LicensedRental

Tarrant County, Texas

Fort Worth, TX vacation rental requirements

Fort Worth doesn’t allow short-term rentals in residential zones, including single-family neighborhoods; they’re allowed only in mixed-use, form-based, commercial, and industrial districts, with a $150 city registration ($100 a year to renew). Courts upheld the ban in 2025 and 2026. You file the city hotel tax yourself through the city’s Localgov portal.

Checked against official sources November 8, 2026

Download checklist (PDF)Free. A printable version of this guide to tick off, with the official sources.

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Market
About 1,660 Airbnb listings
Where allowed
Mixed-use, commercial, industrial, most form-based zones
Not in any residential district (A, AR, B, R1, R2, C, C4, D, UR).Source
Registration
$150, then $100 a year
Court challenge
City won on appeal, May 2026
Hotel taxes
6% state + 9% city, plus any venue tax
You file the city tax yourself, even for Airbnb bookings.Source

Fines generally run up to $500, and up to $2,000 per occurrence for fire safety, zoning, or health violations. Code compliance has cited more than 100 properties.

In May 2026 the Second Court of Appeals held that owners in single-family districts have no vested right to rent short-term (Modern Builders v. City of Fort Worth).

The city’s 2024 tax slides show 9%. Voters were asked in May 2024 to add 2% for the convention center (17% total). Ask the city which rate your return uses.

Your licensing checklist

In order: the state, the county, then the town.

State of Texas

  1. Know who pays the hotel tax

    Airbnb collects and pays the 6% state hotel tax on its bookings. If guests pay you directly or through a site that doesn’t collect, register with the Comptroller and file the state tax yourself.Source

    Texas hotel occupancy tax →

  2. Register for local hotel tax

    Your city (and in some places your county) charges its own hotel tax, filed with that city or county, not the state. Airbnb pays it only in the places on its list; everywhere else you register and file it yourself, even for Airbnb bookings.Source

  3. Check your city’s rules

    Many Texas cities require a short-term rental permit or registration, and some require an inspection, a local contact, or posted rules. Outside city limits there’s usually no permit, but deed restrictions and HOA rules often limit rentals. Pick your area for the local rules.Source

Tarrant County, Texas

  1. Then pick your city

    Texas counties can’t zone, so short-term rental permits, zoning limits, and the local hotel tax come from the city your home is in. Outside city limits there’s usually no permit, but deed restrictions and HOA rules often limit rentals.Source

City of Fort Worth

  1. Confirm your zoning first

    Run your address through the city’s Permit Assist zoning tool. You can register only if it says your project is allowed or gets additional staff review. Most homes in residential districts don’t qualify.Source

  2. Register the rental

    Register with the city ($150 the first year, $100 each annual renewal). Applications are denied mainly when the property is in a district that doesn’t allow short-term rentals.Source

  3. Hotel taxes on each stay

    Stays of 29 nights or less owe the 6% state hotel tax, which Airbnb collects on its bookings. If guests pay you directly, file it with the Texas Comptroller. Fort Worth’s hotel tax is filed through the city’s Localgov portal: a return every month, even at $0, due the 1st and paid by the 25th to avoid a 15% penalty. Airbnb doesn’t collect it.Source

    Localgov tax portal →

Fees

$150 the first year, $100 a year after

Short-term rental registration (first year)$150
Annual renewal$100

Source

Sources

A plain-language summary to help you prepare, not legal advice. Rules and fees change; confirm with the office before you apply. Spot something out of date? Email hello@licensedrental.com.