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

Do you own a place in Lackawaxen Township, Pennsylvania, in Pike County's stretch of the Poconos along the upper Delaware River, and are you weighing whether to list it on Airbnb or Vrbo? Well, the good news is that you can. The township has allowed short-term rentals since April 19, 2021, when its Board of Supervisors adopted Ordinance 114, and it permits them in every zoning district as long as you register, pass an inspection and keep the property inside the ordinance's occupancy and safety rules.

The permission isn't a rubber stamp, though. The ordinance ties your maximum bedroom count to whatever's on file with the Sewage Enforcement Officer, since most of the township runs on individual septic systems rather than public sewer, and it caps overnight occupancy at two guests per bedroom plus four more, with day guests limited on top of that. Add in Pennsylvania's 6% hotel occupancy tax and Pike County's 3% room excise tax, and you're collecting a 9% tax layer on every stay before the township's own license fee even comes into it, and that fee runs $100 to $300 depending on when your rental started.

So this guide walks through what the ordinance requires in 2026, what the license costs, the taxes that stack on top, and who to call when something doesn't make sense on paper. Every figure below comes from Lackawaxen Township's own ordinance and fee resolution, Pike County's tax office, and Pennsylvania's own pages, checked in July 2026. If you're weighing this property against other spots along the Delaware or elsewhere in the state, run the numbers through BNBCalc first.

Starting a Short-Term Rental Business in Lackawaxen Township

Since you've already got the topline picture, let's get into what starting one looks like. Short-term rentals are permitted in every zoning district in the township, residential or otherwise, as long as the property clears Ordinance 114's requirements (Ordinance 114, Section 2.C). That's a genuinely different starting point than plenty of Pennsylvania municipalities, some of which zone short-term rentals out of residential districts or cap how many are allowed. Lackawaxen doesn't do either, and the ordinance defines the use plainly: a dwelling unit rented for overnight lodging for at least one night and no more than thirty days (Section 3). Stay longer than that, though, and you're outside this whole framework and the rules that come with it.

Where the ordinance gets genuinely restrictive is bedrooms, and it's worth understanding why before you buy or convert anything. The number of bedrooms you're allowed to rent out can't exceed what's approved on the property's sewage permit. If there's no sewage permit on record, you're capped at three bedrooms unless the Sewage Enforcement Officer confirms the septic system can handle more, and anything over five bedrooms needs that same approval regardless of what's on file (Section 5.C). Since most of the township relies on individual septic rather than a municipal sewer system, this isn't a formality. It's the single biggest constraint on how large a short-term rental here can legally get, and it's worth checking before you fall in love with a floor plan.

One more thing to confirm before you commit: if the property sits inside a homeowners' or property owners' association, that association's own rules govern on top of the township's. Ordinance 114 doesn't override a community that bans short-term rentals or layers on its own requirements (Section 13), and you'll need written proof the association permits them as part of your application. Plenty of the vacation-home communities around Lackawaxen's lakes and along the river have HOAs, so don't assume the township's green light is the whole story for your specific address.

Short-Term Rental Licensing Requirement in Lackawaxen Township

Assuming your property clears zoning, sewage capacity and any HOA restriction, the license itself is still where the ordinance's real detail lives. Every short-term rental needs its own license, issued only to the property owner, and if a building holds more than one dwelling unit, each unit you rent short-term needs a separate license of its own (Ordinance 114, Section 7.A). The ordinance also defines a bedroom for licensing purposes as needing a minimum floor area, written in the ordinance's own text as "eighty (70) square feet," which is inconsistent on its face. I'm flagging that rather than picking one number to state with confidence, so confirm the actual minimum with the township before you decide which rooms count.

The standards section sets hard numbers rather than vague language, which makes compliance easier to plan around once you know them. Overnight occupancy tops out at two people per bedroom plus four additional people per residence, and day guests, on top of whoever's staying overnight, can't exceed 75% of that overnight maximum (Section 5.A-B). Watch out for parking too, since guests can't park on a public street, in a right-of-way, or on the septic system, and the notice you're required to post inside the unit has to spell out exactly how many vehicles are allowed (Section 5.D, 5.I). Overnight sleeping in an RV, camper, trailer or tent isn't permitted anywhere on a short-term rental property, and neither is sleeping outdoors generally (Section 5.H), so don't count on a bunkhouse or a fifth-wheel to stretch your capacity past what the bedrooms allow.

