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Owner-occupied or not: which Nashville short-term rental permit you need

Metro issues two kinds of short-term rental permit. Which one you need depends on whether you live there and who owns the property, and it decides where you can get one.

Checked against Metro’s pages on 6 November 2026. A guide, not legal advice: Metro decides every application.

Owner-occupied

For an owner who permanently lives at the property. The owner has to be a person: LLCs, corporations, trusts, partnerships and joint ventures can’t hold an owner-occupied permit.

You can rent up to four sleeping rooms to a single party, or part of the home with at least one sleeping room and a bathroom. In single- and two-family zones, Metro issues only one permit per lot.

You prove you live there with four current documents showing your name and the address. They go to Metro by email, not through the online application:

  • Two from: Tennessee driver’s license or ID, Davidson County voter registration card, an IRS form such as a W-2 or 1099, current vehicle registration or title.
  • Two from: current auto or life insurance, homeowner’s insurance policy, a paycheck or stub, a bank statement, an employer’s verification of your address.

Not owner-occupied

Everyone else, including any property owned by an LLC or trust. The same limit applies: no more than four sleeping rooms, rented to a single party.

Instead of proof of residency, you send the papers that link you to the company that owns the property, such as its operating agreement or articles of organization.

New not-owner-occupied permits are only issued in Metro’s mixed-use, office and commercial zones. In residential zones (AR2A, R, RS and RM) an existing permit can be renewed, but it can’t be transferred if the property is sold, and no new ones are issued.

Three rules often stated wrongly

  • Insurance: the minimum is $1 million of liability cover per occurrence, not $500,000. It’s on Metro’s application page.
  • NS zones: a zone ending in -NS, such as RM9-NS, allows no short-term rentals at all, owner-occupied included.
  • Residential not-owner-occupied permits: no new ones are issued, and an existing one can’t be transferred when the property is sold. A lapsed one can’t be replaced.

Rules for both

  • No stays shorter than 24 hours, and no guest for more than 30 days in a row.
  • Metro’s fee is $313 either way, paid to Metro after its staff review the application.
  • The permit lasts 365 days and is renewed every year.

Sources