Connecticut Short-Term Rental Laws: Town Ordinances, Licensing and the 15% Tax
Connecticut Short-Term Rental Laws: Town Ordinances, Licensing and the 15% Tax
If you host a house, apartment or room for stays of 30 consecutive days or less, connecticut short term rental laws reach you in three places: the ordinance in your town, any local license that town requires, and the state room occupancy tax. Connecticut airbnb laws are not one rulebook. They are a state tax layer plus a set of town-by-town rules, and the order in which you check them matters.
Informational content only. This article is not legal or tax advice. Town ordinances change and are specific to each municipality. Before you list a property, talk with a Connecticut attorney about zoning, your lease and your deed. Talk with a CPA about how the occupancy tax and your rental income are reported.
There Is No Statewide Short-Term Rental License
Connecticut does not issue a statewide license for short-term rentals. No state permit makes a rental legal everywhere. Whether you can host, and what you must file to do it, depends on the town where the property sits.
Connecticut also has no general state business license. Registering a business entity with the Secretary of the State through Business.CT.gov is a registration, not a license. Licensing in Connecticut is by trade. Agencies such as the Department of Consumer Protection, the Department of Public Health, the Insurance Department and the Department of Banking issue licenses for regulated trades. Local zoning and health approvals apply on top of that, so a host can face state tax rules, town rules and health rules at the same time without any single state license covering the whole activity.
What Public Act 24-143 Changed
Public Act 24-143, effective October 1, 2024, lets a town adopt an ordinance that requires short-term rental licensing and regulates how rentals operate. The law is permissive, not mandatory. A town is not required to act, so the same kind of rental can face strict rules in one town and no local short-term rental rule in the next.
The Office of Legislative Research counted about 12 towns with short-term rental rules in February 2024. That count is a snapshot from that month. Do not rely on it for your town. Pull your town's current code and ask the town directly.
Step One: Check Your Town Before You Book
Start at town hall before you buy, list or accept a booking. Each office below answers a different question, and you may need all of them:
- Planning and zoning office: whether short-term rentals are allowed in your zone, whether a special permit or site plan review is required, and whether a home occupation rule limits what you can do on the property.
- Town clerk: whether a short-term rental ordinance or registration exists. The town clerk is also where a trade name certificate is filed if you operate under a name other than your own. That $20 filing goes to the town clerk, not the state.
- Local health department or district: whether septic, occupancy or food service rules apply, particularly if you serve breakfast or other meals to guests.
- Building and fire official: smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, egress, and any occupancy limits tied to the building.
Connecticut has no county government. There is no county license, county clerk or county health department to check. The local units are towns and cities, local health departments and districts, and planning regions. If a website or forum tells you to contact a county office, it is describing a different state.
Groton, Stonington, Fairfield, Norwalk and Greenwich are examples of towns to check locally. Do not assume their rules from this article. Pull each town's current ordinance and zoning regulations, and confirm them with that town's zoning office in writing. Ask for the answer in an email you can keep.
Ask the Right Questions
Vague answers cost hosts money later. When you call or visit, ask:
- Is a short-term rental a permitted use in my zone, or does it need a special permit?
- Does the town have a short-term rental ordinance, and does it require a license or registration?
- If it does, what is the fee, how long does approval take, and who inspects the property?
- Are there limits on the number of guests, the number of nights, or how many rentals one owner can operate?
- Does the rule apply to the whole home, a room, or only to a unit I occupy?
The 15% Room Occupancy Tax
The state room occupancy tax applies to the charge for stays of 30 consecutive days or less. The Department of Revenue Services (DRS) sets the rate by type of lodging:
| Type of lodging | Room occupancy tax rate |
|---|---|
| Hotels and short-term home rentals | 15% of the charge |
| Bed and breakfasts | 11% of the charge |
If you rent a home, plan on 15%. Do not stack that figure on top of the 6.35% state sales tax rate when you set your price, as if the two were one combined 21.35% charge. Ask DRS what, if anything, applies beyond the occupancy tax to your specific stay before you finalize your pricing.
Here is the arithmetic. On a $200 night, the 15% charge is $30. A three-night stay at $200 per night has a $600 charge, and the occupancy tax on that charge is $90, assuming the tax applies to the full nightly charge. Confirm that base with DRS and with your booking platform, because the platform's fee breakdown may show the tax differently.