Every licensed unit also has to carry a specific list of safety equipment, checked at inspection, so make sure you don't skip any of it (Section 5.J):

• Interconnected smoke detectors with battery backup in every bedroom, in hallways outside bedrooms, and on every floor
• GFI outlets within six feet of any water source, in unfinished basements, and in garages
• Metal or aluminum dryer exhaust venting
• A carbon monoxide detector if the unit has an open-flame furnace, a gas or wood fireplace, a wood stove, or an attached garage
• A fire extinguisher in the kitchen
• Egress windows in every sleeping room and any furnished basement

Homes built after 2004 also have to meet the current International Residential Code on stairs, handrails and fire separation between an attached garage and the living space (Section 5.J.h-k).

Every owner needs a local contact person, too, someone with the authority to manage the unit and respond to a complaint. If you live within 30 miles of the property, you can be your own local contact. If you don't, you'll need a property manager or agent who can be, because whoever it is has to respond to the township's Enforcement Officer within one hour of being notified of a violation (Section 5.K). That one-hour window is tight enough that plenty of owners here hire local management rather than try to cover it themselves from out of state.

Once you've got all of that lined up, the license itself is still annual and comes at one of two prices, depending on your property's history. Resolution 2022-04, passed by the Board of Supervisors in February 2022, sets the fee schedule still in effect as of July 2026:

Situation	Application fee	Annual renewal	Re-inspection fee
Rental existed before the ordinance and met its requirements	$100	$50	Not applicable
Rental is new, or didn't meet the ordinance's requirements at first inspection	$300	$50	$75 per visit

That re-inspection fee is worth planning for. If the township's initial site visit finds your property short of what the ordinance requires, you'll pay $75 every time an inspector has to come back and check again, on top of the $300 you already paid to apply. The license itself runs one year, or until anything about the rental changes, whichever comes first, and it has to be renewed annually with a fresh inspection each time (Section 7.B-D). Getting a license issued isn't a guarantee either way, mind you: the ordinance says outright that a license is not a warranty the property is safe, habitable or compliant. It just means the property was inspected, or is scheduled to be, at the time the license was granted (Section 7.F).

Break the rules after you're licensed and the penalties are real. Violations are prosecuted as a summary offense in front of a magisterial district judge, with fines of $100 to $1,000 per violation plus court costs and any attorneys' fees the township runs up enforcing it, and each day a violation continues counts as its own separate violation (Section 11.C). Rack up three uncured or repeated violations within any rolling 12-month period, and the Zoning Officer can revoke your license or deny your renewal outright, for a full year on the first strike and two years if it happens again (Section 11.D).

Required Documents for Lackawaxen Township Short-Term Rentals

Since a rejected application or a failed inspection costs you real money in re-inspection fees, it's worth assembling everything the ordinance asks for before you file. Section 6 of Ordinance 114 lists what has to accompany every application:

• Your name, address, phone number and email, plus a 24-hour phone number if you don't use a managing agent or local contact
• The name, address and 24-hour phone number of your managing agent or local contact, if you use one
• The total number of dwelling units in the building and how many you're renting short-term, if it's a multi-unit structure
• Signatures from both you and your local contact
• A signed waiver letting the Zoning Officer access the property to check compliance
• Proof of ownership, either a verified statement or a certified copy of the recorded deed
• A current Pike County Hotel Room Excise Tax Certificate and a current Pennsylvania Sales Tax License
• Written proof from your HOA or property owners' association that short-term rentals are permitted, if the property is in one
• The name of your refuse hauler
• Proof of renter's insurance

Two of those are worth flagging separately because they're easy to underestimate. The Pike County tax certificate and the state sales tax license both have to exist before you apply for the township license, not after, so budget the time to register with the county and the state first. And the renter's insurance requirement is the township's own, not just good practice: without it, your application is incomplete no matter how well the rest of the paperwork holds up.

