Austin

Austin has been at the forefront of the STR issue and court cases since the early 2010s. While pre-existing Type 2 STRs (whole home, owner absent) are allowed the city has successfully maintained a moratorium on new Type 2 STRs.

Short-Term Rental License Program

This week came the stunning news that the number of STRs in Austin has skyrocketed from 11,000 to 17,000 STRs. You can read the shocking report by Inside Airbnb using this link: http://insideairbnb.com/austin (July 2022)

austin news

Local guide: Short-term rental laws in the Lake Travis-Westlake area. (2024)

Multi-Shooting & Homicide at Unregistered Short Term Rental. (2024)

Short-term rentals come under Tourism Commission scrutiny, with Council action expected this year. Members of the Tourism Commission signaled this week that they intend to ask City Council to pursue new policies covering the short-term rental industry and the proliferation across the city of residences acting as de facto hotels. (2024)

Austin residents complain of unwanted guests, noise and trash at unlicensed rentals. (2023)

Inside the Bro-tastic Party Mansions Upending a Historic Austin Community. Article highlights the dangers and cautions for other cities that fail to address their STR issues early. (2023)

3 hospitalized following shooting at East Austin party, police say. 3 injured, 1 with life-threatening injuries, during a shooting that occurred at a large party held at East Austin Airbnb. This is the 289th report of a shooting at short term rental since 5/2019. Neighbors say that this is not the 1st party at this particular Airbnb that’s gotten out of hand & that it is 1 of 3 short term rentals on the block. A neighbor who’s lived on the block since 1978 says he’s never felt less safe. (2023)

Vacation homes in Austin: How the city plans to crack down on short-term rentals. (2022)

Thousands flooding to Austin for events are staying in unlicensed short-term rentals. (2022)

The 'Airbnb Effect' could be one reason behind Austin's skyrocketing housing prices. Experts worry short-term rental companies are taking too many properties off the market, contributing to low supply and high prices. (2022)

“The home team comes first. The whole city of Austin doesn't need to be turned over to the tourist industry and areas that are zoned residentially should remain for residents.” (2022)

You can book a luxury apartment in Austin for a few nights; why renters say that’s pushing them out. Sentral East Austin near downtown offers short-term leasing rentals for a few nights to several weeks to 12 months. (2022)

More than the party ban: Airbnb could be adding to Austin's housing shortage. "If the housing units (have) been taken off the market, that's displacing people, it's making housing more scarce. And it's probably driving the cost of housing up," Murray Cox of Inside Airbnb Cox told Austonia. (2022)

Austin Court of Appeals case upholds penalties against an STR operator which tried to use sham 30-day rentals to defeat Austin's STR regulations. (2020)

Study finds 75% of Austin short-term rentals are illegal. The data disproves a popular narrative from the pro-STR crowd that only a handful of problem properties drive complaints and enforcement. (2019)

The City of Austin is cracking down on short-term rentals. It comes after they say up to 8,000 properties were found operating against city ordinance. (2019)

Your next door neighbor in a residential area could soon be a Marriott hotel. Austin short-term rental company partners with Marriott. (2019) Note: Marriott’s Homes and Villas now compete directly as STRs.