What Metro’s permit register shows

Metro publishes its residential short-term rental permits as open data. On August 24, 2026 the register held 17,475 permit records, 6,928 of them with the status Issued.

The register lists permits. It does not measure bookings or income. It does record history: the same snapshot counted 7,994 expired, 2,245 cancelled and 156 revoked records, and a revocation affects the next application on the same property.

The two permit types

Metro Code 6.28.030 governs both. Each permit covers a residential dwelling unit containing not more than four sleeping rooms, used or advertised through an online marketplace for transient occupancy by guests. The difference is whether the owner lives there.

Owner-occupied

• The owner must occupy the property as a primary residence and must be a natural person. An LLC, corporation, partnership, joint venture or trust cannot hold this permit.
• Only one permit is issued per lot in single-family and two-family zoning districts.
• The listing may not advertise the whole home, except a legally permitted detached accessory dwelling unit, a legally permitted accessory apartment, or a two-family unit under common ownership with the owner’s unit on the same lot.
• On a two-family property, ownership of the two units cannot be divided, one unit must be the owner’s primary residence, and a covenant must be recorded before the permit issues. A dwelling in a horizontal property regime under Tenn. Code Ann. 66-27-101 and following is exempt from those limits only if a permit was issued on or before July 1, 2019.

Not-owner-occupied

This is the permit an investor buying a dedicated rental usually needs, and the one zoning restricts. Metro Codes states that new not-owner-occupied permits are not issued in AR2a, R, RS or RM zoned properties. Existing permits in those districts may renew but are non-transferable on sale of the property. Two more limits apply to new permits:

• None may be issued for a location less than 100 feet from any of the protected uses listed in Metro Code 6.28.030.B.2.d, unless Metro Council adopts an exemption resolution with 21 affirmative votes after a public hearing. Read the full list in the code before relying on a site.
• In SP or PUD zoning, permits are issued only if the plan allows them.

Which zoning districts allow which permit

Not-owner-occupied permits are permitted with conditions only in the districts Metro Code 6.28.030.B.1 lists.

Why a permit does not survive a sale

Two separate rules end a property’s short-term rental position when it changes hands, one in Metro Code and one in state law.

The Metro permit

Metro Code 6.28.030 provides that a permit expires 365 days after issuance, that it cannot be transferred to another person, entity or address, and that on a change of ownership the new owner must apply under the rules then in effect. In the AR2a, R, RS and RM districts, those rules do not allow a new not-owner-occupied permit.

The state grandfathering right

The Tennessee Short-Term Rental Unit Act, 2018 Public Chapter 972, codified at Tenn. Code Ann. 13-7-601 through 13-7-606, lets an owner who was using a property as a short-term rental unit before a local ordinance restricted it keep operating under the law in effect when the use began, but only “until the property is sold, transferred, ceases being used as a short-term rental unit for a period of thirty (30) continuous months, or has been in violation of a generally applicable local law three (3) or more separate times.”

A permit lapse alone does not end that right. Under 13-7-604(b), a local government may suspend the use while the unit lacks a permit, but only the four statutory events extinguish the protection. The word transferred is also defined: 2020 Public Chapter 787 added a definition to 13-7-602 that reaches certain conveyances made on or after May 17, 2018 that are exempt from recordation tax under 67-4-409, so a deed that carries no transfer tax is not automatically outside the rule. Take any retitling of a grandfathered property to an attorney before the deed is signed.

HOAs, condominiums and covenants

Zoning is one permission. The association’s documents are the other. Tenn. Code Ann. 13-7-605 provides that nothing in the Short-Term Rental Unit Act prevents a condominium, co-op, homeowners association or similar entity from prohibiting or restricting short-term rental use under its governing documents, or a lessor from restricting it by lease, and Metro’s FAQ states that associations may enforce rules more restrictive than Metro’s.

Metro builds this into the application. Metro Code 6.28.030 requires an affidavit that the rental would not violate any HOA, condominium, co-op, lease or covenant, so read the declaration or master deed, the bylaws and the current rules before signing it, and ask whether an amendment is pending. Grandfathering protects a prior use against a local ordinance, not against the association.

Applying, inspection and staying compliant

What the application requires

Metro Codes requires, for every application, a floor plan of each floor showing all rooms, windows, doors and smoke detectors, with no more than four sleeping rooms. Single-family and two-family homes need a certification from a state-licensed architect, engineer or home inspector, and multifamily structures require inspection by the Fire Marshal. For an owner-occupied permit, Metro Code 6.28.030.A.3.b adds:

• A responsible party residing or located within 25 miles.
• Fire, hazard and liability insurance with liability limits of not less than $1 million per occurrence.
• Proof of written notification to the owner of each adjacent property.
• Four proof-of-residency documents, two from each of two groups the code lists, and the association and covenant affidavit.
• Proof of payment of all property, room, occupancy and sales taxes.

Confirm the current checklist for a not-owner-occupied application with Metro Codes.

Operating rules

• Maximum occupancy is twice the number of sleeping rooms plus four, and the Metro Codes operating-rules page states a maximum of 12. It must be posted in the unit, and advertising for more occupants is grounds for revocation.
• One party at a time, no paid occupancy under 24 hours, a maximum stay of 30 consecutive days, and a principal renter at least 21.
• No food prepared for or served to guests, and no recreational vehicles, buses or trailers visible on the street or the property.
• The responsible party’s name and phone number posted, with calls answered 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
• The permit number, or an image of the permit, in every online listing.

