State

Ohio short-term rental laws (2026)

In Ohio, the state's hold on short-term rentals is mostly a tax question. Each county, township and city chooses whether its lodging tax reaches a place with fewer than five rooms. That local choice decides what a one-house host collects from guests.^[6]

Every rule below links to the official source it comes from, verified October 1, 2026.

Marblehead Lighthouse, white with a red lantern, on the Lake Erie shore in Ohio

Is Airbnb legal in Ohio?

Legal, taxed from five rooms

Hosts need no state license. Permits come from local codes, while counties and cities set lodging taxes.

14 official sources · verified October 1, 2026

Photo: Paul Moody on Unsplash

PermitNot required · None from the state. Cities issue their own
Primary residenceVaries
Number on listingNot required
Night capNone in state law

Ohio short-term rental laws

At the state level, Ohio has no short-term rental license. Its sales tax reaches a stay only in a facility with five or more sleeping rooms. Counties, townships and cities may levy their own lodging taxes. State law lets each of them extend that tax to smaller places by resolution or ordinance. Permits, caps and zoning are set locally. Cincinnati registers rentals for three years, and Cleveland adds a license on November 28, 2026.^[1]

Every Ohio rule, sorted by what it asks

Filter by topic. Each line carries the number of its official source, listed at the bottom of the page.

You must

Check the code of your city or village before the first booking[9][12]
Register for your county's lodging tax where it reaches small rentals[6]
Get a vendor's license if you rent five or more sleeping rooms[1][2]
Count each cabin or house rented whole as one sleeping accommodation[7]

You must not

Advertise a Cleveland rental without a license from November 28, 2026[11]
Rent for under 30 days in a Marblehead residential zone[14]

Not required

State sales tax on a rental with fewer than five sleeping rooms[1]

Cities in this state

Short-term rental rules in 5 Ohio cities

Ranked by the share of housing the Census counts as seasonal.

Short-term rental rules by city in Ohio
City	Local rule	Primary residence	Night cap	Seasonal homes per 1,000
Kelleys Island short-term rental rulesErie County, OH	Registration required	Not required	None, but 4 guests plus 2 per bedroom	912
Marblehead short-term rental rulesOttawa County, OH	Allowed by zone	Varies	Stays under 30 days barred outside the Business District	621
Port Clinton short-term rental rulesOttawa County, OH	Certificate required	Not required	None in Chapter 735	229
Cincinnati short-term rental rulesHamilton County, OH	Registration required	Not required	None in Chapter 856	6
Cleveland short-term rental rulesCuyahoga County, OH	Capped	Varies	Under 91 days a year until November 28, 2026	6

Five jurisdictions, same questions

The Ohio column comes from the official sources on this page. The other columns show the headline rule from each WonderGuest page. Open a page for the full detail.

Short-term rental rules in Ohio compared with other jurisdictions
Question	Ohio	Michigan	Florida	Hawaii	Tennessee
Permit	Not requiredNone from the state. Cities issue their own	Not requiredNo state license, city rules vary	RequiredState license, $170 a year	RequiredState GET and TAT licenses	RequiredCity permit where one exists
Primary residence	Varies	Varies	Not required	Varies	Varies
Night cap	None in state law	None in state law	None published by the state	No state cap, county rules vary	None. Under 30 nights is the definition
Number on listing	Not required	Not required	Not required	Required	Not required
Where allowed	Wherever local zoning allows it	Where the local zoning district allows it	No local bans after June 1, 2011	Set by each county	City zoning decides, legacy status aside
Occupancy tax	Local lodging tax. State sales tax from five rooms	6% state use tax	6% state tax, Airbnb collects	11% state TAT plus county TAT	City tax up to 4%, 8% with the county
Fine without permit	Set by each city	Set by each city	Second-degree misdemeanor	$500 fine, $2,000 if cash-based	Use suspended while unpermitted
		Michigan short-term rental rules	Florida short-term rental rules	Hawaii short-term rental rules	Tennessee short-term rental rules

Keep exploring

Coming up

What's changing

Effective November 28, 2026

Cleveland's short-term rental license takes effect, at $150 a year. In residential districts, rentals are capped at 10% of the units on a block or in a multi-unit building.^[11]

FAQ

Ohio short-term rental questions

Does Ohio require a state short-term rental license?

No. The rules a host meets come from the city or village, such as Cincinnati's registration, renewed every three years.^[9]

Do Airbnb hosts in Ohio pay state sales tax?

Only when the rental counts as a hotel. Ohio treats a cabin or house rented whole as one sleeping accommodation. Five or more such structures make a hotel.^[7]

Can an Ohio city tax a short-term rental stay?

Yes. Under R.C. 5739.08, a city or township may levy up to 3% on hotel lodging for transient guests. Where the county has no lodging tax under R.C. 5739.09(A), it may add up to 3% more. R.C. 5739.091 lets these taxes reach places with fewer than five rooms.^[4]

How much lodging tax can an Ohio county charge?

A board of county commissioners may levy up to 3% by resolution under R.C. 5739.09. Other divisions of the same section allow additional county levies for set purposes.^[5]

What is the resort area tax on Kelleys Island?

Ohio levies it on the gross receipts of businesses in a designated resort area, a status Kelleys Island holds. The island's rate is 2% from October 1, 2026, up from 1.5%.^[8]

Sources

Sales and Use Taxability, lodging and storage, Ohio Department of Taxation, read on October 1, 2026
Sales and Use Tax, state rate and vendor's license, Ohio Department of Taxation, read on October 1, 2026
Ohio Revised Code section 5739.01, sales tax definitions, Ohio Laws and Administrative Rules, Legislative Service Commission, read on October 1, 2026
Ohio Revised Code section 5739.08, municipal and township lodging tax, Ohio Laws and Administrative Rules, Legislative Service Commission, read on October 1, 2026
Ohio Revised Code section 5739.09, administration and allocation of lodging tax, Ohio Laws and Administrative Rules, Legislative Service Commission, read on October 1, 2026
Ohio Revised Code section 5739.091, expansion of definition of hotel, Ohio Laws and Administrative Rules, Legislative Service Commission, read on October 1, 2026
Ohio Administrative Code rule 5703-9-64, sleeping accommodations and transient guests, Ohio Laws and Administrative Rules, Legislative Service Commission, read on October 1, 2026
Resort Area Gross Receipts Excise Tax, Ohio Department of Taxation, read on October 1, 2026
Cincinnati Municipal Code, Chapter 856, Short Term Rentals, City of Cincinnati, via Municode, read on October 1, 2026
Cincinnati Municipal Code, Chapter 315, Short Term Rental Excise Tax, City of Cincinnati, via Municode, read on October 1, 2026
Cleveland Codified Ordinances, Chapter 686B, Short-Term Rentals (Ordinance No. 561-2026), City of Cleveland, via American Legal Publishing, read on October 1, 2026
Port Clinton Codified Ordinances, Chapter 735, Short-Term Rentals, City of Port Clinton, via American Legal Publishing, read on October 1, 2026
Village of Kelleys Island Ordinance No. 2024-O-23, Transient Rental Property, Village of Kelleys Island, read on October 1, 2026
Marblehead Code of Ordinances, section 154.039, prohibition against short term rental, Village of Marblehead, via American Legal Publishing, read on October 1, 2026

This page is not legal advice. It summarizes the official sources listed on this page as they read on October 1, 2026. Rules can change after that date, so check with the issuing office before you apply or publish a listing.

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