Is short-term rental legal in Fort Worth, TX?
Fort Worth allows STRs by right in specified mixed-use and commercial districts; in residential zones they require a conditional-use approval that the city grants sparingly — the practical map is 'allowed where commerce is, exceptional where homes are'.
Rules checked October 2026
Run the Fort Worth verdict on your facts
| What counts as a short-term rental | Fort Worth allows STRs by right in specified mixed-use and commercial districts; in residential zones they require a conditional-use approval that the city grants sparingly — the practical map is 'allowed where commerce is, exceptional where homes are'. |
|---|---|
| Permit / license | STR registration in allowed districts / Conditional Use Permit in residential zones — issued by City of Fort Worth Development Services |
| Fee | Registration and CUP fees per the city schedule |
| Renewal | Per permit terms |
| Primary-residence rule | No primary-residence rule; the district decides the door. |
| Whole-home rental | Whole-home rental is lawful in the allowed districts and under a granted CUP. |
| Night cap | — |
| Guests / occupancy | Per permit |
| Minimum stay | None |
| Zoning | District-first city: mixed-use/commercial = registration; residential = conditional use, granted case by case. |
| Density / scarcity | No density cap found in the current rules |
| Fines | Unpermitted residential STRs draw code fines and the city enforces in the near-southside and museum districts actively |
| Taxes | City HOT registration accompanies lawful operation. |
| Platform duties | Enforcement by listing scrape + complaint. |
| State layer | No state preemption (the legislature has repeatedly declined). Cities regulate hard: Austin licenses, Houston registers (first regime, Jan 1 2026), Dallas's single-family ban has been litigated since 2023. Read the city layer, not the state. |
What trips hosts in Fort Worth
- Fort Worth and Dallas chose opposite instruments for the same metroplex anxiety — Fort Worth zones it, Dallas banned it (and got sued).
The private layer still applies
These are the city's rules. Your HOA, condo board, lease or mortgage can say no on top of them — that layer is printed as a warning in the checker, never merged into the city's verdict.
Sources: Fort Worth Zoning Ordinance (STR provisions) · City of Fort Worth STR program. Rules checked October 2026.