Your Pigeon Forge vacation rental, in good hands.

Zoning & overnight-rental eligibility. Confirm that the property is in a zoning district that permits overnight rentals. Pigeon Forge generally allows overnight rentals in R-2 and higher zoning classifications; R-1 is much more restricted, with short-term rental rights generally limited to qualifying properties that were already operating before the city's 2018 restrictions.

Building & fire-code compliance. Overnight rentals must comply with Pigeon Forge building and life-safety requirements. Construction, conversions, and certain renovations can require Building and Fire Department review, permits, inspections, and a certificate of occupancy. Larger cabins can trigger additional requirements for fire sprinklers, exits/egress, guardrails, and professionally sealed plans.

Short-term rental operating permit for qualifying R-1 properties. A grandfathered short-term rental located in an R-1 district must have a city Short-Term Rental Unit Operating Permit. The permit is issued annually, is non-transferable, and the permit number must appear in advertisements. These R-1 rentals are also subject to specific occupancy and operating rules.

City & county business licenses. A rental business may need both a City of Pigeon Forge business license and a Sevier County business license, along with the appropriate Tennessee Department of Revenue registration. Tennessee currently distinguishes between minimal-activity and standard business licenses based on annual taxable receipts.

Sales-tax compliance. Tennessee treats short-term lodging as taxable accommodations. Rentals of less than 90 consecutive days are generally subject to state and local sales tax. Airbnb or another marketplace may collect and remit sales tax for marketplace bookings, but owners remain responsible for taxable direct bookings and for maintaining appropriate records.

Lodging & local taxes. Pigeon Forge imposes a 2.5% lodging tax and a 1% city gross-receipts tax under its published tax requirements. Marketplace platforms may handle applicable occupancy-tax collection for bookings made through their platforms, while owners need to ensure taxes associated with direct bookings and other applicable local obligations are properly reported and paid.