STR rules · verified 2w ago
Short-term rental rules in New Orleans, LA
City of New Orleans short-term rental regulation lives in Code Chapter 26 Article XI plus Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance Article 26, most recently re-written by the March 23, 2023 ordinance (Cal. No. 34,082) that created the Non-Commercial Short-Term Rental (NSTR / RSTR) lottery limiting residential permits to one per city square. Commercial Short-Term Rentals (CSTRs) are only allowed in commercial / mixed-use / non-residential zones with a ~$1,000 annual permit fee. The Fifth Circuit's 2022 Hignell-Stark decision struck the homestead-exemption residency rule as a dormant Commerce Clause violation, triggering the lottery rewrite; subsequent 2024-25 Fifth Circuit rulings struck the ban on business-entity CSTR ownership and the one-listing-per-advertisement rule on First-Amendment grounds. Enforcement is among the most aggressive in the US South — $500/day fines for advertising without a permit.
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 New Orleans, LA?
New Orleans is currently restricted for short-term rentals. Permitted but with material constraints — caps, owner-occupancy rules, zoning carve-outs, or active ordinance review. For the actual fees, caps, owner-occupancy rules, and city-specific gotchas, sign in.
Do I need a permit to run an Airbnb in New Orleans?
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 New Orleans (cost, renewal cycle, required documents) are behind sign-in. You can also read the source ordinance directly: https://library.municode.com/la/new_orleans/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=PTIICO_CH26BUBUREHOST_ARTXISTSHRMRE.
What happens if I rent without a permit in New Orleans?
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 New Orleans.
How current is this data for New Orleans?
This record was verified 2w 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 New Orleans 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.