Short-Term Rental License
Background
State College Borough Council adopted ordinance 2187 in August 2022 establishing a new license requirement for short-term rental use in properties located within the Borough of State College. The goal of the license is to allow the Borough to better preserve its residential character and address local concerns about nuisance behavior from short-term rentals.
In November 2023, the Borough adopted ordinances 2210 and 2211. These ordinances amended the earlier short-term rental ordinance as well as the rental ordinance, both of which impacted the application process for residents. With the addition of ordinance 2211, a Rental Housing Permit from Centre Region Code Administration (CRCA) is now required as part of the Short-Term Rental License application process.
License Application Process - IMPORTANT UPDATE
The Planning Department is excited to announce the transition to a new license management system through Deckard Technologies, which includes both an interactive application portal to improve communication between applicants and staff, as well as a public facing component for residents to understand short-term rental activity in their communities.
Staff will be initiating a letter outreach campaign to all existing and prospective license holders over the next few months to provide orientation to the new system.
- Existing Active License Holders: Approved licenses will remain active during this time.
- Renewal Applications: The renewal process will be paused during the transition period. Existing approved licenses due for renewal will continue to be valid until the new system is operational, at which time staff will contact property owners to begin the renewal process.
- Pending Applications: License applications submitted but not yet approved prior to the close of the Host Compliance portal will be processed manually by Planning Department staff.
- Prospective License Applicants: A temporary application process is being established. Please visit the Application Process
page for more information.
Short-Term Rental License Ordinance
Ordinance 2210 outlines the rules and regulations for short-term rental licensing in the Borough, including required application materials, registration and parking requirements, limitations on the number of days per year that the property may be rented on a short-term basis, and policies for violations. The ordinance can be accessed here.
Frequently Asked Questions
For a list of frequently asked questions please download the FAQ sheet.
Contact Us
Please direct all communication regarding short-term rentals to shorttermrentals@statecollegepa.us.