CERTIFICATES OF REGISTRATION

Houston Code of Ordinances ch. 28, art. XXIII, div. 2

in effect

Houston Code of Ordinances § 28-731 Certificate of registration—Application form.

Sec. 28-731. - Certificate of registration—Application form. (a) Each short-term rental shall register with the city on a form prescribed by the director and be accompanied by the non-refundable application fee set forth for this provision in the city fee schedule. (b) The certificate of registration application shall contain the following information: (1) The address of the short-term rental; (2) The names, mailing addresses, street addresses (if different from the mailing address), telephone numbers, and electronic mail addresses of all owners, operators, and agents (if any) of the short-term rental; (3) Proof of ownership of the property, or a sworn or unsworn declaration from the property owner granting permission for the operation of a short-term rental at the address provided; (4) If the owner is not an individual, the name, mailing address, street address (if different from the mailing address), telephone number, and electronic mail address of a natural person/corporate representative (including an officer, director, or agent) with authority to act on behalf of the owner and a copy of the documents filed with the Texas Secretary of State establishing the entity and showing the entity is in good standing with the State of Texas; (5) The names and 24-hour telephone numbers of one or more emergency contact persons, who shall be the owner, operator, or designated agents and who shall be authorized to respond to emergency conditions as required under section 28-741(b)(5) of this Code; (6) The name and website address of all platforms that facilitated booking transactions for the short-term rental at any time during a twelve-month period prior to the date of application; (7) Acknowledgement by the owner that the use of the property as a short-term rental does not violate any covenants, homeowner association rules, bylaws, deed restrictions, condominium agreement terms, rental agreement terms, or other restrictions, including but not limited to minimum occupancy duration requirements, applicable to the property proposed to be used as a short-term rental; (8) Acknowledgment by the owner or operator that they have completed annual training on how to identify human trafficking activities and victims and how to report human trafficking; (9) A sworn statement or unsworn declaration that the owner of the short-term rental shall comply with the requirements of this article; (10) Proof of registration with the city for payment of hotel occupancy taxes or proof of remittance of hotel occupancy taxes for the operation of the short-term rental; and (11) Any other information that may be reasonably requested by the director. (c) Any change in the information listed in subsection (b) of this section shall require a supplement to the original application and must be reported by the owner and/or operator to the director within 15 calendar days after the change. Failure to supplement the registration application invalidates the original certificate of registration application. For renewals, the director shall require an owner and/or operator to reapply for a certificate of registration if information provided in the original application changes. The director may promulgate procedures and regulations regarding the requirement to supplement any change in the information listed under subsection (b) of this section. (d) A separate certificate of registration shall be required for each short-term rental. Certificates of registration issued under the provisions of this article shall be valid only at the address of the short-term rental stated on the certificate of registration. (e) Each certificate of registration shall be valid for one year from the date of issuance unless revoked or otherwise invalidated under this article. A registrant shall apply for renewal not more than 90 calendar days prior to the expiration on a form provided by the director. (Ord.No. 2025-322, § 2(Exh. A), 4-16-2025, eff. 1-1-2026)

Houston Code of Ordinances § 28-732 Issuance or denial of a certificate of registration.

Sec. 28-732. - Issuance or denial of a certificate of registration. (a) The director shall approve a certificate of registration application if the director determines that the applicant has submitted a complete certificate of registration application and the proposed short-term rental meets the requirements of this article. (b) The director may deny a certificate of registration for any of the following reasons: (1) Any information provided in the certificate of registration application is false, misleading, incorrect, or incomplete; (2) The applicant fails to submit a complete certificate of registration application or fails to provide any other reasonably requested information by the director; (3) The applicant fails to show proof of registration or remittance of hotel occupancy taxes for the operation of the short-term rental; or (4) The applicant is a former registrant whose certificate of registration has been revoked and is subject to the waiting period established in section 28-733(d) of this Code. (c) The director shall provide the applicant written notice of the approval or the denial of the certificate of registration by either: (1) Certified mail, return receipt requested, to the address provided in the certificate of registration application; or (2) Electronic mail to the email address provided by the applicant. (d) If the director determines that the application is incomplete, the director shall return the application with an explanation of the deficiency. If the director determines that the reason for the denial of a certificate of registration is curable, the director shall allow the applicant, upon the applicant's written request, to submit an amended application to cure the defect in lieu of filing an appeal. If the certificate is denied again, or if the applicant fails to cure any defect in the amended application, notice of denial of a certificate of registration shall be sent to the applicant in the manner provided in section 28-735 of this Code. (e) The director's decision to deny the issuance of a certificate of registration shall be final unless an appeal is timely filed pursuant to section 28-735 of this Code. (Ord.No. 2025-322, § 2(Exh. A), 4-16-2025, eff. 1-1-2026)

Houston Code of Ordinances § 28-733 Revocation of a certificate of registration.

