Is short-term rental legal in Philadelphia, PA?
Philadelphia's 'limited lodging' framework: renting your primary residence short-term is allowed with a rental license and registration (with a day-count line for when a zoning permit joins) — renting a non-primary property needs limited-lodging zoning approval that many districts don't grant.
Rules checked October 2026
Run the Philadelphia verdict on your facts
| What counts as a short-term rental | Philadelphia's 'limited lodging' framework: renting your primary residence short-term is allowed with a rental license and registration (with a day-count line for when a zoning permit joins) — renting a non-primary property needs limited-lodging zoning approval that many districts don't grant. |
|---|---|
| Permit / license | Rental License + Limited Lodging registration (zoning permit for non-primary / higher-volume use) — issued by Philadelphia Licenses & Inspections |
| Fee | Rental license about $63 per unit per year |
| Renewal | Annual rental-license renewal |
| Primary-residence rule | The by-right path is for primary residences; non-primary STR is a zoning question, district by district. |
| Whole-home rental | Whole-home rental of a primary residence is allowed within the limited-lodging rules; non-primary whole-home needs the zoning permit. |
| Night cap | — |
| Guests / occupancy | Per license |
| Minimum stay | None |
| Zoning | The split is primary vs. non-primary: the first is paperwork, the second is zoning. |
| Density / scarcity | No density cap found in the current rules |
| Fines | Unlicensed rental operation draws L&I fines and stop-work style enforcement; platform data feeds enforcement |
| Taxes | Philadelphia hotel tax + BIRT considerations; the rental license is the gateway document. |
| Platform duties | Philadelphia requires platforms to verify rental-license status for listings (among the earliest such rules). |
| State layer | No state preemption. Philadelphia's limited-lodging rules favor primary residences; Poconos townships license heavily. |
What trips hosts in Philadelphia
- Philadelphia's line is not nights, it's whose home it is: primary = license it; investment = zone it, if your district allows it at all.
The private layer still applies
These are the city's rules. Your HOA, condo board, lease or mortgage can say no on top of them — that layer is printed as a warning in the checker, never merged into the city's verdict.
Sources: Philadelphia Code § 14-604 / § 9-3900 et seq. (limited lodging) · L&I rental licensing program. Rules checked October 2026.