Paradise Township, Pennsylvania Short-Term Rental Regulations: A 2026 Guide For Airbnb Hosts

Do you own a place in Paradise Township, Pennsylvania, tucked into the Poconos in Monroe County, and you're wondering whether you can put it on Airbnb or Vrbo? Well, the good news is, you generally can. Paradise Township has allowed short-term rentals since 2017, and it hasn't reversed that decision the way some Pocono neighbors have flirted with doing. What it has done, twice now, is tighten the rules around who qualifies and where.

This two-layer setup matters more here than in most townships, because Paradise Township runs two separate systems that both have to say yes. The license itself comes from Chapter 114 of the township code, and it covers occupancy limits, safety equipment, and inspections. The other layer is zoning, which decided in 2021 and 2022 that a short-term rental also has to clear the zoning code before the Zoning Officer will issue that license at all. Miss either layer and you don't have a legal rental, no matter how good your Airbnb reviews look.

So let's walk through what it actually takes to run one here in 2026: the license itself, the documents Paradise Township wants in hand before it'll process your application, the tax layers stacked on top from the county and the state, how seriously the township enforces all of it, and exactly who to call when you get stuck. Once you've got the rules straight, run the property through BNBCalc so you know whether the numbers still work once licensing, insurance, and two tax layers are accounted for.

Starting a Short-Term Rental Business in Paradise Township

Paradise Township sits inside the Pocono Mountains resort belt, which is exactly why short-term rentals have been part of its economy for years rather than a recent controversy. The township's own ordinance says as much: short-term rentals "have become a significant segment of the local tourism economy" and give owners of single-family homes a way to cover maintenance, upgrades, and deferred costs. That's the whole reason Chapter 114 exists as a licensing system rather than a ban.

The Board of Supervisors adopted Chapter 114, "The Short-Term Rental Ordinance of Paradise Township," on March 6, 2017, then revised it on January 7, 2019 and again on February 17, 2021. As written, its scope is broad: it applies to every residential dwelling unit, converted nonresidential structure, and existing premises townshipwide, and the owner stays on the hook for compliance even when a property manager or a guest is the one who breaks a rule.

Here's the part that changes the math for anyone shopping for a Poconos rental property specifically because it's zoned residential. On the same day it revised Chapter 114 in February 2021, the township also amended its zoning code, adding §160-12A(64.A) as a special land-use requirement: a short-term rental now needs zoning approval on top of the Chapter 114 license, tied to your septic system's approved bedroom count and to your lot not already being nonconforming for minimum area. Then in January 2022, the township amended its Resort Development Area Overlay District so that short-term rentals are explicitly written in as a permitted use inside a Master Development Plan there. Paradise Township has also posted public notices about further short-term rental zoning changes since, which I wasn't able to load directly because the township's own site blocks automated access. What that means practically: don't assume your parcel qualifies just because a neighbor's does. Make sure you call the Zoning Officer and confirm your specific zoning district before you sign anything, since that single phone call decides whether the rest of this guide even applies to your address.

Assuming your parcel clears zoning, what's left is a workable short-term rental business: a licensed, inspected single-family home, rented under Airbnb or Vrbo's usual terms, with a local contact who can respond if something goes wrong. It just isn't automatic, and the county sitting around Paradise Township has been through this conversation with several of its townships, so a comparison with the Bucks County and Chester County guides is worth your time if you're weighing Monroe County against Pennsylvania's other STR markets.

Short-Term Rental Licensing Requirement in Paradise Township

Since your first job is confirming zoning, the license itself is still the next hurdle, and it's the one Chapter 114 spells out in detail. No owner may operate a short-term rental in Paradise Township without a Short-Term Rental License from the Zoning Officer, and operating without one is a violation in its own right, separate from anything that happens once guests show up.

The license is issued only to the property owner, one license per dwelling unit, and it's good for up to a year before you have to renew, or sooner if anything the ordinance regulates changes. Renewal isn't a rubber stamp either: it requires an inspection, just like the original application did. As of the township's 2021 fee schedule, the last one I could find, a Short-Term Rental License carries a $100 annual licensing fee and a $20 application fee. That schedule is a few years old now, so do check with the Zoning Officer that it hasn't been updated before you budget around it.