Lackawaxen Township Short-Term Rental Taxes

Since you'll already be registering for the Pike County tax certificate as part of your application, it's worth understanding what that tax costs before your first guest checks in. Two separate tax layers stack on a short-term stay in Lackawaxen Township, and because different governments administer each one, you'll end up filing with two different offices.

The state's share is a 6% Hotel Occupancy Tax under 61 Pa. Code Chapter 38, and it applies to a short-term rental the same way it would to a hotel room, whether you're booking through a platform or directly, since Pennsylvania's Department of Revenue treats single-family homes and condos rented short-term as covered the same way a hotel room is. On top of that, Pike County adds its own 3% Hotel Room Rental Excise Tax under County Ordinance No. 18, in effect since April 1, 2005, with the revenue funding tourism promotion through the Pocono Mountain Visitors Bureau. Between the two, you're collecting 9% on top of the rent, before whatever cleaning fee or other charge you add to the booking.

Who actually sends the money in depends on how you're booking, and this is where Act 109 of 2018 matters. Major platforms are required to collect and remit Pennsylvania's 6% hotel tax automatically when a guest books through them, so if Airbnb or Vrbo handles all of your reservations, the state's share is already taken care of. The county tax works differently, though, and it's the piece a lot of new hosts miss. Pike County collects its 3% directly from the operator, not through the platform, so you're the one filing the quarterly return regardless of how the booking came in. You register with Form 1, get back a Certificate of Authorization that has to stay displayed, and then file Form 2 with payment by the 25th of the month after each quarter closes: April 25, July 25, October 25 and January 25 (Pike County Hotel Room Rental Excise Tax packet). Miss one of those deadlines and a 1.5% monthly penalty starts accruing, so don't let the quarterly rhythm slip once you're up and running.

Guests who stay more than 30 consecutive days count as permanent residents under the county's rules and are exempt from that 3% tax, the same 30-day line that separates a short-term rental from a long-term one under the township ordinance itself. And regardless of all of that, your rental income is still ordinary taxable income at the state and federal level, on top of these two lodging-specific taxes, so keep in mind that it sits outside the hotel and excise taxes covered here.

State Wide Short-Term Rental Rules

Zooming out from your specific tax bill, it helps to see how much of what governs Lackawaxen actually comes from Harrisburg rather than the township itself. Pennsylvania has no statewide preemption law for short-term rentals, and nothing caps what a township like Lackawaxen can require. The state's own Joint State Government Commission said as much in a March 2025 staff study, describing regulation as "a patchwork of primarily county and municipal zoning ordinances and regulations" where even the definition of a short-term rental varies from one municipality to the next (JSG Commission staff study, March 2025, p.1). That's exactly what you're seeing here. Lackawaxen wrote its own ordinance because the state hasn't given townships a template or a ceiling to work within.

There's also no statewide short-term rental license or registry to worry about. The only state-level registration that applies is the general Sales, Use and Hotel Occupancy Tax License, which you need unless you book exclusively through a platform that already collects and remits the state's 6% tax on your behalf. It's free to apply for through the Department of Revenue's myPATH portal, and it's the same license Ordinance 114 asks you to have on file before it issues your township permit.

Three bills are sitting in Harrisburg that would change this picture if any of them pass. House Bill 2303 would build out an entire new "Transient Lodging" chapter of state law, with tiered operator categories and a countywide registry, while House Bill 1256, the Short Term Rental Compliance Act, and Senate Bill 1105, aimed at counties outside Philadelphia and Allegheny, would each add their own layer on top. None of them had moved out of committee as of my last check in July 2026, so don't plan around any of it yet. A bill still in committee is not a rule, and Pennsylvania's current framework, patchwork as it is, remains what governs your property today.

Our Pennsylvania statewide guide walks through this whole framework in more depth, and it's worth reading if you're comparing Lackawaxen against a property somewhere else in the state. If you're also looking further down the Delaware River, the Bucks County guide covers a market with a different regulatory picture despite sharing the same river.

Does Lackawaxen Township Strictly Enforce STR Rules?

