Marble Falls, TX short-term rental registration
Marble Falls wrote its short-term rental ordinance in 2021 with two stated aims: to limit the effect on the houses next door, and to make sure the hotel occupancy tax actually gets collected. What the applicant notices is the drawing. Alongside the contact details for the owner, the operator and a designated local responsible party, the city wants a plot plan showing where guests will park and a floor plan marking the bedrooms, the other living spaces and the emergency evacuation routes. Then it inspects, before issuing and before every renewal.[3]
Every rule below links to the official source it comes from, verified September 20, 2026.
Can you rent short term in Marble Falls?
Get a permit first
What you apply for: Short-Term Rental permit
- Seasonal homes
- 179
- Housing units
- 3,483
- Residents
- 7,752
U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 ACS 5-year estimates
- City rulePermit required
- City fee$175
- Tax on each staySet locally
- Seasonal homes51 per 1,000
Marble Falls short-term rental permit
Marble Falls requires a permit to operate a short-term rental, which it defines as the rental of a residential premise, or part of one, for lodging accommodation for a period of less than thirty consecutive days. The rules come from ordinance 2021-O-11A, whose stated purpose is to regulate the use of single-family residential dwellings as short-term rentals, minimise the negative impact on surrounding properties, and ensure that hotel occupancy tax is collected and paid. An application carries the name, address and contact details of the property owner, of the operator or agent if there is one, and of a designated local responsible party, together with a plot plan of the premises identifying the parking spaces to be used and a floor plan identifying the bedrooms, the other living spaces and the emergency evacuation routes. Every short-term rental is inspected before a permit is issued and again before it is renewed, to confirm it meets the minimum health and safety requirements for use and occupancy. The permit fee is $175 once the application is approved, and permits are renewed annually.[3]
What Marble Falls asks of you
A short-term rental is the rental of a residential premise, or a portion of one, for lodging accommodation for less than thirty consecutive days, and a permit is required to operate one.[3]
Ordinance 2021-O-11A regulates the use of single-family residential dwellings as short-term rentals, to minimise the impact on surrounding properties and to ensure hotel occupancy tax is collected and paid.[3]
The application names the property owner, the operator or agent if any, and a designated local responsible party, with contact details for each.[3]
It must include a plot plan identifying the parking spaces to be used, and a floor plan identifying bedrooms, other living spaces and emergency evacuation routes.[3]
Every short-term rental is inspected before a permit is issued and before it is renewed, against the minimum health and safety requirements for use and occupancy.[3]
The permit fee is $175 once the application is approved, and permits are renewed annually.[3]
What Texas asks wherever you host
These rules apply at this address whatever the city decides.
Texas issues no state short-term rental licence. The statewide obligation is the hotel occupancy tax, and the Comptroller applies it to houses, condominiums and apartments as well as hotels.[1]
The state rate is 6 percent on a room costing $15 or more each day. Local hotel taxes reach further down, to sleeping rooms costing $2 or more each day, and the local taxing authority collects them itself.[1]
A guest who stays thirty or more consecutive days without interruption becomes a permanent resident and is exempt. Written notice of that intention makes the exemption run from the notice date; any interruption voids it.[2]
What a guest pays on top of your nightly rate in Marble Falls
Each layer is set by a different authority, and not all of them are collected by the platform.
| Layer | Rate | Remitted to |
|---|---|---|
| Texas state hotel occupancy tax[1] | 6% | The state revenue department |
| Marble Falls hotel occupancy tax[3] | Not published | The city |
Collecting the hotel occupancy tax is written into the ordinance's purpose, so the permit and the tax account are treated as one obligation rather than two here.[3]
How short-term rental taxes work for US hostsWhat the census counts
How much of Marble Falls is already a second home
The Census Bureau counts 179 of Marble Falls's 3,483 homes as vacant for seasonal, recreational or occasional use — 51 out of every 1,000. That ranks Marble Falls 8th of the 13 Texas cities on this site for the share of its housing stock kept for part-year use.
- Rank in the state
- 8th of 13
- Share of housing
- 51 per 1,000
- Median home value
- $338,800
U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 ACS 5-year estimates, tables B25004, B25001, B01003 and B25077.
Nearby and comparable
Where Marble Falls sits among its neighbors
Granite Shoals, TX
Registration required
533 seasonal homes, 208 per 1,000 housing units.
Rules in Granite ShoalsCorpus Christi, TX
Registration required
3,322 seasonal homes, 24 per 1,000 housing units.
Rules in Corpus ChristiPort Isabel, TX
Registration required
316 seasonal homes, 119 per 1,000 housing units.
Rules in Port IsabelGalveston, TX
Registration required
5,711 seasonal homes, 160 per 1,000 housing units.
Rules in GalvestonFAQ
Marble Falls short-term rental questions
Does Marble Falls inspect before renewal?
What drawings does the application need?
How much is the permit?
Sources
- Hotel Occupancy Tax, Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, read on September 20, 2026
- Hotel Occupancy Tax Exemptions (publication 96-224), Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, read on September 20, 2026
- Short-Term Rental Registration and ordinance 2021-O-11A, City of Marble Falls, read on September 20, 2026
This page is not legal advice. It summarizes the official sources listed on this page as they read on September 20, 2026. Rules can change after that date, so check with the issuing office before you apply or publish a listing.
Before you list
Free tools for new hosts
Short-term rental agreement generator
Parties, dates, rent, deposit checked against your state's cap, and the house rules clauses you enforce. A signed-ready PDF for direct and Vrbo bookings.
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Check-in instructions
The message a guest reads before getting in: access, keys, WiFi, parking, contact. English or bilingual output.