San Antonio Approves New Short Term Rental Permit Fees

San Antonio City Council adopted the FY2027 budget on September 17, including significant increases in Short Term Rental permit fees. The new fees take effect October 1, 2026.

The three-year STR permit fees will increase to:

Type 1, owner-occupied: $450 Current fee: $300 Increase: 50%

Type 2, non-owner-occupied: $1,000 Current fee: $450 Increase: 122%

The new fees will be reflected in BuildSA beginning October 1.

Why the fees increased

The City developed the new STR fees using a cost-recovery model. The FY2027 budget presentation identified approximately $1.62 million in annual costs associated with the STR program, including Development Services permitting and compliance, Hotel Occupancy Tax compliance and collection, and $172,622 for SAPD calls for service to STR addresses.

The proposed fees are expected to recover approximately 87% of those costs.

STRASA spent the weeks leading up to the budget vote asking City staff and Council members for more information about the calculation, particularly the police component. We attended budget town halls across the city, met with Council offices and City staff, submitted open records requests, and provided data showing the substantial progress San Antonio has made in STR compliance.

Compliance is working

That progress is significant. STR Hotel Occupancy Tax collections reached $9.57 million in FY2025, up 72% in a single year, while the number of active permitted STRs remained relatively stable.

The City reports an 83% permit compliance rate for FY2026 year to date. An independent estimate from STRASA member Azora Software places compliance at approximately 75%. Either measure shows substantial improvement, but both also indicate that there is still a meaningful unpermitted market to address.

STRASA supports reasonable permit fees tied to the actual cost of administering and enforcing the STR ordinance. We continue to believe the City should focus on bringing unpermitted operators into the system while maintaining an environment that encourages permitted operators to remain compliant.

What you need to know

The new fees take effect October 1, 2026. STR permits remain valid for three years, so existing permit holders will encounter the new fee when a permit is renewed rather than paying an additional fee immediately simply because the fee schedule changed.

Development Services says the new fees will appear in BuildSA on October 1 and that an updated fee schedule and additional information will be provided.

The budget vote settles the fee increase, but our work with the City continues. STRASA will continue reviewing the cost and compliance data as it becomes available and working with Development Services, City Council, hosting platforms, and the STR community to support a fair, effective regulatory system.

For hosts, the message remains simple: stay permitted, stay current on HOT reporting, and stay compliant.

To stay on top of the latest news for short term rentals in San Antonio, join STRASA today

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