The Cleveland Short-Term Rental License Packet

A step-by-step guide to getting licensed under Cleveland's new short-term rental law

Ohio Stay Legal

Who this packet is for

You rent out a home, apartment, or part of a property in the City of Cleveland for short stays — 30 days or fewer at a time — through Airbnb, Vrbo, Booking.com, or on your own. Starting November 28, 2026, Cleveland requires you to hold a short-term rental license to do that legally (Cleveland Codified Ordinances Chapter 686B, enacted by Ordinance No. 561-2026).

This packet walks you through everything the law requires, in the order you should do it, in plain language.

What this packet is

• A plain-language organizer built directly from the text of the ordinance as passed.
• A checklist of every document and step the city requires, with the ordinance section cited next to each one.
• Templates and worked examples for the parts hosts get stuck on: the floor plan, the parking plan, and the neighbor notification letter.

What this packet is not

• This packet is not legal advice. It is an information product. It summarizes a city ordinance; it does not interpret the law for your specific situation, and no attorney-client relationship is created by buying or reading it.
• It is not a city form. The City of Cleveland issues the official application, and only the city can approve your license.
• It is not a guarantee. Your license is granted or denied by the Commissioner of Assessments and Licenses based on the city's review, not by anything in this packet.
• If your situation is unusual — a zoning dispute, a contested denial, a property with code violations — talk to a Cleveland attorney who handles housing or zoning matters.

One honest note before you start: As of early November 2026, the city has not yet published the official application form or an online portal. The ordinance says applications are made on forms supplied by the Commissioner of Assessments and Licenses (Section 686B.03(b)). The whole point of this packet is to have every document ready so you can file the day the forms open — because several of the required items take weeks to get on their own.

1. The Clock: Dates That Matter

Fees

• Application fee: $150 (Section 686B.03(d))
• Renewal fee: $150 (Section 686B.03(e))
• First year only: the fee is prorated — calculated from the month your license is issued through November 30 (Section 686B.03(d)).
• The license is not transferable. It cannot move to another person or another property (Section 686B.03(d)). If you sell the property, the buyer needs their own license.

Why starting now matters

The application is a packet of proofs, and the city will not issue the license until the dwelling is verified to meet health, fire, safety, and building-code standards (Section 686B.04(b)). Three of the required items are not things you can produce in an afternoon:

1. Lead-safe certification (Section 365.04) — requires an inspection process.
2. Certificate of occupancy (Section 3105.11) — a city-issued document your property may or may not already have in order.
3. Liability insurance of at least $500,000 — a policy you may need to buy or upgrade.

Hosts who start these now will be ready to file when the forms open. Hosts who wait will be standing in the same lines in December, while the penalties in Section 8 of this packet are already in effect.

2. Do First: The Five Things That Take Time

Start these before anything else, in roughly this order.

2.1 Lead-safe certification (Section 686B.03(b)(11))

Your application must include proof that the dwelling is certified lead safe as described in Section 365.04 of the Cleveland Codified Ordinances. This is a separate city certification with its own process — you cannot self-declare it. If your property has never been through it, start here; inspection scheduling is the most common bottleneck.

2.2 Certificate of occupancy (Section 686B.03(b)(10))

Your application must include proof of a certificate of occupancy issued under Section 3105.11. If you already have one for the dwelling, find the document now. If you are not sure your property has one, or whether it is current for this use, resolve that with the city early — it is a yes/no item on your application and there is no substitute document.

2.3 Liability insurance of at least $500,000 (Section 686B.03(b)(7))

Your application must include proof of liability insurance for the short-term rental with limits of not less than $500,000. There are two ways to satisfy this:

• Your own liability policy covering the rental, at $500,000 or more; or
• Proof that the rental and you (the owner/operator) are named insureds under a booking agent's liability insurance policy.

Check your current homeowner's or landlord policy first — many do not cover short-term rental activity at all, and a standard policy limit may be below $500,000. If you need a new policy or a rider, bind it before you file; "proof" means the policy exists, not that you applied for one.

2.4 Bring your taxes current (Section 686B.03(b)(9))

Your application must include proof of payment of all applicable taxes due as of the date you submit, including real estate taxes and transient occupancy taxes. If you owe back property taxes, or you have been renting and have not been paying transient occupancy tax, settle that before filing. The proof has to be true on the day you submit the application.

