Nashville's Airbnb and STRP rules, in plain English

Metro Code §6.28.030 governs short-term rental properties in Nashville and Davidson County. Any home advertised on Airbnb, VRBO or similar sites needs a permit before the first guest checks in. Here's what that actually means on your street.

Two kinds of permits

Owner-occupied (OO) — someone renting out the home they live in. Still issuable in residential zones. This is the spare-bedroom host, not the problem.

Not owner-occupied (NOO) — the investor model: a house bought to run as a full-time rental with up to four sleeping rooms and a single party of guests at a time. New NOO permits are only issued in commercial and mixed-use zones: MUN, MUL, MUG, MUI, OG, OR20–OR40-A, ORI, CN, CL, CS, CA, CF, DTC, SCN, SCC and SCR districts (and SP/PUD zones where the plan allows it). That is exactly the right place for them — we support commercial-zone permitting.

In AR2A, R, RS and RM — the zones your neighborhood is actually made of — Metro stopped issuing new NOO permits. Single-family homes are not supposed to be Airbnb businesses.

The legacy permit trap

Residential NOO permits granted before the zone ban are still out there. They can renew every year — but they can never be transferred. The day the property sells or the LLC shuffles ownership, the permit is dead. Nashville's residential Airbnb stock is a dying inventory, which is why the industry keeps filing bills in Metro Council to reopen residential zoning. Keeping that door shut is the legislative fight.

The rules permit holders live under

  • Maximum four sleeping rooms; one party of guests at a time.
  • Stays capped at 30 consecutive days; nothing under 24 hours may be charged.
  • Owner owes business, sales and hotel-occupancy taxes to city and state.
  • Single- and two-family homes need a code-compliance certification from a licensed architect, engineer or home inspector; multifamily buildings need a Fire Marshal inspection.
  • The permit number belongs in the listing itself.

Common questions

Are Airbnbs legal in Nashville?
Yes — but only with a Metro short-term rental property (STRP) permit, and new permits for a home nobody lives in are only issued in commercial and mixed-use zones. An Airbnb operating in a residential zone without a valid permit is illegal right now.
Can Airbnb operate in a residential neighborhood in Nashville?
Only in two cases: the owner lives in the home (an owner-occupied permit), or the property holds a legacy not-owner-occupied permit issued before the residential ban. Legacy permits renew but can never transfer to a new owner.
Can I stop my neighbor from running an Airbnb?
If the listing is unpermitted or in a residential zone without a valid legacy permit, yes — file a complaint with hubNashville and Metro Codes investigates. If it holds a valid permit, it is legal until that permit lapses or the home sells.
What happens when a house with a legacy STRP permit sells?
The permit dies. Non-owner-occupied permits in residential zones are not transferable, so a sale or ownership transfer ends the short-term rental for good.
Do Nashville Airbnbs have to show a permit number?
Permit holders are required to include their permit number in online listings. No number in the listing is itself a red flag worth reporting.

Sources: Metro Code §6.28.030 via the Metro Codes STRP page, permit types and eligible zones. Next step: how to report an illegal Airbnb.