Once you're licensed, the standards you're agreeing to run for the life of that license, and they're specific enough that "I didn't know" won't get you far with an inspector:

• Occupancy caps. Overnight guests are capped at two people per bedroom plus four more per unit, and day guests on top of that can't exceed 75% of your maximum overnight occupancy.
• Bedroom count tied to your septic system. You can only rent as many bedrooms as your sewage permit approves. No permit on file caps you at three bedrooms by default, and anything above five bedrooms needs the Sewage Enforcement Officer's sign-off that your system can handle it.
• Parking stays on your property. Spaces need to run at least 9 feet by 18 feet, guests can't park in the street right-of-way, and expanding your parking area needs prior township approval.
• No outdoor sleeping, period. RVs, campers, tents, and any overnight sleeping outside the dwelling are all off the table, even if your guests would rather camp out back.
• Safety equipment that matches the building code. Interconnected smoke detectors with battery backup in every bedroom, every hallway, and on every floor; arc-fault breakers; GFCI outlets near water sources, basements, and garages; a metal dryer exhaust; carbon monoxide detectors wherever there's an open-flame appliance or an attached garage; a kitchen fire extinguisher; and code-compliant stairs, handrails, and egress windows.

You'll also need to post a notice inside the unit, near the front door, listing your 24-hour contact number, the property's 911 address, the maximum occupant and vehicle counts, the trash schedule, and a warning that violations can be cited. It's a small thing, but inspectors check for it specifically, so don't leave it off your move-in checklist.

Required Documents for Paradise Township Short-Term Rentals

Since the license and the zoning permit ask for nearly identical paperwork, it's worth assembling everything once rather than twice. Your Chapter 114 application has to include:

• Your name, address, phone number, and email, plus a 24-hour contact number if you don't use a managing agency or local contact
• The name, address, and 24-hour number of that managing agency, agent, or local contact, if you have one
• Floor plans showing total habitable space and bedroom count
• For a multi-unit building, the total number of units and how many are being rented short-term
• A site plan showing on-site parking, plus the location, age, and capacity of your sewage disposal system
• Copies of a current Monroe County Hotel Room Excise Tax Certificate and a current Pennsylvania Sales and Use Tax License
• A trespass waiver, signed by the owner, allowing the Zoning Officer and Building Code Official onto the property to inspect
• A copy of the current recorded deed establishing ownership
• A copy of your current trash-hauler agreement
• Proof that you don't owe any delinquent county hotel tax or Pennsylvania sales/use tax tied to the property
• A Certificate of Insurance showing at least $500,000 in general liability coverage, issued by a company licensed in Pennsylvania and kept in force for the entire license term

That insurance requirement trips people up more than any other line item, mostly because a standard homeowner's policy usually excludes short-term rental activity altogether. Remember to call your carrier before you apply, not after, since a $500,000 policy that doesn't exist yet will stall your whole application.

Paradise Township Short-Term Rental Taxes

Assuming you clear the license and are able to start hosting, there's still tax to sort out, and it comes in two layers here rather than one. The county collects its own excise tax, and the state layers its hotel tax on top, so it's worth taking them one at a time.

Monroe County imposes a 3% Hotel Room Rental Excise Tax on the consideration a booking agent or operator collects for renting a room to a transient guest, effective since April 10, 2017 under County Ordinance 2017-1. The definition of "Hotel" is written broadly enough to sweep in short-term rentals directly: any structure that holds itself out as available for temporary lodging, meaning stays under 31 consecutive days, counts. The county's own registration form even has a dedicated checkbox for "Short Term Rental" as a business type, so there's no ambiguity about whether this applies to an Airbnb listing.

The tax is collected from patrons and remitted to the County Treasurer quarterly, due the 25th of the month after each calendar quarter ends. Miss that date and interest runs at 18% a year, which works out to 1.5% a month on whatever you still owe, and you're required to keep records for seven years in case the county asks. After a 4% administrative cut to the county's general fund, the rest funds the Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau's tourism marketing, so in a roundabout way your guests are paying to bring in the next round of guests.

Here's where you actually need to pay attention, though: I couldn't confirm that Airbnb or Vrbo automatically collects this county-level 3% the way they collect Pennsylvania's state hotel tax. So don't assume it's handled. Check your payout reports for a line item, ask the platform's support directly, and if it isn't there, register with the Monroe County Treasurer yourself and remit it quarterly. Getting this wrong doesn't mean the tax goes away; it just means you owe it later with interest attached.

Layered above the county tax is Pennsylvania's own 6% Hotel Occupancy Tax, which the next section covers in full, since it's a statewide rule rather than something Paradise Township controls. Between the two, expect roughly 9% in stacked lodging tax on a Paradise Township booking before you even get to income tax on what's left. Run those numbers through BNBCalc alongside your licensing and insurance costs before you commit to a purchase, since the combined load is easy to underestimate from a listing price alone.

