Most short-term rental owners in San Juan know about one rule: Airbnb adds a tax to the booking. That is the easy part. A compliant San Juan rental sits on three layers of rules: the island-wide room tax, the City of San Juan’s operating license, and the rules of your own building. Miss one and you can end up with fines or a forced shutdown, even if the other two are in order.
Here is how each layer works, what is pending in the Legislature, and a checklist our team uses when we take on a new short-term rental.
Layer 1: The 7% room tax and Tourism Company registration
Puerto Rico’s Room Occupancy Tax Act (Act 272-2003) covers studios, apartments, homes and villas rented for fewer than 90 consecutive days. According to the Puerto Rico Tourism Company (PRTC), you must charge guests a room tax equal to 7% of the room rate, register as an innkeeper (hostelero) and get an innkeeper ID number from the PRTC.
If you book through Airbnb, the platform collects and remits the 7% room tax for stays of 89 nights or fewer, calculated on the listing price including cleaning fees. Airbnb is clear that hosts remain responsible for their other tax obligations.
The gap many owners miss is direct bookings. If a repeat guest pays you directly, or you use a platform or channel that doesn’t remit the tax for you, the 7% is your responsibility. The PRTC requires a monthly tax declaration, due by the 10th of the following month, which can be filed online at roomtax.tourism.pr.gov. The PRTC states that violations of Act 272 can carry fines of $500 per day, up to $25,000, on top of the tax owed, interest and other penalties.
Enforcement has historically been uneven. A 2024 investigation by the Centro de Periodismo Investigativo found 6,472 short-term rental operators in the PRTC registry, while industry estimates put the number of short-term rental properties on the island at 20,000 to 30,000. That gap is exactly what lawmakers and municipalities are trying to close, so it is not a safe place to sit.
Layer 2: The City of San Juan’s short-term rental license
San Juan regulates short-term rentals through its own municipal ordinance, first approved in May 2023 (Ordinance No. 39, Series 2022-2023). It created a mandatory registry and an annual license issued through the municipal permits office:
- $100 per year for a shared-residence unit (you rent a room in a home you live in).
- $500 per year for a non-shared unit, such as a whole apartment or house.
To get the license, operators show compliance with their Tourism Company, Hacienda and CRIM registrations and declare that the property complies with its community rules. A later amendment (Ordinance No. 24, Series 2024-2025) simplified registration. Among other things, it allows a temporary license of up to one year for applicants who certify they have applied for their Unique Permit (Permiso Único), and it asks for a certification of no tax debt (or an approved payment plan), a declaration of compliance with condo or HOA rules, and the platforms you list on.
The ordinance also prohibits events and commercial activities at short-term rental properties, requires compliance with noise and waste rules, and sets progressive fines that can end in license revocation for repeat violations. If your property is outside San Juan, for example in Carolina (most of Isla Verde), Guaynabo or Dorado, check that municipality’s rules separately. They are not the same.
Layer 3: Your condo or HOA rules
This is the layer that shuts down the most operations, because it does not depend on the government at all. San Juan’s ordinance does not allow short-term rentals where a building’s master deed or bylaws prohibit them, and the license application asks you to declare compliance.
Before you buy a unit to rent short term, or before you list one you already own, read three documents: the master deed (escritura matriz), the bylaws (reglamento) and any rules the board has adopted. Look for minimum lease terms, guest registration requirements, amenity restrictions and fees, and any pending amendment the owners are voting on. A building that allows short-term rentals today can vote to restrict them later.
What is pending: Senate Bill 238
Puerto Rico still has no single statewide short-term rental licensing law. A previous attempt, House Bill 1557, was voted down by the Senate in June 2024.
In November 2025, the Senate approved Senate Bill 238 by a 17-7 vote and sent it to the House. As reported, the bill would require every municipality to create a short-term rental registry and a one-year license, with fees of $100 for shared-residence units and $500 for non-shared units, proof of compliance with Tourism and Hacienda requirements, and a 180-day transition period. It would also bar short-term rentals in developments whose associations prohibit them, and let associations adopt stricter rules. In practice, it would take a model similar to San Juan’s island-wide.
We could not confirm the bill’s status in the House as of this writing. Check the current version before you make decisions based on it.
An operator’s compliance checklist
- PRTC innkeeper registration and ID number, even if Airbnb remits the tax.
- A plan for direct bookings: who collects the 7%, who files the monthly declaration by the 10th.
- Municipal license in San Juan (or the rules of your municipality), renewed every year.
- Permiso Único applied for or obtained, plus Hacienda and CRIM registrations in order.
- Condo or HOA approval confirmed in writing, with a copy of the current rules on file.
- House rules that match the ordinance: no events, quiet hours, trash handling.
- Insurance confirmed in writing with your insurer to cover short-term rental use, not just owner occupancy or long-term leasing.
- A calendar reminder to check SB 238 and any new municipal changes each quarter.
What this means for you
If you already operate in San Juan: confirm you hold a current municipal license and PRTC registration, and look at your direct bookings. That is where most of the exposure sits.
If you are buying to rent short term: treat the condo documents as part of due diligence, not something to read after closing. Check the building’s rules before you make an offer, and build license fees, the room tax and management costs into your numbers. Our Condado neighborhood guide and buying page are good starting points.
If you are deciding whether to self-manage: compliance is now part of the job, alongside pricing, cleaning and guest communication. Compare it honestly against what professional short-term rental management handles for you.
Get a revenue analysis for your property
Want to know what your unit could earn as a short-term rental, and what it takes to run it legally? Request a free revenue analysis and the Caromar Group team will prepare it for you. Prefer a long-term tenant instead? Ask about property management. You can also call our team at 939-353-0189 or message us on WhatsApp.
This article is general information, not legal or tax advice. Consult a licensed attorney or CPA.
Sources: Puerto Rico Tourism Company, Room Tax; Airbnb Help Center, occupancy tax collection and remittance; Centro de Periodismo Investigativo via Metro PR (Dec. 5, 2024); El Nuevo Día (May 24, 2023); Viva Puerto Rico Short-Term Rental Alliance, San Juan regulations update (Dec. 2024); News is my Business (June 19, 2024); NotiCel (Nov. 14, 2025).
