The United
States.
The larger market, the more varied, and the one where the rules change most sharply from one city to the next. There is no national short-stay rental law, which means the city you pick is effectively the regulator you get.
There is no national short-stay rental law. The city you pick is effectively the regulator you get.
There is no national rule. The city decides.
Short-term rental regulation in the United States is made at city and county level. This single fact determines everything else about your setup.
Because regulation is local, the same plan can be routine in one metro and impossible in the next. Registration schemes, permit caps, primary-residence conditions, minimum night thresholds, zoning restrictions and separate lodging taxes are all set locally and they vary enormously. New York City's registration regime is the clearest example: it did not so much regulate the short-term rental market as remove most of it, and operators who had bought or leased on the old assumptions were left with properties that could no longer do what they were acquired for.
The practical consequence is that city selection precedes everything. We do not form an entity and then look for a property. We identify cities where your chosen model is lawful and the regime looks stable, then work inside one of them.
Where you form the company matters too. Forming in a popular incorporation state and operating elsewhere generally means registering as a foreign entity in the operating state anyway, and paying fees and filings in both. For a single-city short-stay operation, forming where you operate is usually simpler and cheaper.
The most common condition to watch for is the primary-residence rule. A number of cities permit short letting only where the host actually lives in the property, whether as a whole-home let while away or as a spare room. That condition is fatal to a non-resident-owned venture, and it is the first thing we check.
What a US venture involves.
The structure below applies to all three models. What changes is stage four, the property, and how much capital sits in it.
| Element | Position |
|---|---|
| Entity type | LLC is the usual choice for a single owner or small group. The tax consequences run in both countries and the choice is made with your accountant, not by us. |
| Ownership | 100% non-resident ownership is permitted. No US partner, nominee or resident director required. |
| State of formation | Normally the state you operate in. Forming elsewhere usually means foreign qualification and two sets of fees. |
| Registered agent | Required in the state of formation, providing a service address for official correspondence. |
| EIN | Federal employer identification number, needed for banking and tax. Obtainable without a US social security number. |
| STR registration | City-level. May be a simple registration, a capped permit, a licence with inspection, or unavailable to non-resident owners entirely. |
| Lodging / occupancy tax | Charged per booking in most jurisdictions. Some platforms collect and remit it automatically, some do not, and the difference is your liability. |
| Insurance | A short-term rental or commercial policy. A standard homeowner or landlord policy generally excludes this use, and platform protection is not a substitute. |
| Banking | Business account prepared and lodged with institutions known to consider foreign-owned entities. The bank decides. |
| Annual obligations | State annual report or franchise tax, federal returns, plus the information filing below. |
A foreign-owned single-member US LLC must file an annual information return with the federal tax authority together with a pro-forma corporate return, even where no tax is payable and the company did not trade. The penalty for failing to file is substantial and applies per year. A great many overseas owners discover this only once penalties have accrued. Every venture we set up leaves you with a compliance calendar carrying that date.
What we assess before recommending anywhere.
We have no favourite city and we are not paid to steer you to one. These are the eight factors we score.
Regulatory position
Whether short letting is permitted, registered, capped or conditioned on primary residence — and how recently the rules changed.
Regime stability
A slightly worse rule that has held for years beats a permissive one under active political pressure.
Demand pattern
Business travel, leisure, events, medical or university demand, and how sharply it drops out of season.
Achievable nightly rate
What comparable, well-run listings actually earn, not what the best month in the market looks like.
Supply density
How many listings already compete, at what quality, and whether the market is professionalised or still mostly amateur.
Entry cost
Rent or purchase price against achievable revenue. A high-rate city with a higher rent line is not automatically better.
Service availability
Whether reliable cleaning, linen and maintenance can be contracted at sensible cost, with a backup for each.
Tax treatment
Lodging tax rate, who collects it, and the state and federal position on rental income for a foreign owner.
Get a US city assessment for your model
We score candidate cities against your capital and model, and tell you which we would actually operate in.