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Council discusses short-term rentals, taxes and enforcement; no ordinance change made
Summary
Councilmembers and staff discussed the city's approach to short-term rentals and bed-and-breakfast operations, including tax collection, registration, parking limits and enforcement; the council did not adopt a new ordinance during the meeting.
Montgomery City Councilmembers and staff spent part of Tuesday’s meeting discussing how the city handles short-term rentals and bed-and-breakfast operations and how the city tracks tax remittance.
Staff explained that platforms such as Airbnb and others are required by Texas rules to collect and remit state taxes, but the platforms do not always identify every local taxing jurisdiction. Staff said the city routinely pulls state-comptroller data to see which remitters report activity in the jurisdiction; in recent checks staff found no additional short-term rental entities remitting in Montgomery for the first quarter of 2025. Council and staff also discussed parking and occupancy: a single-family dwelling typically has two required parking spaces, and conversions to rental rooms that create separate locked rooms can trigger different occupancy and certificate-of-occupancy requirements.
The council did not adopt a new short-term rental ordinance at the meeting. Staff asked councilmembers to forward addresses of suspected unregistered rentals so the city can investigate collection of taxes and compliance with occupancy rules. Councilmembers also raised concerns about neighborhood impacts such as curbside parking and obstructed emergency access.