Complaints, violations and revocation

Complaints go through hubNashville or Metro Codes at 615-862-6500, and a false complaint is punishable as perjury under Tenn. Code Ann. 39-16-702. A permit may be revoked after 15 days written notice when three violations of generally applicable Metro Code provisions occur as a direct result of the rental and no appeal rights remain. A revocation bars a new permit for the same property for one year, and a denial bars a new application for six months. Operating without a permit carries a $50 per day fine and a one-year waiting period, six months when running on a lapsed permit and three years after a court finding.

The tax stack

Two sets of taxes apply: the taxes on each stay, and the property tax on the parcel. The per-stay rates below are those set by Tennessee law and the Metro Code as of September 2026.

On the per-night tax, Metro Code 5.12.140 sets the portion above $2.00 to terminate six years from May 21, 2020. Metro Council passed BL2026-1493 on September 1, 2026, which would move that date to six years from May 21, 2026, but the ordinance takes effect only after the Convention Center Authority’s outstanding debt is discharged. Confirm the rate in force with Metro Finance.

On property tax, Tennessee assesses residential property at 25 percent of appraised value and commercial and industrial property at 40 percent, and how a parcel is classified is the Assessor of Property’s determination. The $2.814 combined Urban Services District rate for tax years 2025 and 2026 is $0.592 above the $2.222 revenue-neutral rate Metro reported for the 2025 reappraisal, so it is not a revenue-neutral rate.

Who collects what

Since January 1, 2021, Tenn. Code Ann. 67-4-3301 and following has required short-term rental unit marketplaces to register with the Department of Revenue and collect and remit local occupancy taxes on their bookings. That does not end the host’s obligation. Metro Code 6.28.030 keeps the permit holder responsible for all applicable room, occupancy and sales taxes, and direct bookings remain the host’s to collect and remit. Metro Finance’s short-term rental occupancy tax returns are due by the 20th of each month. Renewal requires proof of Hotel Occupancy Tax payment, so the tax file is also the permit file.

Outside Metro: what the surrounding cities’ codes say

Belle Meade, Forest Hills and Oak Hill are satellite cities in Davidson County with their own zoning codes, and all three prohibit short-term rental use. Beyond the county line, each city writes its own rule.

For Murfreesboro, Gallatin, Hendersonville and unincorporated Williamson County, ask the city or county planning office for the current code section in writing.

Due diligence before you buy

A short-term rental purchase is two transactions, the real estate and the permit. Settle these before an offer:

1. The current zoning, from the Nashville Parcel Viewer, checked against Metro’s not-owner-occupied district list.
2. What the Eligibility Viewer returns for the address, confirmed with Metro Codes.
3. Any existing permit and its type. It ends at closing.
4. Any reliance on state-law grandfathering. It ends on the sale.
5. The permit history in Metro’s open-data register, including revocations, which bar a new permit on the same property for one year.
6. Whether the property is zoned SP, sits within a PUD, or was developed under the adaptive residential use.
7. Whether the rental space is a new detached accessory dwelling unit.
8. Whether the site is within 100 feet of a use listed in 6.28.030.B.2.d.
9. The association’s governing documents and any pending amendment.
10. The number of sleeping rooms, which a permit caps at four, and who will hold title, since an entity cannot hold an owner-occupied permit.

How a purchase contract builds in time for these answers, and what happens if one comes back no, is a question for your attorney. Rely on Metro’s answer, not on a listing description.

Buying a condominium for short-term rental use

A condominium needs two permissions from two places. Metro’s follows the building’s zoning, as set out in the table above, and multifamily structures require a Fire Marshal inspection. The association’s comes from the declaration, bylaws and rules, which 13-7-605 allows to restrict or prohibit short-term rental use whatever the zoning says. A building whose zoning allows a not-owner-occupied permit can still be a building whose documents do not.

A two-unit property owned as two separate units raises the two-family ownership rule above, including the July 1, 2019 cutoff for horizontal property regimes. How those regimes work is explained in What Is an HPR in Nashville? Tall and Skinny Homes Explained. For high-rise buildings, see Downtown Nashville Condos and High-Rises: The Complete Guide 2026.

Selling a property with a permit attached

The buyer receives the real estate, not the permit and not any grandfathered right, and in the AR2a, R, RS and RM districts cannot obtain a new not-owner-occupied permit. Price and present the property for what a buyer can lawfully use it for.

• Do not market projected rental income. An expectation the buyer cannot meet puts the contract at risk.
• Present what is verifiable: the zoning, the permit type and number, the permit history, and the tax compliance record that renewal requires.
• Send the buyer to the Eligibility Viewer and to Metro Codes for their own determination. The seller should not be the one issuing a zoning opinion.
• Settle future reservations and platform listings with your attorney before closing. Every listing must carry a valid permit number, and the permit ends with the sale.

The rest of the seller process is in Selling a Home in Nashville: The Complete 2026 Guide to Pricing, Costs, and Timing.

Frequently asked questions