City Watch
Short-term rental rules in Hattiesburg, MS
How Hattiesburg regulates short-term rentals: the rules that apply, their sources, and pending changes.
Rules here limit which homes may operate as short-term rentals, how many, where, or for how many nights a year.
- hard citywide cap: STR permits limited to 2.5% of residential structures, with waiting list
- annual STR permit required with fire inspection and certificate of zoning compliance
- local property manager must reside in Forrest or Lamar County
- HOA-covenant exclusion: properties in HOAs barring STRs are denied a permit
Based on: Code of Ordinances Ch. 32, Art. X, Sec. 32-222 (Ord. No. 3376, § 1, adopted 3-18-2025); Land Development Code (Ord. No.
Summary of the rule
Permit capacity will be the total number of permits issued for residential short-term rental shall not exceed two and a half percent (2.5%) of the total number of residential structures in the city at any given time. This number will be tabulated from existing residential water meters at the start of each fiscal year.
Last reviewed Oct 22, 2026 · Sources · Report an error
Pending legislation
Monitoring Hattiesburg · system last checked Oct 25, 2026
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City Watch tracks changes from public sources — council agendas, state bills, local news — not a complete legal compendium.
A city permit is not the whole picture — HOA, condominium, deed, or lease rules may be stricter.
City Watch provides good-faith summaries of publicly available information as of the review date shown. Rules, enforcement, and permit availability can change, and summaries may contain errors or omissions. Ratings describe the general regulatory environment; they do not establish whether a particular property or stay is permitted. This is general information, not legal advice. Before buying, listing, or hosting, verify applicable requirements with the responsible authorities and review any HOA, condominium, deed, or lease restrictions.