Ohio short-term rental rules for owners

Ohio is often described as a state that protects short-term rentals from local bans. As of September 2026, that is not the case. Bills to that effect have been filed, but none has become law, and Ohio cities, villages, townships and counties still decide most of the rules. What the state does provide is a tax framework with a quirk that every owner should understand.

Preemption: filed, not passed

Two bills introduced in February 2025, Senate Bill 104 and House Bill 109, would have stopped local governments from banning short-term rentals, running lotteries, capping the number an owner may operate, requiring owner occupancy or zoning rentals out of residential areas. Registration fees would have been capped at a token amount, and platforms would have collected local lodging taxes. Both were referred to committee in February 2025 and, as of our check, had not passed either chamber. Similar proposals have come up in earlier sessions. Until one is enacted, local control is the rule.

How Ohio localities regulate

The four markets in our atlas show the spread:

• Columbus issues an annual short-term rental permit, cheaper for a primary residence than for other homes, and levies its own lodging excise tax on rentals.
• Cincinnati requires a three-year registration and charges a dedicated short-term rental excise tax on gross earnings.
• Dayton has no registration or ordinance yet; the city says it is mapping rentals first and will decide later.
• Hocking County, home of the Hocking Hills, has spent two years drafting a countywide permit ordinance focused on life safety, not yet adopted, while the city of Logan already licenses rentals.

Other cities have moved too, some with density limits by block and insurance requirements, so treat any city you have not checked recently as an open question.

The five-room rule in Ohio tax law

Ohio's sales tax on lodging applies to transactions by a hotel, and the Revised Code defines a hotel as a place offering sleeping accommodations with five or more rooms used for guests, whether in one structure or several. County, township and municipal lodging taxes adopted under state law often borrow that definition. The practical effects:

• A single house with fewer than five guest rooms may fall outside the state sales tax on lodging, while an owner of several cabins on one site can cross the threshold.
• Cities that wanted to tax rentals directly created their own excise taxes, as Columbus and Cincinnati have.
• Some local lodging taxes are written broadly: Hocking County applies its county and township lodging taxes to house and room rentals.

This is an area where platform collection, local definitions and your own setup interact, so have a tax adviser confirm what you owe before your first booking.

Registration with the county auditor

Ohio law requires owners of residential rental property to file their name, contact details and the parcel with the county auditor, and to update the filing when details change. Auditors in larger counties send notices; elsewhere the duty still exists. Designating a manager to file on your behalf is allowed.

Insurance and associations

No Ohio statute overrides HOA or condominium restrictions, and rental bans in declarations are common in newer developments. Insurance is a practical must: Columbus does not require it for a permit, but a dedicated short-term rental policy with liability cover is the only sensible way to host, especially for cabins with hot tubs, fire pits and trails.

Checklist before buying in Ohio

• Which government regulates the parcel: city, village, township or county?
• Permit or registration in force, or in draft, as in Hocking County?
• Which lodging and excise taxes apply, and does the five-room definition matter for you?
• Filing with the county auditor done?
• HOA or condo documents checked?

Our advice

Plan for Ohio as it is, not as a pending bill would make it. Assume local rules can tighten, get the tax analysis right at the start, and keep an eye on Columbus for a possible state change. If you own a property here or are considering one, we study every request and tell you honestly whether and how we can help.