Short-term rental rules · Portland, Oregon
Short-term rentals in Portland, explained properly.
Portland allows short-term rentals only as "Accessory Short-Term Rentals" (ASTR) inside a resident's primary home, under one of two permit tiers: Type A for 1-2 bedrooms, applied for online, and Type B for 3-5 bedrooms requiring a Conditional Use Review. The owner or long-term tenant must live in the home at least 270 days a year; the resident may be away from guests on at most 95 days a year, so a non-owner-occupied investment home cannot get an ASTR permit. (Properties whose zoning or building occupancy already allows commercial transient lodging may not need an ASTR permit at all.) Lodging taxes total 13% (6% city, 5.5% Multnomah County, 1.5% Oregon state, with the state rate rising to 2.75% on January 1, 2027), plus a separate 3% tourism district fee and a $4-per-night fee collected by booking platforms.
At a glance
What you need to know before you buy or list
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Type A permit: 1-2 bedrooms | Type A permits cover a maximum of 2 bedrooms and 5 overnight guests and are applied for online through the city's Civic Portal rather than through a Conditional Use Review; the applicant must notify the neighborhood association and nearby neighbors [1] [2] |
| Type B permit: 3-5 bedrooms, Conditional Use Review | Type B permits allow 3-5 bedrooms with up to 10 guests maximum, with exact guest capacity determined during a Conditional Use Review process; the city, not the applicant, handles neighborhood notification [1] |
| 270-day owner/tenant occupancy requirement | The resident owner or tenant must occupy the dwelling unit for at least 270 days during each calendar year (roughly nine months), verified with an Oregon Driver's License or Oregon ID Card number showing the property as the residence address; there is a maximum of 95 days per year when the resident does not need to be present with the overnight guests. Rentals must be under 30 days per booking [1] |
| 6+ bedroom rentals are not ASTRs | Simultaneous rental of 6 or more bedrooms is not classified as an Accessory Short-Term Rental at all, and only bedrooms within an occupied primary residence are eligible; legal detached accessory structures can also be rented under the program [1] |
| Multi-unit property limit | In a multi-unit property, ASTRs are permitted in only one unit, or in 25% of total units, whichever is greater [1] |
| Business registration, safety equipment, and inspection required | Operators must register as a business with the City of Portland; each rented bedroom needs a smoke detector interconnected with one in the adjacent hallway, and carbon monoxide alarms are required on each floor with bedrooms. The city inspects to confirm bedrooms are legal and meet fire/life-safety requirements; violations not corrected within 30 days of a violation letter can trigger a monthly code enforcement fee [1] |
| Combined transient lodgings tax and fees | The City of Portland charges a 6% transient lodgings tax (5% to the general fund, 1% to Travel Portland); Multnomah County charges 5.5%; and the State of Oregon charges 1.5% (rising to 2.75% for stays on or after January 1, 2027, applied to the whole stay if it ends in 2027), for 13% in lodging taxes. A separate 3% Portland Tourism Improvement District (TID) fee applies on taxable rents, and a $4-per-night fee (stays of 1-30 nights) is paid by booking agents and transient lodging intermediaries such as Airbnb or VRBO, who may pass it to the guest if it is shown separately on the receipt [3] [4] [5] |
| Civil penalties for unpermitted operation | Operating an accessory short-term rental without a permit, or violating the ASTR rules in Portland Zoning Code Chapter 33.207, can bring citations with civil penalties of up to $1,829 for a first offense, $5,475 for a second and $9,122 for a third and each later offense, per violation type (up to $34,670 across multiple violation types). A revoked Type A permit bars a new permit at that site for two years [6] |
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Detailed rules
The full picture, section by section
Eligibility & zoning
| No whole-home, non-hosted short-term rentals | An ASTR permit requires a resident who lives in the unit at least 270 days a year, so a non-owner-occupied investment home cannot be permitted; the resident may leave guests unaccompanied on no more than 95 days a year. Exception: where a property's zoning, or the building's use or occupancy, allows commercial transient lodging, a Type A or Type B approval may not be required [1] [7]Confirming |
|---|
Licensing & application
| Neighborhood notification requirements differ by permit type | For a Type A permit, the applicant must notify all recognized organizations covering the property (neighborhood association and district coalition), any property manager, and neighboring properties or units, before the first application and again with each renewal; for a Type B permit, the city sends the neighborhood notice as part of the Conditional Use Review [1] [2] |
|---|---|
| Permit term and renewal | A Type A permit is valid for two years and must be renewed every two years. A Type B Conditional Use approval does not need renewal and transfers with a sale, but lapses if the rental stops operating for more than three consecutive years [6] |
| ASTR program contact | Type A permit questions go to Portland Permitting & Development at [email protected] or 503-823-2633; for Type B Conditional Use questions, call 503-823-7300 to reach a city planner [1] [7] |
Taxes & fees
| Separate nightly fee ordinance | Portland City Code Chapter 6.09 sets a $4-per-night fee on each short-term rental stay of 1-30 nights, separate from the Chapter 6.04 lodgings tax. Booking agents and transient lodging intermediaries pay it and may pass it to the guest if the receipt shows it separately; stays over 30 continuous days and commercially zoned hotels/motels are excluded. Revenue funds affordable housing and homelessness programs [4] |
|---|
Operations & complaints
| Guest record-keeping required | Permit holders must keep a record of transactional data, including guest names and home addresses, guest phone numbers, dates of stay and number of guests, and must display the permit in the rental unit [6] |
|---|---|
| Permit number in listings; platforms blocked for unregistered rentals | Operators must show the Type A permit number or Type B Conditional Use case file number in all advertising and listings. Booking platforms may not complete a booking or collect rent for a short-term rental that is not in the city's short-term rental registry, with civil penalties of $1,000 per violation per day for platforms [8] [6] |
Changes
Recent and pending changes
We checked the City's ASTR Before You Apply, overview, Type A and Maintaining Permits pages; the Revenue Division's Transient Lodgings Tax page; Portland City Code Chapters 6.04 and 6.09 (6.09 last amended by Ordinance 191957, effective January 1, 2025, and Ordinance 192125, effective January 2, 2026, which changed only due dates for returns and payments); the Oregon Department of Revenue lodging tax page; the City's May 2025 fee news release; and the City Ombudsman's March 4, 2026 ASTR report. The Ombudsman recommended warnings before fines, proactive enforcement, narrowing the Type A/Type B permit cost gap and a hard 95-day cap; no ordinance implementing these was found, so watch council agendas for follow-up. Current ASTR permit fee amounts could not be read reliably from the Permitting & Development fee schedule PDF and are not published on the ASTR pages, so they are not listed here. Portland's owner-occupancy model is stricter than most markets in this database, so any move toward allowing non-hosted rentals, or any change to the 270-day or 95-day thresholds, would be a high-impact change.
Oregon's state transient lodging tax rises from 1.5% to 2.75% on January 1, 2027 (HB 4134, passed March 2026). The new 1.25% portion must be labeled a 'nature conservation fee' on invoices, and stays that begin in 2026 and end on or after January 1, 2027 pay the higher rate on the whole stay. Portland's combined lodging tax rises from 13% to 14.25% (before the 3% TID fee and $4 nightly fee).
City Council adopted a fee package on May 21, 2025 raising all ASTR fees (initial, renewal and delinquent fees for Type A and Type B, and citation fees) by 5-6% effective July 1, 2025, and fines are now assessed per violation type, up to five types of offense.
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.