The layer under every city
Short-term rental rules, state by state
Three states reserve the banning power to themselves. The rest leave cities free — which is why the market layer matters. This table is the state layer the checker falls back on for any city outside the covered 50.
| State | Preemption | The state rule | Tax registration |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | No preemption — cities are free | No state preemption. Cities and counties set their own STR rules; several Gulf and college towns license them. | State lodging tax registration with the Alabama Department of Revenue; many cities and counties add their own lodging taxes. |
| Alaska | No preemption — cities are free | No state preemption and few local regimes; some boroughs require business licenses. | No state sales tax; some boroughs and cities levy bed taxes — register where the unit sits. |
| Arizona | State preemption — cities can't ban | A.R.S. § 9-500.39 / § 11-269.17: a city, town or county may NOT prohibit vacation or short-term rentals. Local power is a narrow list: a registration/license for contact information (fee capped at the lesser of cost or $250, decided in 7 business days), health-and-safety and nuisance rules applied as to any home, and penalties up to $1,000 per 30 days for a missing emergency contact. | A state Transaction Privilege Tax (TPT) license is required even where the platform collects — the license itself is the host's job. |
| Arkansas | Partial limits on local bans | Act 1008 of 2023 limits how far cities can go: local rules may not effectively prohibit STRs, though registration and safety rules survive in several resort towns (Hot Springs, Eureka Springs). | State sales tax plus local lodging taxes; register with DFA and the local advertising & promotion commission where one exists. |
| California | No preemption — cities are free | No state preemption — California is the most locally regulated STR state in the country. Coastal-zone rules can add a Coastal Commission layer in some cities. | City/county Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) registration almost everywhere; platforms collect in many, not all, jurisdictions. |
| Colorado | No preemption — cities are free | No state preemption. Mountain towns run the country's strictest cap-and-license regimes; Denver allows primary residences only. | State sales tax license plus local lodging taxes; several resort towns require a separate lodging-tax account. |
| Connecticut | No preemption — cities are free | No state preemption; towns regulate by zoning. A state room-occupancy tax applies. | Connecticut room occupancy tax (15%) — platforms collect for most hosts; confirm your account with DRS. |
| Delaware | No preemption — cities are free | No state preemption; beach towns (Rehoboth, Dewey, Bethany) license rentals locally. | State accommodations tax (8%) collected by the host or platform; register with the Division of Revenue. |
| District of Columbia | No preemption — cities are free | One regime citywide: a DCRA short-term rental license, primary residence only, with a 90-night yearly cap on unhosted (vacation-rental) stays. | DC sales tax on accommodations; the license and the tax account are separate steps. |
| Florida | State preemption — cities can't ban | § 509.032(7), Fla. Stat.: a local law may not prohibit vacation rentals or regulate their duration or frequency — EXCEPT ordinances adopted on or before June 1, 2011, which survive in full. That grandfather clause is why Miami Beach-style bans persist a few miles from cities that cannot ban at all. A state DBPR vacation-rental license and local business tax receipt / registration still apply on top. | State DBPR lodging license + county tourist development tax registration; platforms collect state sales tax in most counties, not every local tax. |
| Georgia | No preemption — cities are free | No state preemption; Atlanta licenses STRs (primary residence), Savannah certificates them by ward, most suburbs regulate lightly or not at all. | State sales tax plus local hotel-motel tax; Atlanta and Savannah run their own registration lists. |
| Hawaii | No preemption — cities are free | No state preemption — counties are the regulators, and Hawaii's counties run some of the strictest regimes in the US (resort-zone-only rules in Honolulu, a legislated phase-out on Maui). | State GET + TAT registration (a Hawaii tax ID) is required before the first booking; platforms do not replace it. |
| Idaho | Partial limits on local bans | Idaho Code § 67-6539: cities and counties may not prohibit STRs, but may impose health/safety and registration rules. Resort cities (Sun Valley area, Coeur d'Alene, McCall) license within that ceiling. | State sales tax + local resort-city taxes where adopted. |
| Illinois | No preemption — cities are free | No state preemption. Chicago runs a full shared-housing ordinance; most suburbs write their own rules or bans. | State hotel operators' tax plus Chicago/county amusement and hotel taxes; Chicago registration includes the tax step. |