2.5 Draw the two plans (Sections 686B.03(b)(5) and (6))

The application requires a dimensioned floor plan and a parking plan. These are drawings you prepare — Section 5 of this packet explains exactly what each must show. They take longer than people expect because the floor plan has to show room measurements, guest and bedroom counts, safety features, and evacuation routes. Draw them while the items above are in process.

3. The 12-Item Application Checklist

The ordinance lists twelve things an application must include (Section 686B.03(b)(1)–(12)). Here is each one: what it is, how to get it, and what trips people up.

Tick each item off as you gather it — your progress is saved on this device, so you can leave and pick up where you stopped.

0 of 12 ready

3.13 The 7-day update rule (Section 686B.03(c))

Everything on your application must stay current. If any of the information changes — a new operator, a new local contact, a new phone number — you must update it within 7 days of the change. Put a note in your calendar system: any change to who runs the rental or how they are reached starts a 7-day clock.

4. What Happens After You Apply

4.1 Four departments review your application (Section 686B.04(a))

The Commissioner transmits your application and documents to four city departments for verification and approval:

1. Department of Building and Housing
2. City Planning Commission
3. Department of Public Health
4. Department of Public Safety

4.2 The license issues only if the dwelling passes (Section 686B.04(b))

No license is issued unless those departments determine that the dwelling meets all health, fire, safety, and building-code standards. Your paperwork being complete is necessary but not sufficient — the property itself has to pass. If there is a known code issue in the unit, fix it before you file rather than after you are denied.

4.3 If you are denied (Section 686B.04(b))

A denial may be appealed to the Board of Zoning Appeals, in writing, within 10 days. That deadline is short. If you receive a denial, calendar the 10 days immediately, and consider consulting a Cleveland attorney before filing the appeal — this packet does not cover appeal strategy.

5. The Two Plans: How-To

5.1 The dimensioned floor plan (Section 686B.03(b)(5))

What "dimensioned" means: the drawing carries actual measurements — the length and width of rooms (or at minimum the overall dimensions of the unit and each room) written on the plan. A sketch without numbers is not dimensioned. You do not need an architect for a typical home; you need a tape measure, a ruler, and care. (If your property is complex, a draftsperson is money well spent, but the ordinance requires the information, not a professional stamp.)

Draw it like this:

1. Outline every floor guests can access. Draw the walls of each room to a consistent scale (graph paper helps; one square = one foot is easy to work with). Label the overall length and width of the unit, and write the dimensions of each room on the room itself.
2. Label every room by use. Mark each bedroom clearly, and label the other living spaces (living room, kitchen, bathrooms, etc.). Count the bedrooms and write the total on the plan.
3. State the maximum number of transient guests. Write it on the plan, e.g., "Maximum transient guests: 4." This is a number you are committing to in your application — pick one the bedrooms and the space honestly support.
4. Mark the safety features. Show the locations of the safety equipment required by Section 686B.06(f): smoke alarms adjacent to each sleeping area, carbon monoxide detectors, and A/B/C fire extinguishers (at least in the kitchen). Use a simple symbol (for example, a circled "S" for smoke alarm, "CO" for the detector, "FE" for extinguisher) and include a small legend that says what each symbol means.
5. Draw the emergency evacuation routes. From each bedroom and each main living space, draw an arrowed line showing the path a guest would take to get outside — through the door, down the stairs, out the exit. Mark the exits themselves. If a floor has a secondary way out (a second stairway, a back door), draw that route too.

Worked description — a simple one-floor ranch:

One rectangle, 40 ft × 28 ft overall, dimensions written along the top and left edges. Inside: "Bedroom 1 — 12 ft × 11 ft" at the front left, "Bedroom 2 — 11 ft × 10 ft" at the front right, "Living Room — 16 ft × 13 ft" center, "Kitchen — 12 ft × 10 ft" rear, "Bathroom" between the bedrooms. Written across the top: "Bedrooms: 2. Maximum transient guests: 4." A circled S in the hallway outside each bedroom door; "CO" marked beside the furnace closet; "FE" marked in the kitchen by the stove wall, with a legend box in the corner explaining the three symbols. A bold arrow runs from Bedroom 1 through the living room to the front door marked "EXIT," a second from Bedroom 2, and a third from the kitchen out the rear door marked "EXIT 2."