None of that state-level uncertainty changes how seriously Lackawaxen enforces its own ordinance, and the answer is that it does, at least on paper. The mechanics are laid out plainly in Ordinance 114 itself: the Zoning Officer and Building Code Official inspect properties, issue written notices of violation, and can refer an uncorrected problem to a magisterial district judge as a summary offense, the same track used for other local code violations (Ordinance 114, Sections 9 and 11). Fines run $100 to $1,000 per violation, and because each day a violation continues counts separately, an owner who ignores a notice can watch the total climb fast.

The license itself is the piece that matters most, though. Three uncured or repeated violations within a rolling 12-month period cost you the license outright, for a year on the first round and two years if it happens again (Section 11.D). That's a different consequence than a fine you can treat as a cost of doing business, since losing the license means you can't legally operate at all, not just that you owe money.

What I couldn't find, going through the township's own published materials, is any running count of licenses issued, denied or revoked specifically for Lackawaxen, the kind of dataset a bigger city like New York publishes. The township doesn't appear to publish enforcement statistics the way some larger jurisdictions do, so treat the rules on paper as the reliable part and the day-to-day reality as something you'd only really learn from a neighbor, a property manager, or the township office itself. What third-party observers do say lines up with a relatively welcoming posture: a June 2026 scorecard of Pocono-area municipalities from a regional vacation-home brokerage rated Lackawaxen a "green light" for short-term rentals, in contrast to nearby townships that ban or heavily restrict them (PoconoVacationHomeSales STR Municipal Scorecard, June 2026). Friendly on paper is still not the same as unenforced, mind you, so don't skip the safety equipment or the local contact requirement just because the township isn't hostile to the business model.

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

Assuming you're still comfortable with all of that, here's the order that saves you time, and the $75 re-inspection fee, if something's out of place the first time around.

1. Check your septic situation first. Confirm what's on file with the Sewage Enforcement Officer or, if nothing is, plan around the three-bedroom default, since this decides how big a rental you can legally run before you spend money on anything else.
2. Confirm HOA or association rules. If the property sits in a community association, get written confirmation that short-term rentals are permitted before you go further.
3. Register for your tax accounts. Apply for the Pennsylvania Sales, Use and Hotel Occupancy Tax License through myPATH and the Pike County Hotel Room Excise Tax Certificate through the county Treasurer, since Ordinance 114 requires both on file before your township application is complete.
4. Line up your local contact. Decide whether you, if you live within 30 miles, or a property manager will be the local contact who can respond to a violation notice within one hour.
5. Install the required safety equipment. Smoke detectors, GFI outlets, carbon monoxide detectors where applicable, a kitchen fire extinguisher and egress windows, all before your inspection, not after.
6. Assemble the application documents. Owner and contact information, proof of ownership, both tax certificates, HOA approval if applicable, your refuse hauler's name, and proof of renter's insurance.
7. Submit the application and pay the fee. $100 if the rental predates the ordinance and already meets it, $300 otherwise, and expect a site inspection before the license is issued.
8. Post the required in-unit notice and start hosting. Contact info, occupancy and parking limits, trash rules and the inspection-access notice, clearly visible near the front door.
9. Diarize your renewal, and remember it resets easily. The license runs one year, requires a fresh inspection to renew, and any change in the property's conditions resets that clock.

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

Whichever step trips you up, two offices handle almost everything between them, and knowing which one owns your question saves you a call transferred twice.

Township licensing, zoning and inspections

The Lackawaxen Township municipal office administers Ordinance 114, from the application itself through inspections and any violation notice.

• Address: 169 Urban Road, Hawley, PA 18428
• Phone: (570) 685-7288
• Fax: (570) 685-2550
• Online: the township's ordinances page carries the current ordinance and fee resolution

I couldn't confirm a named Zoning Officer, Building Code Official or published office hours from the township's own site, so call the main line above and ask to be directed. Do check who's currently handling short-term rental applications before you assume, since staff assignments in a small township like this one change more often than the website does.

Pike County hotel tax registration and returns

The Pike County Treasurer's Office issues your Hotel Room Excise Tax Certificate and processes your quarterly returns.