Sec. 28-733. - Revocation of a certificate of registration. (a) The director may revoke a certificate of registration for any of the following reasons without refund of any portion of the required fee: (1) The certificate of registration was issued in error; (2) Any information provided in the application is false, misleading, incorrect, or incomplete; (3) The registrant fails to supplement any change in information as required in section 28-731(c) of this Code; (4) The registrant fails to timely report and pay or ensure payment of hotel occupancy taxes required under article III of chapter 44 of this Code and state law; (5) Two or more instances when the City, after providing notice pursuant to section 10-452 of this Code, removes or abates a nuisance prescribed in section 10-451 of this Code at a property operating as a short-term rental; (6) Two or more citations are issued over two separate occasions within a twelve-month period at the property registered as a short-term rental, whether the citations are issued to the owner, operator, or occupants, resulting in two or more convictions for violations of chapter 30 of this Code; or (7) One or more convictions of the owner, operator, or any occupant of the property registered as a short-term rental for any of the following offenses occurring at the short-term rental: a. Kidnapping, unlawful restraint, and smuggling of persons as described in Chapter 20 of the Texas Penal Code; b. Reckless discharge of a firearm as prohibited by the Penal Code; c. Trafficking of persons as described in Chapter 20A of the Texas Penal Code; d. Prostitution as described by Section 43.02, Penal Code, solicitation of prostitution as described by Section 43.021, Penal Code, promotion of prostitution as described by Section 43.03, Penal Code, or aggravated promotion of prostitution as described by Section 43.04, Penal Code; e. Compelling prostitution as prohibited by the Penal Code; f. Aggravated assault as described by Section 22.02, Penal Code; g. Sexual assault as described by Section 22.011, Penal Code; h. Aggravated sexual assault as described by Section 22.021, Penal Code; i. Continuous sexual abuse of young child or disabled individual as described by Section 21.02, Penal Code; j. Sexual conduct or performance by a child as described by Section 43.25, Penal Code; k. Employment harmful to a child as described by Section 43.251, Penal Code; or l. Disorderly conduct as described by Section 42.01(a)(7) and (a)(8), Penal Code. (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, if three (3) or more certificates of registration issued to the same owner or operator are revoked within any consecutive twenty-four (24) month period pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, the Director may initiate proceedings to revoke all remaining certificates of registration held by that property owner or operator. Such revocations shall be subject to the notice and hearing procedures established in section 28-735 of this Code. (c) The director shall provide the applicant written notice of the revocation by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the mailing address of the registrant provided in the certificate of registration application, or by electronic mail to the email address provided by the registrant. (d) A registrant whose certificate of registration has been revoked pursuant to items (2) through (7) of subsection (a) or subsection (b) of this section of this Code shall be ineligible to reapply for and receive a certificate of registration for the same short-term rental property for which the certificate of registration was revoked for the one-year period following the date that the certificate of registration was revoked. (e) A registrant may appeal a decision to revoke a certificate of registration application as provided for under section 28-735 of this Code. (Ord.No. 2025-322, § 2(Exh. A), 4-16-2025, eff. 1-1-2026; Memorandum of 4-22-2025)

Houston Code of Ordinances § 28-734 Notice to platforms to delist short-term rentals.

Sec. 28-734. - Notice to platforms to delist short-term rentals. The city shall notify and request that a platform remove a short-term rental listing from the platform if the short-term rental listing lacks a certificate of registration number, the short-term rental certificate of registration number is invalid, expired, or the certificate of registration has been revoked. The city's notification shall identify the short-term rental listing to be removed by its physical address and uniform resource locator (URL) and state the reason for removal. The platform shall remove the short-term rental listing within ten (10) business days following receipt of the city's notification requesting that a platform remove a short-term rental listing. (Ord.No. 2025-322, § 2(Exh. A), 4-16-2025, eff. 1-1-2026; Memorndum of 4-22-2025)

Houston Code of Ordinances § 28-735 Appeal of denial or revocation of a certificate of registration.

Sec. 28-735. - Appeal of denial or revocation of a certificate of registration. If the director determines pursuant to this article that a certificate of registration should be denied or revoked, the director shall provide written notice to the applicant or registrant of the reasons for the denial or revocation. An applicant or registrant may appeal the decision of the director regarding the denial or revocation by filing a written request for a hearing with the director within 20 calendar days after the applicant or registrant is given notice of the denial or revocation. The applicant's or registrant's written request for a hearing shall set out the grounds on which the denial or revocation is challenged. The director's decision on the denial or revocation shall be final unless the applicant or registrant has timely filed such an appeal. An appeal shall not stay the director's decision on the denial or revocation. The hearing shall be conducted by an impartial hearing officer appointed by the director within 30 calendar days after receipt of a request. At the hearing, the applicant or registrant may present any evidence relevant to the proceedings, in accordance with reasonable rules adopted by the director and approved by the city attorney. The hearing officer shall give written notice to the applicant or registrant of his findings as to whether or not the certificate of registration should be denied or revoked and the reasons therefor. The notice shall be sent by certified mail, return receipt requested, as soon after the conclusion of the hearing as practicable but in no event more than 30 calendar days thereafter. The decision of the hearing officer shall be final and exhaust the certificate of registration applicant's or registrant's administrative remedies. (Ord.No. 2025-322, § 2(Exh. A), 4-16-2025, eff. 1-1-2026)

Houston Code of Ordinances § 28-736 Certificate of registration not transferrable.

Sec. 28-736. - Certificate of registration not transferrable. (a) A certificate of registration issued to a registrant is nontransferable and shall not be assigned nor transferred to another person, entity, or location. A registrant may provide a change of information pursuant to section 28-731(c) of this Code without submitting a new certificate of registration application. (b) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, a certificate of registration is null and void if the registrant sells or conveys any ownership or leasehold interest in a property operated as a short-term rental. Any change in ownership of a short-term rental, including but not limited to the sale or conveyance of any ownership or leasehold interest therein for more than 30 days, shall require the purchaser, transferee or lessee to apply for a certificate of registration pursuant to this article in order to operate the property as a short-term rental. (Ord.No. 2025-322, § 2(Exh. A), 4-16-2025, eff. 1-1-2026)

Source: City of Houston, Code of Ordinances and City Charter (Municode Library, library.municode.com)URL: https://library.municode.com/tx/houston/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=COOR_CH28MIOFPR_ARTXXIIISHRMRE_DIV2CEREFetched: 10/26/2026