Portland, OR

When deciding whether to become an Airbnb host, it’s important for you to understand the laws in your city. As a platform and marketplace we do not provide legal advice, but we want to provide some useful links that may help you better understand laws and regulations in Portland. This list is not exhaustive, but it should give you a good start in understanding your local laws. If you have questions, contact the Bureau of Development Services, the Revenue Bureau, or other city agencies directly, or consult a local lawyer or tax professional. Please refer to our quick reference guide for helpful links regarding the short-term rental permitting process in Portland.

Hosting requirements & eligibility

All short-term rental hosts in Portland are required to:

1. Obtain an accessory short term rental permit (ASTR),
2. Register with the transient lodging tax program (TLT), and
3. Register their short-term rental as a business.

More information about these three requirements are below.

Accessory short-term rental permit

Portland requires all hosts who host short-term stays (less than 30 nights at a time) to obtain an accessory rental short-term permit (ASTR) in order to list their space on home sharing sites like Airbnb. To obtain this permit, hosts are required to occupy their residence for at least 270 days during each calendar year. Hosts are not permitted to rent out a secondary residence like a second home or vacation rental. As a host, you are required to include your ASTR permit number on your listing.

Type A permit: You are eligible for a Type A permit if you rent two or fewer bedrooms in your residence. You’re required to notify your neighbors and certain other parties of your ASTR via letter and submit a copy of your Oregon Driver’s License or Oregon Identification Card to confirm your residency. The Type A permit fee is $65 if you live in a single-dwelling unit: $65 and $105 if you live in a multi-dwelling unit (ex: apartment building).

Type B permit: If you plan to rent three to five rooms, you are eligible for a Type B permit, but you will also be required to go through the City’s conditional use land review process. More information on the Type B permit is available on the City's website. The Type B permit fee is $5800.

Transient Lodging Tax Program

Hosts are required to submit a Transient Lodging Registration form to the City of Portland Revenue Division even if you host exclusively with Airbnb. The City of Portland, Multnomah County, and the State of Oregon all assess transient lodging taxes on hotels, motels, and short-term rentals. A “short-term rental” is defined as a guest stay of 30 days or less. More information about the transient lodging tax is available on the City’s FAQ page and the State's FAQ page. Airbnb collects and remits these taxes in Portland. More information about collection and remittance in Oregon is available in our Help Center.

Business license

Hosting an accessory short-term rental, is considered a business and everyone doing business in the City of Portland is required to register their business. No payment is due with the registration form and businesses grossing less than $50,000 per year before expenses are exempt from paying the City of Portland Business License Tax. However, if exempt you will need to make an annual filing to support the exemption request. You can learn more about the business license tax and exemptions on the City's website.

Other rules

It's also important to understand and abide by other contracts or rules that bind you, such as leases, condo board or co-op rules, HOA rules, or rules established by tenant organizations. Please read your lease agreement and check with your landlord if applicable.

Registration process

Applying for an ASTR permit through Airbnb is a 2 phase process. Phase 1 is completed online via Airbnb and Phase 2 is completed offline with the city. You can host as soon as you complete Phase 1 while Phase 2 is pending completion.

If you apply for your ASTR permit through Airbnb, you won’t have to complete an in house inspection and you won’t have to apply for your ASTR permit number, Business License permit number, and Transient Lodging Tax (TLT) license number separately. The process for each phase is outlined below.

Phase 1

Apply for your ASTR permit via manage your space on Airbnb:

• Fill in your name, contact information, property address, and description
• Select your permit type (Type A or B)
• If you’ve already registered with the city enter any existing permit numbers
  • ASTR permit number
  • Business License Number
  • TLT License Number

Phase 2

Within 60 days of submitting your application on Airbnb, the Bureau of Revenue will mail you your ASTR, TLT, and business license registration forms pre populated with information from your Airbnb application. You will also receive a neighborhood notice form.

• After receiving these forms you have 60 days to sign and mail them back with your payment to complete Phase 2 of the registration process.
• The ASTR registration form must be notarized.
• You’re also required to mail back a copy of your Oregon Driver’s License or Oregon Identification Card to confirm residency at the site. The address on your ID must match the ASTR address.

Data sharing

• Starting in December 2019, Airbnb will pass hosts' registration and listing data through to the City, in accordance with applicable laws.
• During the registration process, hosts will be prompted to agree to sharing their data with the City to apply for an ASTR (Accessory Short Term Rental) permit and publish a listing on the Airbnb website.

Our commitment to your community

We are committed to working with local officials to help them understand how Airbnb benefits our community. Where needed, we will continue to advocate for changes that will allow regular people to rent out their own homes. To learn more about short-term rental regulation in Portland, you can read the short-term rentals code on the City of Portland's web site.