Del Valle, Texas

Del Valle is unincorporated Travis County, and Texas counties have very limited regulatory authority over unincorporated land. As a result, there is no county short-term rental permit, license, or registration requirement, no owner-occupancy or primary-residence mandate, and no cap on rental nights per year, making this one of the more permissive STR environments in the Austin metro area.

The main obligation is tax: operators must collect and remit the 6% Texas state hotel occupancy tax, registered with the Texas Comptroller, plus a 2% Travis County venue-project hotel tax that funds the Travis County Expo Center, for a combined 8% lodging tax. Austin and Travis County do not add a separate city hotel occupancy tax in unincorporated areas.

Enforcement of STR-specific rules is minimal because no permitting regime exists at the county level. The real risk factors are private rather than governmental: HOA covenants and recorded deed restrictions can independently prohibit or limit short-term rentals in a given subdivision, and any parcel that sits inside Austin’s city limits or extraterritorial jurisdiction, or is later annexed, would become subject to the City of Austin’s stricter STR licensing and zoning framework. Investors should confirm the exact jurisdiction of a specific address, whether it is unincorporated county land or inside Austin’s ETJ or city limits, check the subdivision’s deed and HOA restrictions, and register for state and county hotel occupancy tax before listing a property.