New Orleans will require short-term rental platforms to verify permits

Short-term rental (STR) platforms such as Airbnb and Vrbo will need to make sure their listings in New Orleans are legally permitted under a new law passed unanimously by the City Council. The ordinance goes into effect in March 2025, after the city sets up an electronic system the platforms can use to verify permits.

Once the verification system is operational, platforms that facilitate STR booking and payment will need to verify that a listing has a city-issued STR permit before booking can take place. Under the law, platforms are also required to reverify listings on a regular basis and provide monthly reports to the city with information on all listings booked and proof of their eligibility. Platforms that don’t follow the rules could be fined $1,000 per illegal listing per day. Platforms are required to obtain their own permits from the city, and noncompliance could put the status of these in jeopardy.

The city already has technology to find illegal listings and can require platforms to delete them, but the administration has been criticized for lax enforcement of STR laws. The new verification system is designed to ensure noncompliant listings can’t be booked in the first place and won’t immediately reappear if taken down.

New Orleans has struggled with its STR regulations for years. Its current STR law went into effect this spring, a year after it was passed, after a federal judge ruled the ordinance constitutional amid legal challenges. 

New Orleans regulations require all STR operators to have a city-issued permit and limit STRs to one property owner per city square. In cases where the number of applicants exceed the limits, the rules call for a lottery to determine which owners are eligible for a permit.

When the measure went into effect, it allowed up to two more STR permits per city square to be issued to operators who individually applied for a special exemption. This required neighbor notification and comment as well as City Council approval. However, the City Council recently placed a moratorium on such exceptions for a year amid controversy on how they’ve been administered.

New Orleans vacation rentals are also subject to lodging taxes that include Louisiana state sales tax and several city taxes, including sales tax, a short-term rental occupancy fee, occupancy privilege tax, and a short-term rental equalization occupancy tax. STR operators in New Orleans are required to register and file lodging tax returns with city and state tax authorities.

Airbnb collects both city and state taxes on behalf of its New Orleans hosts. Vrbo also collects city taxes for hosts in New Orleans but doesn’t collect Louisiana state taxes. Hosts must still register and file lodging tax returns with tax authorities even if taxes are being collected on their behalf by a marketplace.

Avalara MyLodgeTax can help short-term rental hosts in New Orleans simplify and automate lodging tax compliance. See our Louisiana vacation rental tax guide for more on short-term rental taxes in the state. If you have tax questions related to properties in New Orleans, drop us a line and we’ll get back to you with answers.