Pennsylvania Wide Short-Term Rental Rules

Since the state tax is where Paradise Township's local rules connect to a bigger framework, it helps to see how little of that framework is mandated statewide. Pennsylvania has no statewide short-term rental license, no state registry, and no preemption law capping what a township can require, and a March 2025 staff study from the General Assembly's own Joint State Government Commission put it plainly: governing regulations are "a patchwork of primarily county and municipal zoning ordinances and regulations," and even the definition of "short-term rental" changes from one municipality to the next. Paradise Township's two-layer license-plus-zoning system is a local invention, not something Harrisburg required.

Where the state does step in is tax. Pennsylvania's Hotel Occupancy Tax runs 6% of rent under 61 Pa. Code Chapter 38, and it applies to any building offering short-term sleeping accommodations to the public, including a single-family home booked through Airbnb or Vrbo. Since Act 109 of 2018 took effect, booking agents (which is the legal term covering platforms like Airbnb and Vrbo) are required to collect and remit this tax themselves on both the base rent and the accommodation fee they charge on top of it. If you book exclusively through a platform that confirms it collects this tax, you don't need to register separately for it.

Where you might still need to register is if you take direct bookings, or use a platform that doesn't collect on your behalf. In that case, the Sales, Use and Hotel Occupancy Tax License is free to apply for through the state's myPATH portal, and it's the same license Chapter 114 asks you to already have in hand before it'll issue your township license. Two bills that would build a genuine statewide short-term rental framework, House Bill 2303 and House Bill 1256, along with a related Senate Bill 1105 on county tax reporting, are all still sitting in committee as of this writing, so don't plan around any of them until one passes. For the wider county picture around Paradise Township, the Pennsylvania statewide guide and the Lehigh County guide cover neighboring markets that handle this differently.

Does Paradise Township Strictly Enforce STR Rules?

Given how specific those safety and occupancy standards are, it's fair to ask whether anyone actually checks them, and the ordinance itself answers that question before you even get to the penalties. The township adopted Chapter 114 in direct response to numerous complaints about excessive noise, parking, litter, septic capacity, security, public safety, and trespass. That's not boilerplate language. It's the reason the licensing and inspection system exists at all, which tells you the township built this to be used, not just to look complete on paper.

The penalty structure backs that up. A violation goes before a Magisterial District Judge as a summary offense, carrying a fine of $100 to $1,000 per violation, plus court costs and the township's own attorney's fees, and each day a violation continues counts as a separate violation. On top of that, the township can seek an injunction to force compliance directly. A violation of Chapter 114 is also formally declared a public nuisance, which gives the township more room to act than a simple fine would.

Where it gets genuinely painful for a repeat offender is the license itself. Three uncured or repeated violations inside any rolling 12-month period, and the Zoning Officer can revoke your license or refuse to renew it, for six months on the first occurrence and a full year on any set after that. Losing your license for a year isn't a fine you can absorb as a cost of doing business; it's your entire rental income going to zero for that period. You can appeal to the Board of Supervisors within 30 days, but that's a hearing, not a guarantee.

Then there's the zoning tightening covered earlier: two amendments in twelve months, adding a zoning-permit prerequisite in February 2021 and folding short-term rentals explicitly into the Resort Development Overlay framework in January 2022. A township that revises its own rule twice in two years, on top of running a licensing and inspection system with real teeth, isn't a place where enforcement is theoretical. Watch out for that if your plan depends on quietly operating a nonconforming rental and hoping nobody notices; Paradise Township's pattern suggests somebody eventually does.

How to Start a Short-Term Rental Business in Paradise Township

Given how much of this depends on sequencing, working through it in order will save you both money and time, since a step done out of order can undo the ones before it.

1. Confirm your zoning district before you spend a dollar. Call the Zoning Officer and verify your parcel qualifies under §160-12A(64.A) and isn't on a lot already nonconforming for minimum area. This is the step that decides everything else.
2. Check your septic system's approved bedroom count with the Sewage Enforcement Officer, since that number caps how many bedrooms you can legally rent, not how many the house happens to have.
3. Line up $500,000 in general liability insurance from a Pennsylvania-licensed carrier, and confirm your policy actually covers short-term rental use rather than excluding it.
4. Gather the documents: your recorded deed, a trash-hauler agreement, floor plans, a parking and septic site plan, and both the Monroe County Hotel Room Excise Tax Certificate and Pennsylvania Sales and Use Tax License.
5. Install the required safety equipment, interconnected smoke detectors, arc-fault breakers, GFCI outlets, carbon monoxide detectors where applicable, and a kitchen fire extinguisher, before you schedule your inspection.
6. Sign the trespass waiver and submit your application to the Zoning Officer along with the $20 application fee and $100 annual license fee, per the township's most recent published fee schedule.
7. Register for both tax layers: the Pennsylvania Sales, Use and Hotel Occupancy Tax License through myPATH if you're not booking exclusively through a collecting platform, and the Monroe County Hotel Room Rental Excise Tax with the County Treasurer.
8. Post the required in-unit notice with your contact number, occupancy limits, and trash schedule before your first guest checks in.
9. Diarize your renewal date. The license runs up to a year and requires a fresh inspection to renew, and remember that three violations in any 12-month window can cost you the license itself, not just a fine.

