Short-term rentals in Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Baton Rouge is Louisiana's capital and its second city, and its visitors reflect both roles. LSU football Saturdays in Tiger Stadium are the headline events of the year, with baseball, gymnastics and graduation weekends not far behind. The legislature, state agencies, the petrochemical plants along the Mississippi and their turnaround seasons bring engineers, contractors and consultants for weeks at a time, and Our Lady of the Lake and Baton Rouge General add medical stays. Houses near campus, in the Garden District, Mid City and Spanish Town, and apartments downtown fit those guests best.

The city-parish permit

East Baton Rouge Parish and the City of Baton Rouge regulate short-term rentals through one consolidated government. The rules distinguish two cases:

• Non-owner-occupied rentals need a short-term rental permit from the Permits and Inspections Division, with a $100 fee. Occupancy is limited to two people per bedroom plus two, and one parking space per bedroom is required. The permit stays valid unless the rental stops operating for a year.
• Owner-occupied rentals need no permit if the home is the owner's primary residence with a homestead exemption, the owner is present during stays and at least one bedroom is kept back.

Three violations in a calendar year lead to a one-year suspension of rental operations for both types. There is no cap on permits and no residency requirement for the non-owner-occupied permit. Applications are filed online through the parish's permitting portal.

Taxes

Both types must register for sales, use and occupancy taxes, or rent only through a platform that is registered to collect them. Stays are subject to Louisiana's state sales tax, the local sales tax administered by the parish and the parish hotel occupancy tax. Airbnb collects on its bookings; confirm what other channels remit, and file directly for any direct bookings.

Where the parking rule really bites

One parking space per bedroom is the rule that quietly resizes a purchase. The older houses near campus, in Mid City and Spanish Town were built with room for one or two cars, so a four-bedroom property may be permitted well below the number of beds it could advertise, and occupancy is separately capped at two people per bedroom plus two. Count the spaces on the site plan before counting the sleeping places, and treat any projection built on full capacity as unproven until the permit says otherwise.

Our advice

Count parking spaces before you count bedrooms: a four-bedroom house with two spaces cannot use its full capacity under the parking rule without planning approval. Plan pricing around the LSU calendar, but fill the weekdays with plant and hospital workers who book furnished stays of several weeks. Flood history varies block by block after 2016, so check it and insure accordingly. We study every request and tell you honestly whether and how we can help.