Airbnb Rules in Portland | Airbnb Laws, Taxes, and Regulations

Portland is the largest and most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon. More importantly, it is home to a thriving art scene, great coffee served like no other, foodie paradise, and how can we forget, the famous Saturday Markets in Portland’s China Town.

In 2019 alone,Portland welcomed 8.8 million overnight guests both local and international travelers based on TravelPortland market research and stats. And based on AirDNA stats, the average daily rate is $132 with an occupancy rate of 83% and a revenue of $2,119 making it a great opportunity to expand or invest in your Airbnb rental business.

Though, of course, while Portland is a profitable market, it is important to research and understand the laws and regulations of the city. Without further ado, let’s look at:

• What a short term rental is in Portland?
• What are the Airbnb laws and regulations?
• Portland Taxes and Fees
• Data sharing
• Other rules

What is a Short Term Rental in Portland?

Dwellings with guest stays of 30 days or less is defined as a short-term rental and are required for hosts to:

• Obtain an accessory short term rental permit (ASTR)
• Register with the transient lodging tax program (TLT)
• Register their short term rental as a business

What are the Airbnb Laws and Regulations in Portland?

Accessory Short Term Rental Permit

In order to list spaces on sites like Airbnb, Portland requires all hosts to obtain an accessory rental short-term rental (ASTR) permit whereas the permit number is added to your listing.

There are two types of short term rental permits where hosts are also obliged to stay in the dwelling unit for a minimum of 270 days each calendar year. Hosts may be away from the residence or in a separate unit within the property and renting to overnight guests to roughly 3 months. More so, hosts are prohibited to rent out second homes or vacation rentals.

Type A

Resident rents two or fewer bedrooms, serving not more than 5 guests.

Eligibility

Hosts are required to notify neighbors with a certified neighborhood notification and certain parties of your ASTR via letter. More importantly, to confirm your residency, hosts are required to submit a copy of your Oregon Driver’s License or Oregon Identification Card.

Fee

• Single-dwelling unit- $65
• Multi-dwelling unit- $100

Type B

Resident rents between three and five bedrooms whereas maximum guests are determined as part of the required Conditional Use Review.

Eligibility

Required to go through the City’s conditional use land review process.

Fee

Permit fee- $5800

Short Term Rental Permit Requirements

Short term rental permits are given when the residential dwelling unit is used for long term occupancy or part of the dwelling unit within the property such as guest houses. This also includes individuals or families residing on the property and renting out bedrooms to guests for less than 30 days. To learn more, check out Portland Zoning Code Section 33.207.

Lodging Tax Program

Hosting exclusively with Airbnb requires hosts to submit a Transient Lodging Registration form to the City of Portland Revenue Division. More so, within the first 15 days of the start of the business: short term rental operators, motels, hotels, B&B’s, and vacation rentals providing space on a transient basis for 8 days or more in a year and/or advertise or market space for rent to the general public are obliged to register for a Revenue Division tax account.

Take note, after registering, a Certificate of Authority will be issued that should be visible in your short-term rental seen by guests. Doing so guarantees guests that you are lawful by law to collect taxes and fees. Be aware though Airbnb collects and remits these taxes in Portland. For more information, visit the Transient Lodging Tax portal.

Business License

Running a short term rental in Portland is considered a business and is required to be registered online or either by mail or fax the PDF form to the City of Portland. Be aware that businesses with earnings of less than $50,000 per year before expenses are exempted from paying the Business License Tax and no payment is due with the registration form.

Though take note, if exempted, a yearly filing of business tax form will be required with the supporting exemption request and is still required to register within 60 days of starting the business. To learn and understand more, visit the City’s website.

How to Register?

Applying for an ASTR permit via Airbnb is a 2-phase process: Phase 1- completed online via Airbnb whereas Phase 2- completed offline with the city.

Take note, once you have completed Phase 1, you are permitted to host and run your Airbnb rental while Phase 2 is currently pending.

More so, hosts can take advantage of not having to complete an in-house inspection and not necessarily to apply separately for your ASTR permit number, Business License permit number, and last but not least, Transient Lodging Tax license number when applying for an ASTR permit via Airbnb. In addition, annual registration must be renewed, and be aware giving false information on the form will be fined $1,000.

####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 If previously registered with the city center, any existing permit numbers: ASTR permit number, Business License number, and TLT License number.

####Phase 2 In no more than 60 days of submitting your application, the Bureau of Revenue, Portland will post your ASTR, TLT, and business license registration forms filled with information from your Airbnb application including a neighborhood notice form.

After receiving these forms, you again are given 60 days in allowance to sign and mail them back to the Bureau of Revenue along with your payments and a copy of your Oregon Drivers License or Oregon Identification Card to confirm residency at the site to complete Phase 2 of the registration process. Take note, the address on your ID must match the ASTR address. And don’t forget, your ASTR registration form is required to be notarized.

##Portland Taxes and Fees

Airbnb listing in Portland that guests reserve or either book will be paying the following taxes mentioned below as part of their reservation. For more information, visit the Portland Revenue portal.

###Transient Lodging Tax 6% of the listing price including any cleaning and guest fees for reservations 30 nights and shorter.

###Affordable Housing Fee $4 per night for reservations 30 nights and shorter.

###Tourism Improvement District Fee 2% of the listing price including any cleaning and guest fees for reservations 30 nights and shorter.

###Tourism and Hospitality Recovery Surcharge 1% of the listing price including any cleaning and guest fees for reservations 30 nights and shorter.

##Data Sharing In accordance with applicable laws, in December 2019, Airbnb will pass hosts’ registration and listing data through the City of Portland. To apply for an ASTR permit, hosts will be encouraged to agree to share their data during the registration process and publish a listing on the Airbnb website.

##Other Rules Be aware of other contracts or rules that bind you such as leases, condo board, co-op rules, HOA rules to determine if short term rentals are permitted, and rules established by tenant organizations. Read and understand the lease agreement or check with the landlord or appropriate parties if applicable.