• Address: 506 Broad Street, Milford, PA 18337
• Phone: (570) 296-3441
• Hours: Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
• Hotel tax contact: Sherry Wolf, [email protected]

State tax registration

The Pennsylvania Department of Revenue administers the Sales, Use and Hotel Occupancy Tax License and the 6% state hotel tax.

• Register or file: myPATH
• General information: PA Department of Revenue, Home-sharing/Third-party Broker Rentals

What Do Airbnb Hosts in Lackawaxen Township on Reddit and Bigger Pockets Think about Local Regulations?

Beyond the official contacts above, you might be curious what other hosts say about running a short-term rental here. Honestly, going through both Reddit and BiggerPockets, I couldn't find a thread that names Lackawaxen Township specifically, as opposed to Pike County or the Poconos generally, so I won't pretend to summarize a conversation that doesn't exist.

What does show up consistently, across the broader Pike County and Poconos investor conversation, is the septic question. Since so much of this part of the state runs on individual systems rather than municipal sewer, hosts and would-be buyers ask about bedroom counts and sewage permits more than almost anything else, and that tracks directly with how Lackawaxen's own ordinance ties your legal bedroom count to exactly that permit. The other recurring theme is comparison shopping between townships, since Pike County's municipalities don't regulate short-term rentals uniformly. Some ban them outright, and others, like Lackawaxen, license them with clear standards instead, so buyers researching the area tend to check the specific township before they check the specific house. The regional scorecard putting Lackawaxen in the friendly column lines up with what you'd expect from an ordinance that permits the use everywhere rather than zoning it out.

Take all of that as informed inference rather than a survey, though, since that's exactly what it is. If you want ground-level sentiment from someone who's actually run a rental in this specific township, the Lackawaxen Township office or a local property manager will get you further than a forum search will.

Whatever you decide, the regulatory picture here is about as clear as small-township ordinances get: permitted everywhere, tied to your septic capacity, and licensed rather than banned. If Philadelphia's suburbs are also on your list, the Montgomery County guide is a useful next read for a market that regulates this very differently. And if you're still weighing whether this property or another one in the state pencils out, BNBCalc's Pennsylvania market page is a reasonable next stop for the demand side of that math. The ordinance only tells you what you're allowed to do, not what it'll actually earn.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you legally run an Airbnb in Lackawaxen Township in 2026?

Yes. Lackawaxen Township has permitted short-term rentals in every zoning district since April 2021 under Ordinance 114, as long as the property gets an annual license, passes inspection, and meets the ordinance's occupancy, parking and safety requirements. You'll also need a current Pike County Hotel Room Excise Tax Certificate and a Pennsylvania Sales Tax License on file before the township will issue your license.

How much does a Lackawaxen Township short-term rental license cost?

The application fee is $100 if the rental existed before the ordinance and already met its requirements, or $300 if it's new or didn't pass its first inspection. Either way, annual renewal costs $50, and a failed inspection that requires a follow-up visit adds a $75 re-inspection fee each time, under Resolution 2022-04.

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

Two layers stack on top of the rent: Pennsylvania's 6% state Hotel Occupancy Tax and Pike County's 3% Hotel Room Rental Excise Tax, a combined 9%. Platforms like Airbnb generally collect and remit the state's share automatically, but the county tax is filed directly with the Pike County Treasurer every quarter, due the 25th of the month after each quarter closes.

How many bedrooms can a short-term rental in Lackawaxen Township have?

It depends on your sewage permit. The ordinance caps your legal bedroom count at whatever's approved on the property's sewage permit; if there's no permit on record, you're limited to three bedrooms unless the Sewage Enforcement Officer confirms the septic system can handle more. Any rental advertising more than five bedrooms needs that approval regardless, since most of the township relies on individual septic systems rather than public sewer.

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

You're risking a summary-offense prosecution before a magisterial district judge, with fines running $100 to $1,000 per violation plus court costs, and each day the violation continues counts separately. If you're already licensed and rack up three uncured or repeated violations within a rolling 12 months, the township can revoke your license or deny renewal for a full year, two years for a repeat.

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