated enforcement in Sec. 94-136(b): a warning for the first violation; a fine not exceeding $250.00 for a second violation within one year of the first; a fine not to exceed $500.00 for subsequent violations; each day a violation occurs is a separate violation. The City reserves all other legal rights and remedies. |
|---|---|
| Permit revocation | The permit is subject to revocation on the third violation in any one permit year [1] Clause Sec. 94-136(b)(5) says the short-term rental permit is subject to revocation with the 3rd violation in any one permit year. |
| City hotel tax returns | Monthly: file a report with the tax assessor-collector and pay the tax by the last day of the month after each monthly period [2] Clause Sec. 94-120 requires every person who must collect the tax to file a written report showing the consideration paid for all room occupancies in the preceding month, on or before the last day of the month following each monthly period, and to pay the tax due when filing. The tax assessor-collector may make rules and has access to books and records (Sec. 94-121). |
| Late or unpaid city hotel tax | Failure to collect, report or pay is a misdemeanor; the City may sue for the tax, attorney's fees and a 15% penalty, or seek an injunction against operating until paid [2] Clause A person who fails to collect the tax, file a report or pay, or files a false report, is guilty of a misdemeanor punished as provided in Sec. 1-13 (Sec. 94-122). Under Sec. 94-123 the city attorney may sue to collect the unpaid tax or to enjoin the person from operating a hotel until the tax is paid or the report filed; the person is also liable for the City's reasonable attorney's fees and a penalty equal to 15 percent of the total tax owed. |
State law that also applies
| State hotel occupancy tax | 6% [3] Clause 1 Clause 2 Clause 3 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. |
|---|---|
| State hotel tax registration required? | Yes — Form AP-102 to the Comptroller, unless a booking platform collects for you [4] [3] Clause 1 Clause 2 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. |
| State hotel tax returns | Monthly by the 20th; quarterly if you owe under $500 a month or $1,500 a quarter [3] [5] Clause 1 Clause 2 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. |
| Local hotel taxes | Set by each city (and some counties and districts); paid to the local government [4] [5] Clause 1 Clause 2 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. |
Changes
Recent and pending changes
We read Brownsville City Code Chapter 94, Article IV-A (Short-Term Rental Registration, Secs. 94-130 to 94-136) and Article IV (Hotel Occupancy Tax, Secs. 94-116 to 94-125) on Municode (version July 27, 2026). We haven't reviewed the zoning use tables, the Master Fee Schedule, City Commission agendas or the City's short-term rental application page yet, so we will watch the Code and the City's pages for changes.
Sources
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This page is general information compiled from public sources, not legal or tax advice. HOA rules, deed restrictions and zoning for a specific property can be stricter. Confirm with the local permitting office and a qualified professional before buying or listing a property.