That level of completeness — measurements, room labels and counts, guest maximum, safety symbols with a legend, arrowed escape routes — is what the item asks for.

5.2 The parking plan (Section 686B.03(b)(6))

What it must show: the location and quantity of the parking spaces used in connection with the rental. It can be a simple drawing of the lot/dwelling footprint and the street, or a written description keyed to a sketch — the safest approach is a sketch with labels.

Draw it like this:

1. Draw the outline of the dwelling and the lot lines, plus the street edge and the street name.
2. Mark each parking space guests will use as a rectangle, and number them (P1, P2, …).
3. Write the total: "Parking spaces: 3 — one-car garage (1), driveway (2)."
4. If guests will use any off-site or shared spaces, show where those are relative to the dwelling and label them as such.
5. Keep the count consistent with your operation. If your plan says two spaces, do not advertise the listing to groups arriving in four cars.

6. The Density Cap, Explained (Section 686B.07)

6.1 The rule

In a residential district, short-term rentals are limited to at least one, and no more than 10%, of the total residential units:

• on the block, or
• in a multi-unit building (a building with 3 or more dwelling units),

whichever number is greater (Section 686B.07(a)).

Two practical consequences:

• Every block and every multi-unit building gets at least one permitted short-term rental, even if 10% of its units works out to less than one.
• The cap is a shared pool. If other hosts on your block get licensed first and fill the cap, there may be no room left — another reason not to wait.

6.2 Worked example A — a block of 40 houses

Your block has 40 residential units (40 houses). 10% of 40 = 4. The cap for the block is 4 short-term rentals. If four licensed STRs already operate on the block, a fifth cannot be licensed there without a variance (Section 6.4 below).

6.3 Worked example B — a 12-unit building

Your building has 12 dwelling units. 10% of 12 = 1.2. The ordinance's text states the limit as "at least one or no more than 10%" and does not spell out a rounding rule for fractional results in the enacted text quoted in this packet — so read the building's guaranteed allowance as at least 1 unit, and treat anything beyond that as a question to confirm with the Commissioner before you rely on it. Where the block calculation produces a larger number than the building calculation, the greater of the two controls.

6.4 Going over the cap requires a variance (Section 686B.07(b)–(c))

Exceeding the density limit requires a variance from the Board of Zoning Appeals (the ordinance lists nine factors the Board considers). You may not operate over the cap without one — operating over the cap without a variance carries a $5,000 penalty (see Section 8). A variance is a separate proceeding with its own application; if your block or building is already at the cap, get advice before spending money on the rest of your application.

6.5 The one narrow exemption — from the cap only (Section 686B.07(d))

A unit is exempt from the density limitation only if it was operated as limited lodging under Section 337.251 for at least one year before Chapter 686B's effective date, and was at all times in full compliance — defined as: fewer than 91 days of lodging per calendar year, no lodger staying over 30 consecutive days, and smoke and CO detectors maintained as Section 337.251(c) requires — and has no recorded complaints. Records kept by the owner or booking agent are the evidence of compliant operation.

Read that carefully: the exemption is from the density cap. It is not an exemption from licensing. A grandfathered unit still must obtain the license, with the full application, fee, and documents. And if there is a recorded complaint, or the unit ever ran over the compliance limits, the exemption does not apply.

7. After You're Licensed: The Operating Rules

Getting the license is not the finish line. These duties run the whole time you operate.

7.1 Display the license (Section 686B.05(c))

Your license must be prominently displayed inside the main entrance of the unit. Put it where a guest (or an inspector) walking in the front door will see it. Failure to display it is a separate violation — $1,000 per violation, each day a separate violation (Section 686B.991) — so this is the cheapest rule in the chapter to obey and an expensive one to ignore.

7.2 Notify your neighbors — in writing, before your first guests (Section 686B.06(j))

When: After you receive your license and before the unit is occupied by a third party (your first guests).

What: Written notification that includes your local contact's name and telephone number.

Who must receive it: The owners/occupants of all residential properties that are:

• Adjacent to your property;
• Directly across the street from it;
• Diagonally across the street from it; and
• Directly and diagonally behind it.

Keep proof. Note the date you delivered or mailed each notice, and keep a copy of the letter. If any of the information changes — a new local contact or a new phone number — send updated notices; updates are due within 7 days of the change (Section 686B.06(j), consistent with the update rule in Section 686B.03(c)).