| Indiana | State preemption — cities can't ban | HEA 1210 (effective July 2026) substantially preempts local STR bans and caps statewide; cities keep narrow registration and safety powers. Indianapolis adopted its own registration in 2025 — read both layers together. | State sales tax + county innkeeper's tax registration. |
| Iowa | Partial limits on local bans | Iowa Code § 331.303 / § 364.3 limits local bans on STRs; cities may license and inspect. Des Moines and the college towns use permits. | State sales tax + local hotel/motel tax. |
| Kansas | No preemption — cities are free | No state preemption; a handful of cities (Lawrence, Overland Park suburbs) regulate by zoning. | State sales tax + local transient guest taxes. |
| Kentucky | No preemption — cities are free | No state preemption. Louisville requires STR registration and bars them in some residential configurations without a conditional-use permit. | State sales tax + local transient room taxes; Louisville registration includes the tax account. |
| Louisiana | No preemption — cities are free | No state preemption. New Orleans runs one of the most litigated regimes in the country (residential permits by lottery per square); most parishes are lighter. | State sales tax + local occupancy taxes; New Orleans permits and tax accounts are separate. |
| Maine | No preemption — cities are free | No state preemption; coastal towns (Portland, Bar Harbor) cap or license STRs locally. | State lodging tax (9%) — platforms collect it; the local permit is separate. |
| Maryland | No preemption — cities are free | No state preemption; counties license (Montgomery County caps unhosted nights; Ocean City licenses by zone). | State sales tax + county hotel rental taxes. |
| Massachusetts | No preemption — cities are free | No state preemption, but a state layer exists: every STR must register with the state (2019 law) and Boston adds its own registration with owner-occupancy categories that ban investor units. | State room occupancy excise + the state STR registry; platforms collect the excise. |
| Michigan | No preemption — cities are free | No state preemption (bills have repeatedly failed). Lake towns regulate hard by zoning; Detroit requires registration in some districts. | State use tax + local accommodations taxes in convention/tourism counties. |
| Minnesota | No preemption — cities are free | No state preemption. Minneapolis ties STRs to its rental-licensing tiers; Duluth caps tourist-home permits. | State sales tax + local lodging taxes. |
| Mississippi | No preemption — cities are free | No state preemption; Gulf Coast cities license locally, most of the state is unregulated. | State sales tax + local tourism taxes. |
| Missouri | No preemption — cities are free | No state preemption. Kansas City and St. Louis both adopted permit regimes in 2023–24 with density rules. | State sales tax + local convention/tourism taxes; permits and tax accounts are separate. |
| Montana | No preemption — cities are free | No state preemption; resort towns (Whitefish, Bozeman) license and cap by zone. | State lodging facility use tax (8%) — platforms collect; local resort taxes in some towns. |
| Nebraska | No preemption — cities are free | No state preemption; Omaha and Lincoln regulate lightly (registration/zoning). | State sales tax + local lodging taxes. |
| Nevada | Partial limits on local bans | AB 363 (NRS 439.340s / 244.3535x / 268.09795): counties and cities may NOT ban STRs outright — but the state itself mandates licensing, spacing and caps (Clark County's 1% permit cap is written in state law). One state, two postures: preemption of bans, mandate of licenses. | State + county room taxes; in Clark County the license and the tax account are separate applications. |
| New Hampshire | Partial limits on local bans | State law (RSA 674:70s) limits towns' ability to prohibit STRs in residential zones, but towns keep registration and life-safety inspection powers; several lake towns use them. | State meals & rooms tax (8.5%) license required — platforms do not replace the license. |
| New Jersey | No preemption — cities are free | No state preemption; shore and Hudson-river cities (Jersey City, Hoboken, Asbury Park) run strict permit-and-cap regimes. | State sales tax + NJ Meadowlands/shore local taxes vary by town. |
| New Mexico | No preemption — cities are free | No state preemption. Santa Fe caps STR permits citywide (1,000); Taos and other towns license by zone. | State gross receipts tax + local lodgers' tax registration. |
| New York | No preemption — cities are free | No general state STR statute — but the 2025 state law requires platforms to collect registration data and lets counties run their own registries; NYC's Local Law 18 is the country's strictest big-city regime and the state Multiple Dwelling Law independently bars most whole-unit rentals under 30 days. | State + NYC hotel taxes; outside NYC, county occupancy taxes and (increasingly) county STR registries apply. |
