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Council amends hotel-occupancy-tax code to register short-term rentals
Summary
The council adopted an ordinance adding a section to the city—s hotel occupancy tax code to require registration and collection from short-term rentals; staff said registration will allow the city to track and recover owed taxes and described enforcement options including permit revocation and civil remedies.
The City Council adopted Ordinance No. 799 on Sept. 25 to amend Article 11.04 of the city code to add a registration and collection mechanism for short-term rentals (for example, Airbnb-type rentals) to ensure they remit hotel occupancy tax.
City attorney Paige Saenz and staff explained the amendment clarifies short-term rentals are subject to hotel-occupancy tax and creates a process to register short-term rental operators so the city can track and collect the tax. Saenz said the ordinance includes enforcement tools: civil remedies to recover unpaid tax plus penalties and interest, reporting requirements, and permit-revocation authority for persistent noncompliance.
Staff told the council that third-party services exist that can identify short-term rentals by ZIP code and cross-check who is remitting taxes, and that the ordinance provides the necessary legal basis to pursue collection if operators do not remit.
Council approved the ordinance; staff said implementation planning and administrative measures (including potential vendor tools for discovery and enforcement) would follow.
What this changes: Short-term rental operators will be required to register with the city and remit hotel-occupancy tax according to the new code section; staff said they will work on administrative procedures and may use vendor tools to identify unreported units.
