Is short-term rental legal in Sevier County (Gatlinburg–Pigeon Forge), TN?
The Smokies' cabin belt: Sevier County requires an STR permit for rentals in the unincorporated county (the cities of Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge run their own programs), with life-safety inspection at the center — the permit is mostly a safety regime in America's densest cabin-rental market.
Rules checked October 2026
Run the Sevier County (Gatlinburg–Pigeon Forge) verdict on your facts
| What counts as a short-term rental | The Smokies' cabin belt: Sevier County requires an STR permit for rentals in the unincorporated county (the cities of Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge run their own programs), with life-safety inspection at the center — the permit is mostly a safety regime in America's densest cabin-rental market. |
|---|---|
| Permit / license | County STR Permit (+ city programs inside Gatlinburg / Pigeon Forge) — issued by Sevier County (Environmental Health / STR program) |
| Fee | County permit about $300 (county schedule) |
| Renewal | Annual renewal with inspection cycle |
| Primary-residence rule | None — resort market rules. |
| Whole-home rental | Whole-home (cabin) rental is the standard permitted product. |
| Night cap | — |
| Guests / occupancy | Occupancy set by septic/bedroom facts on the permit — the binding number for cabins |
| Minimum stay | None |
| Zoning | Permit follows the resort/residential districts; the two cities' programs differ from the county's at the margins that matter (fees, inspections). |
| Density / scarcity | No density cap found in the current rules |
| Fines | Unpermitted operation draws county fines and permit consequences; Tennessee's STR Act grandfathers pre-existing units against new local bans, not against permit/safety duties |
| Taxes | State sales tax + county lodging tax registration accompany the permit. |
| Platform duties | Permit numbers in ads; management companies handle most compliance in this market. |
| State layer | The Short Term Rental Unit Act (Tenn. Code § 13-7-601 et seq.) grandfathers units that were operating before a local ban and limits how far cities can go against them — but Nashville's permit regime and Sevier County's resort-area permits stand, and new bans still bind new units. |
What trips hosts in Sevier County (Gatlinburg–Pigeon Forge)
- Sevier County is the volume case: thousands of lawful whole-home rentals under a safety-permit regime — proof that 'regulated' and 'banned' are opposites, not synonyms.
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: Tenn. Code § 13-7-601 et seq. (STR Unit Act) · Sevier County STR permit program. Rules checked October 2026.