| North Carolina | Partial limits on local bans | Court decisions (Schroeder v. City of Wilmington) struck down registration-and-ban schemes that conflict with the state Vacation Rental Act; cities keep zoning and nuisance powers. Asheville's homestay/whole-home split survives as zoning. | State sales tax + county occupancy taxes — platforms collect the tax in most counties; the zoning question is separate. |
| North Dakota | No preemption — cities are free | No state preemption and almost no local regimes; Fargo/Bismarck are light. | State sales tax + local lodging taxes. |
| Ohio | No preemption — cities are free | No state preemption (state bills have stalled). Columbus, Cincinnati and Cleveland license locally. | State sales tax + county/city bed taxes. |
| Oklahoma | No preemption — cities are free | No state preemption; Oklahoma City and Tulsa regulate by zoning/permit in places, most areas are open. | State sales tax + local lodging taxes. |
| Oregon | No preemption — cities are free | No state preemption. Portland permits by type; Bend and the coast towns run density caps; some counties license in unincorporated areas. | State lodging tax (1.5%) + local TOT registrations — the local permit and the tax are separate. |
| Pennsylvania | No preemption — cities are free | No state preemption. Philadelphia's limited-lodging rules favor primary residences; Poconos townships license heavily. | State hotel occupancy tax + county hotel taxes; many townships require their own permit first. |
| Rhode Island | No preemption — cities are free | A state layer exists: STRs must register with the state (DBR) since 2022, and towns (Newport above all) add zoning bans in most residential districts. | State STR registry + state hotel tax; town permits are separate. |
| South Carolina | No preemption — cities are free | No state preemption. Charleston, Hilton Head, Columbia and the Grand Strand each license differently; state bills to preempt have been debated but not passed. | State sales tax + local accommodations taxes (A-tax) — the local permit comes first. |
| South Dakota | No preemption — cities are free | No state preemption; Black Hills towns (Deadwood, Spearfish) license locally, most of the state is open. | State sales tax + local tourism taxes. |
| Tennessee | Partial limits on local bans | 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. | State sales tax + local occupancy taxes; permits and tax accounts are separate in both Nashville and Sevier County. |
| Texas | No preemption — cities are free | No state preemption (the legislature has repeatedly declined). Cities regulate hard: Austin licenses, Houston registers (first regime, Jan 1 2026), Dallas's single-family ban has been litigated since 2023. Read the city layer, not the state. | State hotel occupancy tax (6%) — platforms collect it; city HOT registration is a separate step in most Texas cities. |
| Utah | No preemption — cities are free | No state preemption of zoning: Salt Lake City bars nightly rentals in most residential zones and enforces; resort counties (Summit, Washington) license by zone. | State sales tax + local transient room taxes. |
| Vermont | No preemption — cities are free | No state preemption; Burlington and other towns adopted registration with owner-occupancy tilts in 2023–25. | State rooms tax (9%) + local option taxes; platform collection covers the tax, not any town registry. |
| Virginia | Partial limits on local bans | Va. Code § 15.2-983 lets localities require an STR registry but limits outright prohibition in some configurations; Virginia Beach uses conditional-use permits in most zones. | State sales tax + local transient occupancy taxes. |
| Washington | No preemption — cities are free | No state preemption, plus a state insurance/safety layer (RCW 64.37). Seattle licenses operators with a two-unit cap; several counties license by zone. | State sales tax + local lodging taxes; Seattle's license and tax account are separate. |
| Wisconsin | Partial limits on local bans | Wis. Stat. § 66.1014: a town/city may not prohibit rentals of a residence for 7+ consecutive days, and total rental bans fail — but municipalities may license, cap days below the 7-day floor differently, and require state tourist-rooming-house licensing (DATCP) plus a local permit (Door County towns do both). | State sales tax + local room taxes; the state DATCP tourist rooming house license comes first. |
| West Virginia | No preemption — cities are free | No state preemption; a few resort counties license, most of the state is open. | State sales tax + local hotel occupancy taxes. |
| Wyoming | No preemption — cities are free | No state preemption; Jackson/Teton County limit STRs to specific zones, most counties are open. | State sales tax + local lodging taxes. |
State layer checked October 2026. Market-level rules live on the covered-market pages.