Short-term rentals in Port Aransas, explained properly.

Section 12-252 requires the operator to submit an application on the City's form before using a dwelling as a short-term rental or advertising it in any way. Once registered, each STR gets a permit with a unique registration number. The permit is not transferable, and the City's guide adds that if ownership changes, a new account must be created and registered by the new owner. Registration is valid for twelve months based on the calendar year and is not pro-rated, and all registrations expire December 31. Applications are made online through the City's MuniRevs portal. An owner who owes the City fees, including occupancy tax, sanitation or gas fees, cannot register until the debt is paid or resolved.

In the R-1 single-family district, temporary, transient rental of single-family homes is not allowed, except as a blanket special permit under Section 25-271. The R-2 medium-density district allows temporary, transient rental of single-family homes and of multifamily buildings of up to four units per lot; manufactured (HUD-Code) homes cannot be rented that way. The TR-1 and TR-2 tourist/recreational districts allow every use allowed in R-1 and R-2. The City's tax guidance says daily and weekly rentals are permitted only where zoning is R-2 or higher. We did not read the commercial districts, the other use tables or the zoning map, so we cannot say whether an address in another district qualifies; ask the City's Planning and Zoning office.

Section 25-271 grants a blanket special permit for temporary, transient rental of single-family homes in R-1 only if the home was rented in 1998, occupancy tax was lawfully due on those rentals, and tax reports were filed before February 28, 1999. A qualified home may keep renting until the property is sold, conveyed, transferred or assigned after February 28, 1999, at which point short-term rental of that home must stop. A buyer of an R-1 home therefore cannot rely on the seller's grandfathered use.

Section 25-176 says that, regardless of zoning district, temporary, transient rental of an ADU is prohibited unless the owner permanently lives on site and the property is the owner's homestead in the Nueces County appraisal records. It adds that an ADU can be rented short-term only if it was rented, with occupancy tax due, before August 5, 2021, and that such an ADU may be used until the earlier of August 5, 2026 or a sale or transfer of the property. That date has passed in the code text we read, so confirm with the City before relying on any ADU for short-term rental.

The City's fee notice sets a new annual schedule from November 1, 2025 for new and renewal registrations: $200 for an efficiency or one-bedroom STR and $100 more for each additional bedroom. The fee is non-refundable and is not pro-rated. The Code says the fee is set by the City Council, and a re-inspection fee for a missed inspection is in the City's fee schedule, which we did not read.

The application must name a designated local contact person, who may be the operator, available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to respond in person within one hour to complaints about the condition, operation or conduct of occupants, and to take immediate remedial action. The City runs a short-term rental hotline, and when a complaint comes in it contacts the emergency contact on file, who has 60 minutes to resolve it.

Maximum occupancy is two persons per sleeping room plus an additional four per dwelling; for homes over 3,250 square feet of conditioned living space it is two per sleeping room plus six. A sleeping room is an enclosed habitable space that meets the adopted codes, and living rooms and rooms with fold-down beds or convertible couches do not count. The limit is set when the permit is issued or renewed and cannot be raised by later construction without an inspection and an amended registration. Sleeping rooms that do not comply are left out of the count and the tenant information sheet must say they cannot be used for sleeping.

Short-term rentals are subject to an inspection at registration and at each renewal, unless an immediate inspection is needed for a specific concern. Missing a scheduled inspection triggers a re-inspection fee from the City's fee schedule. The City's Short-Term Rental Specialist coordinates the time with the owner or management company.

A sign at least 8 by 18 inches must be displayed outside the dwelling, at or near the main entrance or in a street-facing window, showing the registration number, maximum occupancy and the designated contact's name and 24/7 phone number in type at least 1.5 inches high; multifamily properties of more than four attached units may use a 3 by 5 inch sign. The registration number must be in every advertisement, including internet booking sites, and all advertising must state the total number of legal off-street parking spaces (existing garage spaces that can be shown to be available may be counted). An advertisement that breaks any rule is prima facie evidence of a violation.

The owner or operator must post a tenant information sheet near the main entrance with the contact's name and 24/7 number, the occupancy limit, parking and no-parking fire-lane locations, a notice that breaking occupancy or parking rules is a City Code violation, noise and lighting rules, trash timing and placement, and fire extinguisher locations. Every floor with enclosed space needs at least one Class 2A:10B:C fire extinguisher, building and fire construction must meet the adopted building code, and all vacation rental units must be evacuated immediately on notice. A golf cart offered with a rental is subject to the City's traffic and motor vehicle chapter.

From March 1 to September 8 each year every STR must keep a minimum number of trash toters in service based on its legal sleeping rooms: one for 1 to 2, two for 3 to 5, and three for 6 or more. Carts are delivered automatically, additional charges are added to the sanitation account, and the owner or registered agent must cancel the extra service in September or the carts and fees stay. In the off-season (September 9 to February 28) service may be reduced to one toter.

A violation of the STR article is a Class C misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $500 per offense, and each day a violation continues is a separate offense. Offenses under City rules on fire safety, zoning, public health and sanitation can be fined up to $2,000. The City can also ask a court to order a violation stopped. The owner stays personally responsible for violations by operators, agents and guests.

A permit may be denied, suspended or revoked for three or more notices of violation within twelve months, false or misleading information on an application, renting or advertising without a valid permit, being overdue on City taxes, fees or fines (or failing to show occupancy taxes were paid), a sale or transfer of the property, or failing to report changed application information. An owner can appeal in writing to the City administrator within ten business days; the administrator has twenty business days to decide, and a hearing can be requested within ten business days of that decision.

The City requires a 9% hotel/motel occupancy tax on any room, house or condo rented for less than 30 consecutive days. Gross revenue is reported monthly through the City's MuniRevs system and the tax is due by the 20th of the month after the rental period; paying by the due date earns a 1% discount. Interest of 10% a year applies if payment is more than 60 days late and a 15% penalty after 90 days. The City says Airbnb and VRBO do not collect or remit City occupancy tax for hosts, so hosts pay it directly. The tax also applies to cleaning, pet, damage, booking and similar fees and lump-sum package charges. The Code section we read says 7%, and an ordinance adopted in December 2025 to add a venue tax was not yet in the online code; the City's current notices say 9%.

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.