Once you've worked through that list, weigh Paradise Township against the rest of the state before you put real money down. The Pennsylvania market data on BNBCalc breaks down nightly rates and occupancy by county, so you can see whether the Poconos still pencil out once licensing, insurance, and two tax layers are priced in.

Who to Contact in Paradise Township about Short-Term Rental Regulations and Zoning

Whichever step you're stuck on, three offices between them cover almost every question that comes up.

Zoning, licensing, and the Chapter 114 application

The Paradise Township Zoning Officer administers Chapter 114 and the zoning-permit side under §160-12A(64.A), and is your first call for eligibility, the application itself, and inspections.

• Address: 5912 Paradise Valley Rd, Cresco, PA 18326
• Main township phone: (570) 595-9880
• Zoning office phone: (570) 595-8840
• Zoning office cell: (484) 330-9088

Office hours have historically run limited days rather than a full week, so call ahead before you drive out. Do check that the fee schedule you're quoted matches what's currently in force, since the $100 licensing fee and $20 application fee come from the township's 2021 resolution and may have been updated since.

Monroe County hotel tax

The Monroe County Treasurer administers the county's Hotel Room Rental Excise Tax, including registration and quarterly filing.

• Address: One Quaker Plaza, Room 103, Stroudsburg, PA 18360
• Phone: 570-517-3180
• Fax: 570-517-3859
• Email: [email protected]

Pennsylvania state tax

The Pennsylvania Department of Revenue handles the state Hotel Occupancy Tax and the Sales, Use and Hotel Occupancy Tax License.

• Taxpayer service line: 717-787-1064
• Online registration and filing: myPATH

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you legally run an Airbnb in Paradise Township, Pennsylvania in 2026?

Yes, provided you hold a Short-Term Rental License from the Zoning Officer under Chapter 114 and your property clears the zoning requirements added in 2021 and 2022. You'll need $500,000 in general liability insurance, required safety equipment, and both a Monroe County Hotel Room Excise Tax Certificate and a Pennsylvania Sales and Use Tax License before the township will issue the license. Confirm your specific parcel's zoning eligibility with the Zoning Officer first, since not every lot qualifies.

How much does a Short-Term Rental License cost in Paradise Township?

Per the township's most recently published fee schedule (Resolution 09-2021), the license carries a $20 application fee and a $100 annual licensing fee. That schedule is a few years old, so make sure you check the current amount with the Zoning Officer before you apply, since fees are set separately from the ordinance itself and can change by resolution.

What taxes apply to a short-term rental in Paradise Township?

Two layers stack on top of each other: Monroe County's 3% Hotel Room Rental Excise Tax, remitted quarterly to the County Treasurer, and Pennsylvania's 6% state Hotel Occupancy Tax, which booking platforms are generally required to collect and remit automatically under Act 109. Whether Airbnb or Vrbo also collects the county's 3% automatically isn't confirmed, so check your payout reports and register with the county directly if it isn't showing up.

What happens if you operate a short-term rental without a license in Paradise Township?

Operating without a license is itself a violation, and any Chapter 114 violation can carry a fine of $100 to $1,000 per violation before a Magisterial District Judge, plus court costs and the township's attorney's fees, with each day counted separately. Three uncured or repeated violations within a rolling 12-month period can also get your license revoked or your renewal denied, for six months the first time and a full year after that.

Can a short-term rental have as many bedrooms as it physically has?

Not necessarily. Paradise Township caps the bedrooms you can rent at whatever your sewage permit on file approves. With no permit on record, you're limited to three bedrooms by default, and anything above five bedrooms needs the Sewage Enforcement Officer to confirm your septic system can actually handle that many guests.

Last verified: July 2026. Every ordinance, tax rate, state law, and contact detail in this guide links to or comes from its official source.