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/STAY · LOCAL RULES · NEW ORLEANS, LA

New Orleans short-term rental rules

A New Orleans short-term rental needs two city permits: one for the owner and one for the operator. Non-commercial permits are capped at one per city block and handed out by lottery. Here is what each takes and what has to be posted.

Checked on Nov 11 2026 against the official pages below

The three things to know

PERMIT

An owner permit ($500 non-commercial, $1,000 commercial) and an operator permit ($150 / $1,000), plus a $50 application fee, renewed yearly. Non-commercial: one per city block, by quarterly lottery, up to 3 guest bedrooms and 6 guests, with the operator there during stays.

DOOR NOTICE

The owner permit displayed where it can be read from the street. Inside, where guests can read them: an evacuation diagram, trash and recycling days, and contact information for the city's Short Term Rental Administration.

TAX

City taxes on each stay: 5% parish sales tax, 6.75% occupancy tax, $0.50 a night, and a per-night fee ($5 non-commercial, $12 commercial), plus Louisiana's state tax. Bookings through a platform: the platform collects and pays them.

Print the door notice

This prints the inside notice from City Code sec. 26-618(a)(5), with the city's rental office already on it. The owner permit itself goes where it can be read from the street, and an evacuation diagram showing every way out hangs inside too.

Type what you know. Anything left empty prints as a line to write on, so it works as a blank form too. What you type stays on this phone.

NEW ORLEANS SHORT-TERM RENTAL

Guest information

Posted inside as required by New Orleans City Code sec. 26-618(a)(5).

    New Orleans City Code sec. 26-618(a)(5). Notice made free at headedin.com/stay/rules/new-orleans/

    Prints one letter page. Post it inside where guests will read it, next to your evacuation diagram. The owner permit goes where it can be read from the street.

    What the rules say

    The two permits
    • Both are needed: an owner permit and "an operator possessing a valid short-term rental operator permit" (sec. 26-615).
    • Types (sec. 26-616): non-commercial (NSTR) and commercial (CSTR). Fees: $50 to apply; owner permit $500 or $1,000; operator permit $150 or $1,000.
    • Good for one year; the city's lottery page says NSTR permits run to June 30.
    • One per block: "only one (1) non-commercial short term rental permit may be issued within each city block" (zoning sec. 21.8.C.18). Capped blocks go by quarterly lottery; the last application window was Sept 16 to 22, 2026. A federal appeals court upheld the cap on Aug 5 2026.
    • Who can own an NSTR: the city's current checklist says a natural person, trust or LLC (the older code text saying natural persons only was struck down in court). One NSTR per person, owned and operated.
    • Commercial permits also need city planning approval as a conditional use.
    • Apply on the city's One Stop App. Questions: (504) 658-7144.
    What has to be posted, and where
    "a copy of the owner permit is displayed in a location clearly visible from the street and legible to both guests and neighbors"Sec. 26-618(a)(5)

    Inside, "clearly visible and legible to guests":

    1. "An evacuation diagram identifying fire escapes and all means of egress".
    2. Trash disposal and recycling collection days.
    3. Contact information for the city's short-term rental administration.

    The permit shows the permit number, address, owner and operator contact, permit type, dates, bedrooms and guest limit (sec. 26-617(e)). Non-commercial rentals can't put up any other signs (zoning sec. 21.8.C.18).

    Guests, ads and the one-hour rule
    • Non-commercial: up to 3 guest bedrooms, 2 guests each, 6 at most; the operator is present during stays.
    • Commercial: up to 5 guest bedrooms, 10 guests at most (zoning art. 20).
    • Operator: reachable by phone and able to "resolve complaints within one hour" (sec. 26-618(a)(10)).
    • Every ad shows the owner and operator permit numbers, wheelchair access, guest bedrooms and the guest limit; one unit per listing (sec. 26-618(a)(3)).
    • Also: $1,000,000 liability insurance per unit, guest records kept 3 years, no events or hourly rentals, one party at a time, quiet hours 10 p.m. to 8 a.m. (sec. 26-618).
    • Platforms can't book a unit without a valid permit (sec. 26-615(b)).
    Taxes and the per-night fee
    • City (the city's tax page): 5% Orleans Parish sales tax, 6.75% occupancy tax, $0.50 a night occupancy privilege, and an occupancy fee of $5 a night (NSTR) or $12 a night (CSTR). The city code lists one $12 figure, so check the bill you get.
    • Louisiana: 5% state tax on rooms at places with 9 or fewer rooms in Orleans Parish, through 2029 (Louisiana Department of Revenue).
    • Booked through a platform? "the platform shall be responsible for collecting and remitting all applicable sales and use taxes," plus the per-night fee (sec. 26-622.1). Anything a platform doesn't pay, the owner owes.

    House rules go in your listing

    For bookings made from Nov 20 2026, Airbnb wants every house rule in the listing itself; signs in the house can only repeat them. This notice only carries what New Orleans requires, so it adds no new rules. Put quiet hours, parking and the rest in your listing first.

    Official sources, read Nov 11 2026

    Plain-words summary, not legal advice. Rules and fees change, and the official page always wins. Checked Nov 11 2026.

    Help us get it right

    Host in New Orleans? If a rule, fee or form here has changed, or we missed something, tell us. We check every note against the official source before we change a page, and we put the new checked date on it.

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