Short-Term Rentals in Hays County, TX: No County Regulation

Hays County's river-recreation and event-tourism economy around Wimberley and Dripping Springs generates real short-term-rental demand, but the county's Commissioners Court has no legal authority to regulate short-term rentals in the unincorporated county -- and, unlike a county that might eventually grow into that authority, Hays County is structurally barred from it under the statute's own terms.

This page covers what's specific to Hays County. For the general explanation, see the national guide.

The statute, and why Hays County fails it on two separate grounds

Texas Local Government Code Section 240.102 lets a county's commissioners court adopt a short-term-rental registration and permitting scheme for unincorporated land, but only where the county has a population of 585,000 or more and is also adjacent to a county with a population of 4,000,000 or more. Hays County's population -- an estimated 314,441 in 2026, up from roughly 240,000 in 2020 -- is real and fast-growing, but it remains well under half the 585,000 threshold even after years of some of the fastest population growth in the country. More importantly, Hays County borders Travis, Caldwell, Comal, Blanco, and a handful of other counties, none of which comes anywhere close to 4,000,000 residents (Travis County, the largest neighbor, sits at roughly 1.3 million). That second prong is not something Hays County's own growth can ever satisfy on its own -- it depends entirely on a neighboring county's population, and no realistic growth trajectory puts a Hays-adjacent county at 4 million residents. Barring a future legislative change to the statute itself, this is a structural, durable gap rather than a temporary one tied to Hays County's own growth curve.

What still applies to a Hays County short-term rental without a county ordinance

The absence of county STR licensing does not mean an unincorporated Hays County rental operates in a regulatory vacuum. Texas hotel occupancy tax still applies to short-term stays and must be collected and remitted regardless of any local ordinance. General nuisance and noise law remains available to a neighbor bothered by a rental property's guests, independent of any county permit scheme. The county's OSSF (septic) permitting and maintenance-contract requirements, described on the hub, still govern any wastewater system serving a rental property. And floodplain rules still apply in full for a rental property anywhere near the Blanco or San Marcos Rivers -- arguably a more pressing practical concern for a Hays County short-term rental than licensing, given the county's documented flood history along both rivers.

Deed restrictions, HOAs, and individual city ordinances fill part of the gap

A subdivision's deed restrictions or an HOA's covenants can independently restrict or prohibit short-term rentals on a specific tract, regardless of the county's lack of statutory authority -- check a specific parcel's recorded restrictions directly rather than assuming county silence means no restriction exists. Separately, individual cities within Hays County may regulate short-term rentals within their own city limits even though the county cannot regulate the surrounding unincorporated area -- Dripping Springs' rapid growth as an event-venue and wedding destination in particular makes it worth checking that city's own current STR rules directly if a property sits inside (or near) its city limits or ETJ, since city-limits status and county status can produce very different rules for properties that look similar from the road.

Short-Term Rentals in Unincorporated Hays County, Texas

The statute, and why Hays County fails it on two separate grounds

What still applies to a Hays County short-term rental without a county ordinance

Deed restrictions, HOAs, and individual city ordinances fill part of the gap

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