The tax stops on the 31st consecutive day of the same stay. A stay of 30 nights or fewer is taxed. Longer stays fall outside this rate from the 31st day on. Monthly pricing and minimum-stay rules affect whether a guest's stay crosses that line, so decide your policy with that in mind and confirm how it works with DRS.
Who Collects the Tax: Platforms or You
How the tax reaches the state depends on how the guest booked:
| How the booking was made | Who collects and remits the tax | What you must do |
|---|---|---|
| Through a booking platform that facilitates the booking | The platform collects and remits the tax | Confirm with the platform how it handles your listing, and keep its tax reports for your records |
| Direct, through your own website, email or text | You collect and remit the tax | Register with DRS through myconneCT before you take the booking |
Operators renting directly register with DRS through myconneCT. The registration fee is $100. If you are already registered with DRS for sales tax, there is no extra fee for the occupancy tax registration. Hosts who use both channels should register for the direct side even if a platform handles most of their bookings, since a direct booking is the operator's own obligation.
Mixing channels is where hosts most often get the tax wrong. Keep one calendar and one rate sheet for all channels so a direct booking does not slip past the tax step.
The Pending Bill: HB 5536
A 2026 bill, HB 5536, proposed a DRS registry for short-term rental operators with a $100 fee. Do not treat that registry or fee as law. Check the Connecticut General Assembly bill status page (cga.ct.gov) for HB 5536 to see whether it passed and, if it did, what it requires of hosts and by when. If it passed, check DRS for any registry details it has published before you act on them.
If You Hold the Property in an LLC
Many hosts hold each property in a limited liability company (LLC) for liability reasons. The filing is a Certificate of Organization, and the filing fee for a domestic LLC is $120, submitted through Business.CT.gov. The LLC must have a registered agent who meets the state's requirements. A post office box or commercial mailbox does not qualify as the agent's business address.
After formation, the LLC files an Annual Report every year with the Secretary of the State. The Annual Report fee is $80. Business.CT.gov shows each entity its own due date in its account, so check that account rather than relying on a general calendar.
Forming an LLC does not satisfy a town ordinance or a DRS registration by itself. The town rules attach to the property and its use, and the occupancy tax registration attaches to the operator. If your LLC is the owner and the operator, both the entity and the property need to be in compliance.
Common Mistakes Hosts Make
- Assuming a state permit covers the town. There is no statewide license, so a clean state filing does not clear zoning or local rules.
- Assuming the platform handles everything. It may collect the tax on platform bookings. It does not collect on your direct bookings, and it does not answer your zoning question.
- Relying on hearsay about a neighboring town. Town rules differ, and a rule in one town says nothing about the next.
- Skipping the written answer. A phone call to the zoning office is a starting point. Get the answer in writing before you spend money on furnishings or a listing.
Your Action List
- Confirm in writing that your zone allows short-term rentals and whether a special permit is needed.
- Ask the town clerk whether a short-term rental ordinance, license or registration applies, and get the current ordinance.
- Call the local health department about septic, occupancy and any food service rules.
- Decide how you will take bookings. For platform bookings, confirm the platform collects and remits the occupancy tax. For direct bookings, register with DRS through myconneCT before the first stay.
- Check the status of HB 5536 on the General Assembly bill status page.
- If you use an LLC, keep the Certificate of Organization, your registered agent details and each Annual Report in one folder.
Where to Confirm the Rules
- Department of Revenue Services, for the occupancy tax and sales tax: portal.ct.gov/drs
- Sales tax information from DRS: portal.ct.gov/drs/sales-tax/tax-information
- Secretary of the State, Business Services Division: portal.ct.gov/sots/business-services/bsd
- Business.CT.gov forms and fees, for LLC filings: business.ct.gov/business-services/business-forms-and-fees
- Your town's zoning office and town clerk. Connecticut has no statewide short-term rental office, so the town is the authority for local rules.
Reminder: This is informational content, not legal or tax advice. Short-term rental rules, the occupancy tax and any pending bill can change. For a specific property, work with a Connecticut attorney on zoning and lease questions and a CPA on tax treatment before you accept your first guest.