Short-Term Rental Permits in New Orleans, 2026

New Orleans received 5,702 short-term rental permit applications in 2019 and 1,095 in 2024, 81% fewer. The share of applications the city denied fell from 34% in 2017 to 2% in 2025.

Compiled by Cavmir from the City of New Orleans public permit register · Published October 23, 2026 · All city reports

Key findings

What the numbers say

Applications peaked at 5,702 in 2019, fell to 1,332 in 2020 and reached their lowest point, 1,095, in 2024. 2026 had 1,598 by October 21, already more than all of 2025 (1,344).
Denials have nearly disappeared from the record. In 2017 the city denied 1,820 of 5,299 applications (34%). In 2025 it denied 31 of 1,344 (2%). Many recent applications are still marked pending (61% of 2026's), so the final rate for 2025 and 2026 can still move.
The permit types changed with the rules. Every application in 2017 and 2018 was filed as a plain “Short Term Rental”. From 2020 to 2022 they were filed as residential-owner or commercial-owner rentals. In 2025, 1,041 of 1,344 applications (77%) were for a “Non-Commercial Short Term Rental”.
The city's active license list held 4,014 licenses on October 22, 2026: 1,541 operator licenses, 1,243 commercial-owner licenses and 1,230 non-commercial licenses. 3,932 of them (98%) were issued in May 2025 or later, so nearly the whole list was issued or renewed in the last 18 months.
Most licenses sit with small holders. 1,248 names appear on exactly one active license; 12 names appear on 10 or more, and together they hold 197 licenses (5% of the list).

Permit applications by year filed, by outcome2026 runs through October 21. Status is the one the register shows today.

Approved (issued or since expired)
Denied
Still pending
Withdrawn, duplicate or revoked

2017

2018

5,7022019

2020

2021

2022

2023

2024

2025

1,5982026

Show the numbers

Year	Approved (issued or since expired)	Denied	Still pending	Withdrawn, duplicate or revoked	Total
2017	2,838	1,820	143	498	5,299
2018	2,510	1,507	133	551	4,701
2019	3,206	1,776	254	466	5,702
2020	697	277	188	170	1,332
2021	1,312	427	187	248	2,174
2022	1,581	501	115	179	2,376
2023	1,080	458	764	151	2,453
2024	485	72	482	56	1,095
2025	936	31	355	22	1,344
2026	570	41	970	17	1,598

Active licenses by type, October 22, 2026

Operator license1,541 38%

Commercial owner1,243 31%

Non-commercial1,230 31%

Show the numbers

	Licenses	Share
Operator license	1,541	38.4%
Commercial owner	1,243	31.0%
Non-commercial	1,230	30.6%

Active licenses by how many licenses the same name holdsNames are grouped exactly as the register spells them; they are not published here.

Name holds 11,248 31%

Name holds 2 to 42,431 61%

Name holds 5 to 9138 3%

Name holds 10 or more197 5%

Show the numbers

	Licenses	Share
Name holds 1	1,248	31.1%
Name holds 2 to 4	2,431	60.6%
Name holds 5 to 9	138	3.4%
Name holds 10 or more	197	4.9%

What it means if you rent in New Orleans

The register shows a market with fewer new applicants and fewer refusals: the people applying now mostly qualify. For a host, the license is the hard part. Once you hold one, the work moves to getting found and booked, in a city where every licensed listing competes for the same weekends.

Turn a permit into bookings you keep

A permit lets you rent. Guests still have to find you, and every booking that comes through Airbnb or Vrbo pays the platform's fee. Cavmir builds websites for short-term rentals, including in New Orleans: a site in your own brand that ranks for the searches guests make, with live direct booking from your PMS or a button that sends guests to your listing.

Vacation rental website design A website for your Airbnb

How this report was made

Source

Compiled by Cavmir from the public permit register:

Date range

Applications filed March 13, 2017 to October 21, 2026 (28,104 records); active license list as of October 22, 2026 (4,014 licenses).

What we counted

Every application record on the register, counted by the year it was filed and by the status the register shows today. “Approved” adds applications marked issued to those marked expired, since an application can only expire after a permit was issued.

Limits

The register records applications, not homes: one property can have several applications over the years. Pending applications from earlier years are shown as the register shows them.

Privacy

This report publishes totals only. No owner name, street address or map location from the register appears on this page or in the download.

Download and citation

Download the totals (CSV). Free to use under CC BY 4.0 with a link to this page: “Cavmir, Short-Term Rental Permits in New Orleans, 2026, cavmir.com/research/new-orleans/”.

Common questions

How many short-term rental licenses are active in New Orleans?

The city's active license list held 4,014 licenses on October 22, 2026: 1,541 operator, 1,243 commercial-owner and 1,230 non-commercial licenses. A license is not a home: the city issues owner and operator license types, so one property can appear more than once.

How many New Orleans short-term rental applications are denied?

Across every application filed since March 2017, 6,910 of 28,104 carry a denied status (25%). The rate has fallen year by year, from 34% in 2017 to 2% in 2025.

Are short-term rental applications in New Orleans going up or down?

Down from the 2019 peak of 5,702, then up again: 1,095 in 2024, 1,344 in 2025 and 1,598 in 2026 through October 21.

Where does this data come from?

From the City of New Orleans open data portal: its short-term rental permit applications dataset and its active short-term rental licenses dataset. Cavmir compiled both from the city's public permit register and publishes only totals.

Short-Term Rental Permits in New Orleans, 2026

What the numbers say

What it means if you rent in New Orleans

Turn a permit into bookings you keep

How this report was made

Common questions

Other city permit reports