Template letter — fill in the blanks:

7.3 Local contact duties (Section 686B.02(g))

Your named local contact (Item 3) must, for every stay:

• Be reachable at all times while guests are on the premises — a phone that is on, answered, and with a person who knows the property;
• Be able to be present at the property within 1 hour of a call; and
• Be authorized to make decisions — admitting a plumber, ending a party, handling an emergency — without needing to track you down first.

If your local contact goes on vacation during a booked stay, designate a substitute who meets all three requirements and update the city within 7 days (Section 686B.03(c)) — and re-send the neighbor notice if the contact's name or phone changes (Section 686B.06(j)).

7.4 Safety equipment (Section 686B.06(f))

The unit must have, as required by the operating standards:

• Working smoke alarms adjacent to each sleeping area;
• Carbon monoxide (CO) detection devices; and
• A/B/C fire extinguishers, at least in the kitchen.

These are the same safety features you marked on your floor plan (Item 5). Test the alarms and check the extinguisher before your first guests, and put battery/pressure checks on a recurring calendar — a dead alarm found in an inspection is an operating-standards violation (see the penalty table below).

8. The Penalty Table (Sections 686B.99 and 686B.991)

Plain language. "Each day a separate violation" means the fine repeats daily until the problem stops.

The practical takeaway: a live listing on a booking platform for an unlicensed unit is not a gray area — it is two violations at once (advertising, and every booking taken), and the advertising fine accrues by the day.

9. Renewal Calendar

Your license runs December 1 through November 30 (Section 686B.03(d)). Build your year around these dates:

One caution from the ordinance text: renewal is available "only if all chapter requirements are met and nothing has changed from the approved application" (Section 686B.03(e)). If something material has changed — different unit configuration, different operator arrangement — do not assume a simple renewal covers it; ask the Commissioner how to proceed before the window closes.

10. Frequently Asked Questions

Sources & Gaps

Source. Every requirement in this packet is drawn from the as-passed text of Cleveland Ordinance No. 561-2026, enacting Codified Ordinances Chapter 686B (short-term rentals), published in The City Record, June 12, 2026 (pp. 56–73): https://www.clevelandcitycouncil.gov/sites/default/files/2026-07/REVISION2_City%20Record%206-12-26.pdf — sponsored by Council Members Davis, Santana, Polensek, and Harsh; passed June 1, 2026. Section 5 of the ordinance sets Chapter 686B's effective date at 180 days after passage: November 28, 2026. Cross-checks: the codified chapter history notes at the American Legal Publishing code library (https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/cleveland/latest/cleveland_oh/0-0-0-7766) and the Council executive summary for Ordinance 561-2026 on Legistar, which confirms the $500,000 insurance figure in Section 686B.03. (The $300,000 figure that appears in some coverage comes from Ordinance No. 588-2024, an earlier bill that was tabled and never enacted.)

Known gaps, stated honestly:

1. No official application form or portal yet. As of early November 2026, no STR application form, online portal, or STR-specific application page has been located on clevelandohio.gov. The ordinance leaves the mechanics to forms and rules supplied by the Commissioner of Assessments and Licenses (Sections 686B.03(b), 686B.10). The Division of Assessments & Licenses' general contact is 601 Lakeside Avenue, Room 122, Cleveland; phone 216.664.2260; DALLicenses@clevelandohio.gov. This packet prepares you to file the day the forms open; it cannot file for you.
2. "City block" definition not reproduced. The density cap turns on units "on the block," a term defined in Section 510.01, which is cross-referenced by Section 686B.02(d) but not reprinted here. If your block's boundaries are ambiguous, confirm with the Commissioner.
3. Prerequisite procedures live elsewhere. The lead-safe certification procedure (Chapter 365) and the certificate of occupancy procedure (Section 3105.11) are separate city processes; this packet confirms they are required as application items (Section 686B.03(b)(10)–(11)) but does not reproduce those procedures.
4. No rounding rule stated. The enacted density-cap text (Section 686B.07(a)) states no rounding rule for fractional 10% results; the worked building example in Section 6.3 flags this rather than guessing.

This packet is an information product, not legal advice. Ordinance summaries can contain errors even when prepared from the enacted text; the ordinance itself, available at the source above, controls.