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Pennsylvania Airbnb & Short-Term Rental Laws 2026

LawfulStay tracks short-term rental (STR / Airbnb / Vrbo / holiday let / vacation rental) regulations for 8 jurisdictions across Pennsylvania. Select a city below for current permit requirements, tax rates, and compliance details.

3 Active 1 Restricted 3 Pending 1 None

Pennsylvania Airbnb & Vacation Rental Regulation Overview

The short-term rental regulatory landscape in Pennsylvania encompasses 8 tracked jurisdictions: 3 with active regulations, 1 with restrictions, 3 with pending legislation. Hosts operating on platforms like Airbnb, VRBO, and Booking.com should verify local requirements before listing, as rules vary significantly between cities and regions.

Approximately 100% of tracked jurisdictions in Pennsylvania require some form of permit, license, or registration for short-term rental operations. Requirements range from simple online registration to comprehensive permit applications with inspections.

Tax obligations apply in 8 of 8 jurisdictions. Common taxes include occupancy taxes, tourist levies, and sales taxes. Many jurisdictions require hosts to register for tax collection, and some platforms like Airbnb collect and remit taxes automatically in select locations.

LawfulStay monitors Pennsylvania STR regulations daily and updates this page as rules change. Each city page includes detailed permit requirements, fee schedules, tax rates, zoning rules, and penalty information sourced from official government websites.

Pocono Mountains
The Pocono Mountains region is highly fragmented — STR regulations differ township by township. Monroe County published a Model STR Ordinance to guide municipal…
Restricted
Gettysburg
Borough of Gettysburg officially classifies short-term rentals as stays of 30 consecutive nights or fewer, covering both homestays and vacation rentals. Both a …
Active
Lancaster
The City of Lancaster has a dedicated official STR/Homestay webpage (cityoflancasterpa.gov/short-term-rentals). STRs and Homestays are separately defined and re…
Active
Philadelphia
Limited Lodging Operator License issued only to natural persons (not LLCs/business entities). Smoke alarms in each bedroom, hallways near bedrooms, and every fl…
Active
Hershey
Hershey is an unincorporated community located within Derry Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. No official Derry Township .gov STR ordinance page or munici…
Pending
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh's proposed STR regulations are under review by both the City Council and Planning Commission, with votes expected after Labor Day 2026. Specific rule…
Pending
Strasburg Township
Strasburg Township Supervisors voted 3-0 on July 6, 2026 to advance a draft zoning amendment that would restrict new STRs to the Gateway North commercial zone o…
Pending
Homer City Borough
Homer City Borough is a small municipality (population ~1,700) in Indiana County, PA. No dedicated STR ordinance, registry, or permitting framework has been ide…
None