Hattiesburg, MS Short-Term Rental Rules (2026)
Can I operate a short-term rental in Hattiesburg?
Short-term rentals are lawful in Hattiesburg with a city permit, but entry is gated by a capped, non-transferable annual permit that requires a local manager, insurance, and inspection.
Key facts
What the record says about short-term rentals in Hattiesburg, with the level of law each comes from. What do these facts mean?
Can you operate?
Stay limits
Taxes
Why this score
The main reasons Hattiesburg scores the way it does. Listed most important first.
What holds it back
- Permit or license (Yes) lowers the score.
- State lodging tax lowers the score.
Not yet known
- 11 more factors — free account
- 5 facts are not yet established, so the score leans on typical values.
Operating restrictions
What limits how, where and how often you can rent in Hattiesburg.
Occupancy / night caps / zoning limits
Occupancy is set per sleeping room plus a per-dwelling add-on, with a larger add-on for big homes, and is fixed on each permit at inspection. Parking is assessed on site.
- Occupancy per sleeping room plus per-dwelling add-on
- Vehicle limit set at inspection
Enforcement / penalties
Operating without a permit is a misdemeanor with each day a separate violation and escalating fines within a year. The city may revoke after a ten-day cure period, with appeal to the council.
- Escalating misdemeanor fines plus court costs
- Revocation after notice and cure period
New to this? Owner-occupied vs non-owner-occupied STRs, explained
Permit requirements
What you need to file or hold before hosting in Hattiesburg.
Permits & licensing
Operators need a privilege tax licence, a certificate of zoning compliance, and a fire inspection, renewed yearly. The permit is non-transferable and a new owner must reapply. A citywide cap with a waitlist applies; current headroom was not verified.
- Privilege tax licence, zoning compliance certificate, fire inspection
- Named local property manager residing in Forrest or Lamar County, reachable 24/7
- Proof of liability insurance covering short-term rental use
- Proof mortgage or deed of trust does not prohibit short-term rental use
- HOA acknowledgment where covenants exist
- Annual renewal; permit expires on sale or transfer
New to this? How short-term rental permits and licensing work
Taxes
Lodging, occupancy and related taxes or fees.
Taxes & fees
State sales tax applies to lodging, and platforms collect it on bookings. Local hotel levies are defined to exclude smaller lodging, so their reach to single units was not confirmed.
- Application, licence, inspection, zoning certificate and privilege licence fees on first filing
- Lower renewal fees each year
New to this? Short-term rental lodging taxes, explained
Recent changes
The dated change history is part of the free account. Email alerts above need no account.
Market assumptions
Estimates, not lawRevenue, occupancy and returns depend on the specific property and are estimates, separate from the rules above.
Run any property in Hattiesburg through the deal analyzer for cash flow, cap rate, and long-term projections.
Sources
Last verified October 22, 2026 (19 days ago). Short-term rental rules can change between checks. Confirm current requirements with the jurisdiction before relying on this for a real decision.
- hattiesburgms.com › uploads/Ordinance-3376.pdf
- hattiesburgms.com › shorttermrentals
- wdam.com
- dor.ms.gov › node/5739
- regulations.justia.com
- sos.ms.gov
- billstatus.ls.state.ms.us › 1200-1299/HB1248PS.htm
- dor.ms.gov › News/72-20-04 MARKETPLACE FACILITATORS.pdf
- propertyzoned.com
- dor.ms.gov › … BOOKING COMPANIES AND COLLECTING SALES TAX.pdf
- billstatus.ls.state.ms.us › 0900-0999/HB0919PS.htm
A free STRVE account shows which rule each source supports, plus the full jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction breakdown, change history, and rule-change alerts for Hattiesburg.
More STR-friendly options nearby
Nearby cities with a higher regulation score than Hattiesburg.
- 81/100Jackson~85 mi
Short-term rental rules near Hattiesburg
All Mississippi cities →How we research this
The STRVE Score is our own regulation rating, built from seven levels of authority: state, county, town, HOA, deed restrictions, special districts, and platform rules. Each level is scored separately, with its own citations and the date we verified it. The headline number is the strictest of the seven, never an average, because the tightest rule is the one that governs you.
We keep a history of what a city's rules said before and when they changed, so a score that moves is traceable to the rule that moved it.
- Highly permissive
- 90+
- Friendly
- 70–89
- Moderate
- 45–69
- Heavily restricted
- 20–44
- Effectively banned
- 0–19
Not legal advice
STRVE is a research tool, not financial or legal advice. Always verify regulation, tax, and permitting details with the local jurisdiction and a licensed professional before you buy.
The STRVE Score and the seven-level breakdown are our own rating framework, not an official or government rating, and no jurisdiction endorses or reviews them. The rules behind them are researched from public sources with AI assistance and are current only as of the verification date shown, so they can be incomplete, outdated, or wrong. None of it substitutes for advice from local counsel. Confirm every permit, tax, occupancy, and zoning requirement against the jurisdiction's own municipal code and with an attorney licensed in that jurisdiction before you buy, list, or operate. Terms of Service