Court rules businesses can obtain New Orleans short-term rental permits
- Nov 11, 2025 | Jennifer Sokolowsky
New Orleans’ short-term rental (STR) law has largely withstood its latest legal challenge —with a few exceptions. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals struck down the law’s prohibition against corporate ownership of STRs, saying the provision “discriminates against business entities that own homes by preventing them from being licensed to own STRs.”
The law currently allows only one STR permit per person. The ruling allowing companies to hold permits could complicate that provision, since owners could simply create a new LLC for each property.
The court did uphold the city’s right to regulate STRs, ruling there is no fundamental right to operate an STR. According to the decision, the city can legally require operators to stay on-site during guest stays. The city’s advertising requirements were also upheld, except for a clause prohibiting ads that promote more than one property at a time.
Other provisions of the ordinance that can go forward include:
- STRs are limited to one per square block.
- STRs aren’t allowed to operate in the French Quarter and certain sections of the Historic Garden District.
In October 2024, the city also passed a law requiring STR platforms such as Airbnb and Vrbo to make sure their listings in New Orleans have city-issued STR permits. Under the law, which went into effect in August 2025, STR platforms need to verify a listing has a permit before booking can take place. The law is part of the city’s effort to crack down on illegal STRs after years of proliferation.
The city is consulting legal counsel on its response to the ruling.
The current version of the law went into effect in March 2024, a year after it was passed, after a federal judge ruled the ordinance constitutional after a previous legal challenge. The latest ruling is in response to Hignell-Stark v. City of New Orleans, brought against the city by STR operators. Another lawsuit against the city, brought by Airbnb as well as STR operators, was almost completely dismissed by a district judge in September 2025.
Lodging tax rules haven’t changed
New Orleans STRs are 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 and Vrbo collect both city and state taxes on behalf of their New Orleans hosts. Hosts must still register and file lodging tax returns with state 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.
