Short-term rentals in New Braunfels, explained properly.

Sec. 144-5.17-3(a) prohibits short term rental within residential districts. Section 144-1.4 lists the residential districts as R-1, R-1A-43.5, R-1A-12, R-1A-8, R-1A-6.6, R-1A-5.5, R-1A-4, R1AR-2, R-2A, B-1, B-1A, TH, TH-A, ZH, ZH-A, SND-1, ADSD and WNSD, and includes all special and planned development districts identified as residential unless otherwise specified within the special district. The City's page says short-term rentals are not allowed in any residential zoning districts. Check the City's zoning map or Planning to confirm the district of a specific address before relying on it.

Sec. 144-5.17-3(b) prohibits short term rental in any floodway located within the city limits, regardless of zoning district. Sec. 144-5.17-2 defines a floodway as the channel for a river or other water course and the adjacent land areas that must be reserved to discharge the base flood without cumulatively increasing the water surface elevation more than a designated height. The City's page says the ban is on the floodway, with a note that it is not the floodplain, and points to the City's interactive flood zone map.

Sec. 144-5.17-3(d) requires a special use permit, as defined in Sec. 144-1.4, in all zoning districts except C-4, C-4A and C-4B where a short term rental is proposed in a single-family dwelling or a duplex only, constructed under the International Residential Code, where not otherwise prohibited in the chapter. The process is in Sec. 144-3.6 and, per the definition, includes a public hearing and recommendation by the planning commission and a final public hearing and decision by the city council. A special use permit is a zoning overlay, not a permit. The City's page says a special use permit must be obtained in all non-residential zoning districts, excluding C-4, C-4A and C-4B. The wording could be read in more than one way for dwelling types other than single-family homes and duplexes, and the zoning use tables were not read, so this rule is marked for review.

Sec. 144-5.17-4(a) sets the maximum number of occupants allowed to sleep in a short term rental at two occupants per sleeping room plus an additional two occupants. An occupant is a person or people over the age of three who are sleeping in the short term rental (Sec. 144-5.17-2). A sleeping room is a habitable space designed or used for sleeping with an operable emergency escape and rescue opening; tents, hammocks, yurts, recreational vehicles and non-habitable spaces are not sleeping rooms, and no sleeping is allowed outdoors (Sec. 144-5.17-4(g)(4)). Visual inspection by a code enforcement officer, building inspector, fire inspector or police officer showing more than the posted occupancy load is prima facie proof of a violation (Sec. 144-5.17-7(f)). The City's page repeats the limit as two adults per sleeping area plus two more adults; the code says occupants over the age of three, and the code controls.

Sec. 144-5.17-4(e) requires a minimum of one off-street parking space per sleeping room and says no required parking is permitted within public right-of-way or access easements. The permit application must include a sketch or narrative of the available parking spaces. The City's page says the space must not be the garage and describes the count per sleeping area; confirm with Planning how the garage is treated before relying on it.

Sec. 144-5.17-4(b) requires not less than one full bathroom for each five occupants, per a chart: 5 occupants, 1 full bath; 6 to 9 occupants, 1 full bath and 1 half bath; 10 occupants, 2 baths; 11 to 14 occupants, 2.5 baths; 15 occupants, 3 baths; and so on. A full bathroom must meet the International Residential Code sanitation standards and include a wash basin, toilet and tub or shower; a half bath needs at least a washbasin and toilet, and a full bathroom may be used in place of a half bath.

Sec. 144-5.17-5(c) requires general commercial liability insurance (or its equivalent) of a minimum of $500,000.00 per occurrence for all short term rentals. The certificate must show the name insured, any additional insureds, the location address, the effective date, the coverage limit and type. The owner must notify the City within 30 days if the insurance status changes and give updated information, and the permit is suspended until proof of updated insurance is provided. Documentation of insurance is also part of the annual renewal (Sec. 144-5.17-5(d)(3)).

Sec. 144-5.17-4(d) requires the short term rental permit number, maximum occupancy as permitted, and life-safety inspection expiration date in all advertising. Under Sec. 144-5.17-4(c) the City-issued decal is posted on the front of the rental where it is accessible and legible to a person at the entry, or the information is available through an electronic database for emergency responders and code enforcement officers as the City provides. The decal shows the permit number, the owner's or rental agent's name and a 24-hour emergency contact phone number. Signage must comply with the City's sign code (Sec. 144-5.17-4(h)).

Sec. 144-5.17-4(f) requires that building and fire related construction conform to the City's adopted building codes; that a 2A:10B:C fire extinguisher (a standard five-pound extinguisher) be mounted within 75 feet of all portions of the structure on each floor and maintained per the manufacturer's specifications; that every sleeping room have at least one operable emergency escape and rescue opening; and that an evacuation plan be posted conspicuously in each sleeping room. The owner or operator must also obtain annual independent inspections of the fire extinguishers under the City's fire code (Sec. 144-5.17-6(b)).

Sec. 144-5.17-6(d) says the fire marshal's office performs inspections annually for non-sprinklered structures and every other year for sprinklered structures, with the fee per Appendix D of the Code. The City's code enforcement division and fire marshal's office inspect immediately when a violation is suspected (Sec. 144-5.17-6(c)), and a transfer to a new owner triggers an inspection (Sec. 144-5.17-6(a)). Renewal of the permit needs payment of the inspection fee and a passed inspection (Sec. 144-5.17-5(d)(1)). The City's page says annual life-safety inspections are required to renew the permit and that the renewal fee is paid on the online permit portal before an inspection is scheduled with the Fire Marshal's Office; the code's every-other-year schedule for sprinklered structures controls where it differs.

