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Host PermitsFile it for me

Can my Nashville address get a short-term rental permit?

Type the address. The check reads the lot’s zoning from Metro’s parcels map and tells you whether Metro issues owner-occupied and not-owner-occupied permits there.

Free, from Metro’s own data, updated daily. A guide, not legal advice: Metro decides every application.

Example result

A house in East Nashville

ZoningRS5
Owner-occupied permitAllowed
Not owner-occupiedNot allowed for new permits
Permit on recordNone at this address

Metro issues no new not-owner-occupied permits in residential zones. An existing one can be renewed, but not passed on if the property is sold.

What Metro will ask for, for an owner-occupied permit

  • Four proofs that you live there
  • Notarized “True and Accurate” affidavit
  • Proof all taxes on the property are paid
  • Floor plan of every floor
  • UL217 smoke detectors
  • Inspection certificate
  • $1 million liability insurance
  • Letters to the neighbors
  • Notarized Owner Authorization Form

Filing for you is $299, charged only when Metro issues the permit.

How it decides

  • Residential zones (AR2A, R, RS, RM): owner-occupied permits only. No new not-owner-occupied permits.
  • Mixed-use, office and commercial zones on Metro’s list (MUN, MUL, MUG, MUI and their -A versions, OG, OR20, OR40, ORI, CN, CL, CS, CA, CF, DTC, SCN, SCC, SCR): not-owner-occupied permits allowed.
  • Any zone ending in -NS: no short-term rentals of either kind.
  • Specific Plan zones and satellite cities: needs checking, because the plan or the city sets its own rules.

It also shows any permit already on record for the lot, from Metro’s permit register.

What it can’t tell you

  • Whether your HOA, lease or deed allows short-term rentals.
  • What a Specific Plan’s text says about them.
  • Whether the building is lawfully a home, which owner-occupied permits need.
  • Whether the home meets the four-sleeping-room limit and the inspection rules.
  • In single- and two-family zones, Metro issues one permit per lot, so a permit on the other half of a duplex matters.

Metro decides every application. Treat the check as a guide, and call Metro Codes on 615-862-6500 if a result says it needs checking.

Sources