Short-term rentals in Cincinnati, explained properly.

Section 856-7(b) lists what the application must include: contact details for the operator and the responsible person, the hosting platforms used, certification of ownership or tenancy, certification that the rental conforms to building, zoning, housing and fire codes, proof that City taxes and utility bills are paid, and acknowledgments about the City's anti-discrimination law and fair housing training. The City must notify the applicant of its decision within 30 days of a complete application, and denials must be in writing with reasons (856-7(d)). The City's rules say each unit in a building is registered separately and that the City does not inspect to verify compliance at this time.

Section 856-11(a); renewal fee from the City's rules.

Section 856-1-R. The City's rules say this is the person who would take a call or show up if there is a problem; it may be the operator or owner.

Section 856-9(b)-(d). The advisory template is on the City's Short Term Rental page.

Section 856-9(g). The amount is to match the prevailing rate for similar properties used for a similar purpose, as determined by the City; no figure is given in the Code or the rules read.

Sections 856-21 and 856-23.

Grounds for denial are in 856-13; three or more written citations or notices of violation for listed guest behaviors (nuisance, noise, over-occupancy, illegal parking, quality-of-life violations, criminal activity) within a year create a presumption that the rental causes a nuisance (856-15). Suspension and revocation are in 856-25(a); appeals go to the Office of Administrative Hearings within 30 days (856-27). The City's rules give a $100 reinstatement fee after a suspension.

Offense classes are set in 856-25(b)-(d); the dollar amounts are from the City's rules. Excise tax violations under Chapter 315 carry a $500 Class C1 civil fine or, alternatively, a first-degree misdemeanor.

Section 874-3(b)(4). A property rented both short-term and long-term may need both; ask the Department of Buildings and Inspections.

Form-Based Code glossary 1703-9 defines Lodging, Bed & Breakfast; 1703-5.100.C sets standards for bed and breakfasts: no more than five rooms for rent, residential exterior character in T3 and T4 zones, a current business license under Chapter 855, and meals and bedrooms limited to registered guests with no separate guest kitchens. This page does not claim these rules apply to short-term rentals. If your property is in a Form-Based Code area, ask the Zoning Administrator how a short-term rental is classified.

The Department of Taxation's taxability guide lists hotel room rentals as taxable for stays under 30 days in facilities with 5 or more sleeping rooms. Its information release on bed and breakfasts quotes the Ohio Revised Code definition of a hotel (an establishment where sleeping accommodations are offered to guests and five or more rooms are used for guests, in one or several structures) and of transient guests (stays of less than thirty consecutive days), and says a bed and breakfast with fewer than five rooms available to transient guests is not a hotel and does not have to charge the tax on the room; food served on the premises is still taxed unless room and meal charges are separated. The Department gives the state sales tax rate as 5.75 percent. The information release dates from 1995 and cites older letters of R.C. 5739.01; the current text of the Revised Code could not be read for this page. How a whole-home short-term rental counts its rooms is not addressed by the sources read; check with the Department of Taxation. City and county lodging taxes are shown on each place's page.

Since September 1, 2019, a marketplace facilitator that meets substantial nexus in Ohio is treated as the seller for the sales it facilitates and must collect and pay Ohio sales tax on them. The Department of Taxation says that, to count as facilitating a sale, the marketplace must be selling a taxable good or service used or received in Ohio, and that this excludes lodging by a hotel. The Department pages read do not say whether booking platforms collect state sales tax on stays at short-term rentals that are hotels (five or more rooms); check with the platform and the Department. City rules on platform collection of city lodging taxes are shown on each place's page.