Sec. 144-5.17-7(a) requires the owner or operator to give the City a 24-hour contact number; the 24-hour contact must be able to travel to the rental within 60 minutes under reasonable circumstances. When a law enforcement or code enforcement officer responds and issues a citation or notice of violation, the owner or operator is called and must attempt to contact the occupants within one hour. After a second complaint and citation, the owner or operator must take appropriate steps under the rental agreement to prevent further complaints. The permit application must include the name, address and 24-hour telephone numbers of a contact person responsible and authorized to respond to complaints.

Sec. 144-5.17-4(g)(3) prohibits excessive noise or other disturbance outside the short term rental between 10:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m., including decks, portals, porches, balconies, patios, hot tubs, pools, saunas and spas. Occupants must be informed in writing of the City's nuisance, water conservation, noise and disorderly conduct ordinances. The operator must post notices inside the dwelling (maximum occupants, parking, quiet hours, outdoor facility restrictions, the 24-hour contact, cleanliness, trash pick-up, flood hazards and evacuation routes, emergency numbers and that failure to conform to the occupancy and parking requirements can be cited), and the rental agreement must attach the same information (Sec. 144-5.17-4(i) and (j)).

Sec. 144-5.17-5(a) says the application is accompanied by a one-time payment of the fee per Appendix D of the Code, and Sec. 144-5.17-6(d) says the fire inspection fee is per Appendix D. The City's page lists a $206 fee for the permit and annual fire inspection under what to bring to register, and says a $128 renewal fee is paid on the online permit portal before the life-safety inspection is scheduled. The effective date of the fee schedule is unconfirmed and Appendix D was not read, so the amounts are marked for review.

Sec. 144-5.17-5(d) says a permit may be renewed annually if the permittee pays the inspection fee and passes the fire marshal inspection, documents that local hotel occupancy taxes were paid for the unit for the previous year, documents the insurance, the property has no outstanding city code or state law violations, the permittee or operator has no outstanding city fees or fines, and the repeat-offense standards are not met. A renewal is denied if the application is submitted before 12 months have passed since a revocation. A failure to complete renewal is a violation, and the owner has 45 days from the City's notice of denial to correct the items before revocation begins (Sec. 144-5.17-7(d)).

Sec. 144-5.17-5(e) makes a short term rental permit transferable to a new property owner who submits a permit application and agrees in writing to comply with the section. The new owner must apply within 90 days from the closing date and provide a copy of the closing statement; failure to apply within 90 days revokes the permit. A transfer triggers a fire marshal inspection (Sec. 144-5.17-6(a)).

Sec. 122-29 requires the person who owns, operates, manages or controls a hotel to file a registration report with the chief financial officer as a condition of operating, and to file a report and pay the tax on the 20th day of the month following each monthly period, showing the consideration paid, the exemptions and the tax collected. Records are kept for two years, and the City must give 30 days' written notice before inspecting them (Secs. 122-29(c), 122-35). The City's page says that filings and payments are due on the 20th for the prior month's collections, that a report must be filed every month even when no revenue was collected, and that from February 1, 2026 payment processing moved to the RentalScape portal, where ACH carries no fee and a credit card carries a 2.75% merchant service fee. Proof of hotel occupancy tax compliance is part of the permit application, and failing to pay hotel occupancy tax on time is a violation of Sec. 144-5.17 that can lead to revocation, with 30 days from a notice of delinquency to pay before revocation begins (Sec. 144-5.17-7(c)).

Sec. 122-31 sets a $50.00 fee for a failure to file a report, imposed immediately after the due date, an additional $75.00 after 30 days and an additional $100.00 after 60 days. A person who files a false report or fails to pay when due is liable for a penalty equal to 15 percent of the total tax owed, if the tax has been delinquent for at least one complete municipal fiscal quarter. Under Sec. 122-33, failing to file, filing a false report or failing to pay is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed $500.00, and each 24 hours of violation is a separate offense. The City's page lists the same fees and says the 15% charge applies on the 91st day late; the code's fiscal-quarter wording controls.

Sec. 144-5.17-7(g) makes it an offense for the owner, an agent or the occupants to occupy or allow occupancy in violation of the section; each day a unit is occupied in violation is a separate offense and, on conviction, is subject to a minimum fine of $500.00 to a maximum fine of $2,000.00 per violation. An owner who operates a short term rental without a permit is assessed a $2,000.00 non-compliance fee. Each day of violation of the standards is a separate offense and may be joined in a single prosecution (Sec. 144-5.17-7(h)). These provisions are in addition to criminal prosecution or penalties under city ordinances or county or state law (Sec. 144-5.17-7(e)). Where this section and another ordinance, easement, covenant or deed restriction conflict or overlap, the more stringent restriction prevails (Sec. 144-5.17-9).

Sec. 144-5.17-7(a) says that if three separate citations or notices of violation are issued to an occupant or their guests, involving separate occupants under separate rental agreements within a six-month period, the short term rental permit and/or special use permit may be revoked. Violations of any subsection may result in revocation (Sec. 144-5.17-7(b)). Under Sec. 144-5.17-8, the City gives 30-day written notice to the owner or operator of public hearing dates, with a recommendation by the planning commission and a public hearing and decision by the city council, and written notice to property owners within 200 feet at least 15 days before the hearings. After a revocation the owner or operator may not reapply for the same property for 12 months. Repeat offenses are failure to comply with the section more than twice in a 12-month period, or repeated health or safety violations of city code or state law in the 24 months before applying for or renewing a permit (Sec. 144-5.17-7(i)).

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.