Is Bastrop, Texas Good for Airbnb Investment?

Proceed only after the City confirms the address, legal occupancy, registration, safety, parking, tax, and operating facts satisfy current short-term rental rules.

• Bastrop regulates residential lodging for fewer than 30 consecutive days within municipal city limits.
• Each individual STR structure needs a separate City registration.
• Confirm the exact registration, building, fire, hotel-tax, insurance, and private requirements before closing.
• Keep a lawful long-term or personal-use fallback if the property cannot qualify.

A platform listing, prior rental history, or seller statement does not establish lawful short-term rental use.

• Match the address to Bastrop city limits, property records, zoning, legal occupancy, and permit history.
• Confirm the proposed bedrooms have code-compliant emergency egress.
• Check pending complaints, code violations, delinquent City obligations, and private restrictions.
• Obtain written Development Services guidance before relying on short-term rental use.

Bastrop requires a current registration for each short-term rental structure and annual renewal.

• Apply through MyGov with owner, operator, platform, local-contact, bedroom, occupancy, parking, tax, and safety information.
• Attach proof of ownership, the fire-safety floor plan, current hotel-tax verification, and parking plan requested by the City checklist.
• Pay the current $25 nonrefundable application fee and file renewal at least 30 days before expiration.
• Retain applications, registration numbers, renewals, inspections, notices, and City correspondence.

Bastrop requires compliance with applicable building and fire codes and specific life-safety equipment.

• Provide working smoke and carbon-monoxide alarms and at least one inspected Type 5 ABC fire extinguisher.
• Confirm every bedroom has a working emergency-exit window that complies with the adopted residential code.
• Post the local contact and provide guests with a floor plan, evacuation routes, emergency information, parking plan, and operating restrictions.
• Price required corrections and obtain written permit and inspection records before occupancy.

Bastrop states a combined 13.75% hotel occupancy tax rate: 6% state, 7% City, and 0.75% County.

• Confirm state, City, and County accounts and filing schedules for the exact rental arrangement.
• Use the City-designated Localgov process for City returns and payments.
• Verify which amounts a marketplace collects and remits and which remain the operator’s duty.
• Keep booking, exemption, marketplace, return, payment, and reconciliation records by filing period.

Bastrop combines registration, local-contact, parking, safety, tax, disclosure, and recordkeeping duties.

• Display the registration and City registration number conspicuously outside the rental entrance.
• Keep owner, operator, platform, and 24-hour local-contact information current, reporting changes within 10 days.
• Provide occupants with the parking plan and summaries of parking, noise, water-conservation, and emergency rules.
• Renew annually, remain current on hotel taxes, and respond promptly to complaints and City notices.

Flood, wildfire, heat, drainage, trees, soil, utilities, access, insurance, and building condition require address-level review.

• Use City records, Bastrop Central Appraisal District data, permit history, and FEMA maps for the exact parcel.
• Review flood exposure, drainage, roof, foundation, cooling, electrical capacity, water, wastewater, trees, and emergency access.
• Obtain property, liability, loss-of-income, flood, wildfire, and guest-use insurance quotes.
• Stress-test repairs, utilities, insurance changes, vacancies, enforcement, and registration delays.

Use written property-specific quotes for acquisition, setup, registration, taxes, safety, and operations.

• Include financing, property tax, registration, inspections, utilities, cleaning, management, maintenance, insurance, and reserves.
• Price code corrections, egress, alarms, extinguisher service, cooling, electrical, plumbing, drainage, parking, and access work before closing.
• Use supported property comparables and lawful proposed occupancy for booking scenarios.
• Test break-even results under lower bookings, repairs, taxes, insurance, and approval delays.

Route registration, zoning, permits, fire safety, hotel tax, complaints, parcel, and property questions to the office administering each requirement.

• Use Development Services for STR registration, parcel eligibility, permits, and MyGov questions.
• Use Fire Prevention for fire-code and life-safety requirements and Code Compliance for complaints and property-code concerns.
• Use City Finance, Localgov, Bastrop County, and the Texas Comptroller for hotel-tax questions.
• STR Search can help evaluate properties after City eligibility and legal-use risks are understood.

Use current City, County, state, and federal materials because codes, fees, tax rates, procedures, and property conditions can change.

• Official and government-service sources were checked on September 28, 2026.
• Save dated copies of City guidance, applications, registrations, renewals, inspections, tax filings, parcel records, title, and insurance documents.
• Resolve conflicts with the agency that administers the requirement.
• Base every operating assumption on the exact parcel, owner facts, and rental arrangement.