STR rules · verified 1mo ago
Short-term rental rules in College Station, TX
College Station (Brazos County, home to Texas A&M University — the flagship public R1 with 75,000+ students — and Kyle Field's 102,733-seat football stadium) operates one of Texas's most developed STR permit programs under an ordinance effective October 1, 2020. A short-term rental is defined as a residential unit rented for fewer than 30 consecutive days, including single-family homes, duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, multi-family units, and manufactured homes. Permit fees: $100 initial permit + $100 inspection fee, $124 failed inspection fee, $75 annual renewal. Permits are valid one year and must be renewed annually; applications use the eTRAKiT web portal. The City imposes a 7% city hotel occupancy tax on consideration of $2 or more per day, filed monthly by the 20th. Operators must provide guest information brochures and maintain smoke/CO detectors and fire extinguishers. Aggie home football weekends (Sep-Nov, 7 home games typical) drive massive STR demand. Texas has no statewide STR preemption.
What's behind the sign-in
- Registration fees — initial + annual renewal cost, per permit type
- Permit caps + waitlists — exact cap values, current waitlist counts
- Owner-occupancy rules — days/year requirement, permit-class splits
- Zoning carve-outs — which districts allow / disallow STR
- Tax stack — TOT, hotel, county + state layers
- Stay limits — min/max nightly, max nights/year
- Operational requirements — parking, insurance, fire inspection, neighbor notice
- Penalties — per-night fines, revocation thresholds
- City-specific gotchas — HOA carve-outs, pending legislation, recent court rulings
- Refresh on demand — re-run the agentic pipeline against the city's current ordinance
Frequently asked
Are short-term rentals legal in College Station, TX?
College Station is currently permitted for short-term rentals. Active permits with clear rules and no recent ordinance tightening — stable for new STR investment. For the actual fees, caps, owner-occupancy rules, and city-specific gotchas, sign in.
Do I need a permit to run an Airbnb in College Station?
Almost certainly yes — almost every U.S. city now requires a short-term rental permit, vacation rental permit, or transient lodging permit before you can legally list. The specifics for College Station (cost, renewal cycle, required documents) are behind sign-in. You can also read the source ordinance directly: https://www.cstx.gov/departments___city_hall/commserv/code/short-term_rental_housing.
What happens if I rent without a permit in College Station?
Most cities charge per-night fines (a few hundred to a few thousand dollars per violation), escalating to cease-and-desist letters and platform delisting on repeat. Airbnb and Vrbo now share permit-validation feeds with most major cities, so unpermitted listings get blocked at the platform level. Sign in to see the specific penalty schedule for College Station.
How current is this data for College Station?
This record was verified 1mo ago against the city's published ordinance (.gov or the city's official municipal-code publisher). Cached cities re-verify on a cadence — daily for cities under active legislation, weekly otherwise. Signed-in users can hit Refresh on any city to force a fresh pull. If you're underwriting a deal, always confirm against the city's code-enforcement office before closing.
Can my HOA or condo association ban STRs even if College Station allows them?
Yes. City permits authorize you under municipal law, but your HOA, condo association, or co-op board sets contractual rules that override the city for your unit. Many HOAs adopted blanket STR bans between 2018 and 2024 in response to neighbor complaints. Read the CC&Rs, bylaws, and rental addendums before you buy with an STR plan — the city saying yes does not mean your building says yes.