Short-term rental rules · New Orleans, Louisiana
Short-term rentals in New Orleans, explained properly.
New Orleans allows short-term rentals, but tightly: residential (non-commercial) permits are owner-occupied only and capped at one per square block with no exceptions, while commercial permits are limited to certain zoning districts. The French Quarter and Garden District are largely off-limits.
Draft. These rules were compiled from the official sources listed below but have not yet been checked line by line. Confirm with the city before making decisions.
At a glance
What you need to know before you buy or list
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Are short-term rentals legal? | Yes, with a permit[1][2] |
| Must the owner live there? | Yes, for a residential (NSTR) permit[3][4]Confirming |
| Is there a cap on how many STRs per block? | Yes — one residential STR per square block, no exceptions[5][6] |
| Cap on commercial STRs? | The greater of 1 unit or 25% of units in a building[7]Confirming |
| Any neighborhoods where STRs are banned? | Yes — the Garden District, and most of the French Quarter[7]Confirming |
| What does a permit cost? | $50 application fee, plus a $250–$500 license fee[3][8]Confirming |
| Per-night occupancy fee to the city | $5/night (NSTR) or $12/night (CSTR)[9] |
| Combined tax rate on rent | About 16.2%–16.75% of rent, plus a nightly occupancy privilege fee[9][10]Confirming |
| Does someone need to be reachable during a stay? | Yes — a licensed, on-call operator[3][11] |
| Last researched | September 24, 2026 |
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Detailed rules
The full picture, section by section
Eligibility & zoning
| What permit types exist? | NSTR (non-commercial/residential) and CSTR (commercial)[1][3]Confirming NSTR permits apply to STRs in residentially-zoned property and require owner-occupancy. CSTR permits apply in commercial and mixed-use zoning districts and require conditional-use approval through the city's One Stop permitting portal. An older "RSTR" (Residential Short Term Rental Owner's Permit) label appears on some current city application forms and appears to be the residential/NSTR application itself. |
|---|---|
| Any restriction on ground-floor commercial STRs? | Yes, in some multi-story residential buildings[7]Confirming Commercial STRs generally cannot occupy first-floor units of multi-story residential buildings, with limited exceptions (e.g., Central Business District, educational, medical, and maritime zoning districts). |
| Any registration beyond the STR permit itself? | Yes — Healthy Homes registration[11] Properties must register with the city's Healthy Homes program to obtain a Certificate of Compliance; NSTR renewal applications are denied without it. |
Licensing & applications
| How are NSTR permits allocated? | Quarterly application windows; lottery if oversubscribed[1] NSTR applications open in quarterly windows (for example, the Q3 2026 window ran Sept. 16–22, 2026, with an Oct. 6, 2026 lottery drawing where a square block draws more applicants than the one available permit). |
|---|---|
| How does a CSTR application work? | Non-structural renovation permit + conditional use approval, then a full operational application[1] CSTR applicants submit a Non-Structural Renovation permit through the One Stop App, obtain conditional use approval, then submit picture ID, floor plans, an evacuation plan, and an operational plan. CSTR licensees have been required to install a noise-monitoring device since July 1, 2023. |
| How often must a permit be renewed? | Annually, expiring June 30[11] NSTR licenses expire June 30 each year. The 2026 renewal window opened April 19, 2026 with an application deadline of May 2, 2026. Renewal requires a clean violation/financial record, resolved permits, and can include a property inspection (72-hour response window). |
Operating requirements
| What safety documentation is required? | Floor plan, evacuation plan, and safety equipment[3] Applications require a floor plan (entrances/exits, windows, bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchens, interior doors), an evacuation plan showing fire exits, smoke detectors, fire extinguishers, and carbon monoxide detectors, plus a site plan showing required parking. |
|---|---|
| How fast must complaints be resolved? | Operators must resolve complaints within about 1 hour[5] Every STR must have a full-time, on-call operator who is required to resolve neighbor complaints within roughly one hour of being contacted. |
| Do booking platforms report to the city? | Yes[5] Platforms operating in New Orleans (Airbnb, Vrbo, etc.) are required to report listing addresses, rental nights, and fees collected to the city on a monthly basis, and hosts must disclose their booking platforms as part of licensing. |
| Is insurance required? | Yes[3] Applicants must attest to carrying adequate insurance for the STR use, along with compliance with property-maintenance codes and fair housing law, and having no outstanding property taxes. |
Taxes & fees
| Louisiana state sales tax on short-term lodging | 3% (10+ room properties) or 5% (9 or fewer rooms) in Orleans Parish, through 2029[10] Most individual short-term rental hosts have fewer than 10 rooms and fall in the 5% state-tax tier. |
|---|---|
| Orleans Parish taxes on rent | 5% gross rentals tax + 6.75% occupancy tax[9] Collected by the city's Department of Finance, Bureau of Revenue, in addition to state tax and the per-night occupancy fee and occupancy privilege charge. |
| Fines for violations | Up to $1,000 per violation[9] STR violations are adjudicated through the city's administrative hearing process, with fines up to the $1,000-per-violation cap set by state law. |
Changes
Recent and pending changes
Checked the New Orleans City Council's meeting page and the Short Term Rental Administration's announcements page for pending items as of September 2026; no new STR ordinance was on a docket at that time. New Orleans' STR rules have changed twice in recent years (the 2023 density-cap rewrite and the 2025 removal of density-cap exceptions), and Airbnb's Fifth Circuit appeal of the September 2025 federal ruling upholding the city's rules remains pending — a reversal could force further changes.
After a roughly year-long moratorium on granting new density-cap exceptions (imposed in late 2024), the City Council eliminated the special-exception process entirely in early 2025, making the one-NSTR-per-square-block cap absolute with no path to a second or third permit on a square.
A federal district court upheld nearly all of New Orleans' STR regulations, including density limits, platform verification mandates, and reporting requirements. Airbnb announced it would appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. The city's rules remain in force while the appeal is pending.
Ordinances 029381 MCS and 029382 MCS rewrote New Orleans' STR rules following a 2022 federal appeals ruling: residential STRs were capped at one per square block (with a since-eliminated exception process), an on-site operator with a roughly one-hour complaint-response requirement was mandated, and platforms were required to report data to the city monthly.
Sources
Every rule above links to one of these
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This page is general information compiled from official 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.