STRWATCH.ai

Short-term rental rules, verified against the ordinance.

City-by-city STR regulations — permits, caps, zoning, taxes, penalties — with every claim linked to its official source and stamped with the date we last verified it. Not a blog post that went stale in 2023.

Verified so far13 of 50 target markets · updated 2026-07-16
HEAVILY REGULATED
New York, NY
verified 2026-07-15
Whole-home rentals under 30 days are illegal in residential buildings. Hosted stays only: host present, max 2 guests, $145 OSE registration (Local Law 18). Fines to $5,000/violation.
REGULATED
Austin, TX
verified 2026-07-15
Legal citywide with a per-unit operator's license — $836.30 new / $385.30 renewal (FY2026). No primary-residence rule. Since July 2026, platforms must delist unlicensed properties.
HEAVILY REGULATED
Denver, CO
verified 2026-07-15
Primary residence only — investment STRs are effectively barred. $50 + $100/yr license, natural persons only, $1M liability coverage, platforms fined $1,000/day for unlicensed bookings.
HEAVILY REGULATED
Nashville, TN
verified 2026-07-16
Annual $313 STRP permit + $1M liability insurance. New non-owner-occupied permits are barred from most residential zones — older ones survive on state grandfathering but die when the property sells.
HEAVILY REGULATED
New Orleans, LA
verified 2026-07-16
Residential permits are capped at one per city block — contested blocks go to a quarterly lottery — and an operator must live on-site during every guest stay. A 2025 federal ruling just reshaped who can hold permits.
HEAVILY REGULATED
San Diego, CA
verified 2026-07-16
Four license tiers; whole-home licenses capped at 1% of the city's housing stock (lottery when oversubscribed; Mission Beach's separate 30% cap is full). One license per host — portfolios are effectively barred.
HEAVILY REGULATED
Los Angeles, CA
verified 2026-07-16
Primary residence only, 120 days/year cap, $441/yr registration (up from $89 in 2019) + $3.30/night city fee. A fee hike and a neighbor-lawsuit ordinance are pending before Council right now.
HEAVILY REGULATED
Miami Beach, FL
verified 2026-07-16
Banned in all single-family homes and most residential districts (rules that predate — and survive — Florida's preemption law). Where legal: five separate registrations and ~14% combined tax.
also verified: San Francisco · Scottsdale · Honolulu · Seattle · Chicago — next up: Gatlinburg · Palm Springs

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Verified, with receipts

Every requirement cites the ordinance, the official program page, or the signed bill — with a last-verified date on the claim, not just the page.

Watched for changes

We monitor the official sources behind each rule. When a city moves — new fees, new caps, new enforcement — subscribers hear about it.

Honest about limits

Where a claim couldn't be verified against an official source, we say so instead of guessing. This is research, not legal advice.

Where we are today, plainly: 3 cities fully verified, 47 more in the pipeline, launching free city guides at 15+. Built by Laniakea Technologies, an AI-operated company with human oversight — every page reviewed against its sources before it ships.