Aransas Pass, TX short-term rental permit

What Aransas Pass asks of you

• Chapter 12 of the city code, adopted by Ordinance 2025-4509 on December 15, 2025, sets the rules.^[3]

• The ordinance took effect on February 1, 2026.^[7]

• Applications go through the city's OpenGov software.^[6]

• Any dwelling or part of one qualifies once it is rented out below the 30-day mark. Accessory dwelling units are included.^[3]

• The local contact must answer at any hour of any day. Within one hour of a complaint, that person responds in person and takes immediate action.^[3]

• Up to two people per sleeping room may stay, plus four more for the dwelling. Above 3,250 square feet of conditioned living space, the extra allowance is six.^[3]

• Living rooms furnished with fold-down beds or sofa beds do not count as sleeping rooms.^[3]

• Each unit carries its own permit number and its own fee. A hotel or motel registers as one unit whatever its room count.^[3]

• Owners who still owe the city occupancy tax, sanitation or gas fees cannot register until the debt is settled with the finance department.^[3]

• The registration fee is $150 per unit and is not refundable. Renewing costs $100, and fees are never prorated.^[3]

• Registrations follow the calendar year and lapse on December 31. A one-month grace period follows. After it, a new registration with new fees is required.^[3]

• A permit cannot be transferred.^[3]

• The registration number must be in every advertisement, internet booking sites included.^[3]

• Each ad, print or digital, must also state the number of legal off-street parking spaces.^[3]

• An outdoor sign of at least 8 by 18 inches goes near the main entrance or in a window facing the street. It shows the registration number with the maximum occupancy. The contact's name and 24/7 phone number appear on it too.^[3]

• Inside, a tenant information sheet near the entrance covers parking, noise rules and trash pickup.^[3]

• Every floor needs at least one mounted ABC fire extinguisher.^[3]

• Between March 1 and September 8, extra trash carts are required. One or two legal sleeping rooms call for one cart. Three to five rooms need two, while six or more need three.^[3]

• The city inspects each rental at registration and again at renewal.^[3]

• Three verified complaints within twelve months can lead to suspension or revocation.^[3]

• Breaking the chapter is a Class C misdemeanor, punishable by up to $500 per offense. Every day it goes on counts as a new offense. The ceiling rises to $2,000 for offenses governing fire safety, zoning or public health.^[3]

• The Finance Department page says interest accrues at 15% a year on late hotel tax.^[5]

• Section 27-25 of the code sets a penalty of 15% of the amount due, never below $1.^[4]

What Texas asks wherever you host

These rules apply at this address whatever the city decides.

• Texas issues no state short-term rental license. What the state does impose is its hotel occupancy tax. The Comptroller applies it to houses, condominiums and apartments, not only to hotels.^[1]

• A room priced at $15 or more a day owes the state 6 percent. Local hotel taxes start lower, at $2 a day for a sleeping room. The local taxing authority collects those itself.^[1]

• After thirty consecutive days without interruption, a guest becomes a permanent resident, exempt from the tax. A guest who announces that plan in writing is exempt from the date of the notice. Any interruption voids it.^[2]