Short-Term Rentals in Newberg

Vacation rental homes are permitted in the following zoning districts:

• R-1 Low Density Residential
• R-2 Medium Density Residential
• R-3 High Density Residential
• R-4 Manufactured Dwelling District
• R-P Residential Professional District
• C-1 Neighborhood Commercial 
• C-2 Community Commercial 
• C-3 Central Business District
• C-4 Riverfront Commercial
• M-5 Craft Industrial 

In Commercial and Industrial zoning districts, vacation rental homes are only permitted in existing single-family dwellings. Short-term rentals located in other structure-types are considered self-check-in hotels/motels (and may be subject to additional Building Code standards).

You can check your property’s zoning district with the City’s Interactive Planning Map.

• The vacation rental home must be in a detached single-family dwelling.
• Off-street parking is required. (Spaces must be 9’ x18’ and improved to City standards.)

Number of Bedrooms	1-4	5-6	7-8
Parking Spaced Required	2	3	4

• Maximum Occupancy: 2 guests per bedroom (maximum of 15)
• Regular refuse collection must be provided.
• No occupied RVs, tent, or other temporary shelter on the site during the rental occupancy.
• You are required to provide annual Good Neighbor Notices to properties within 500 feet of the vacation rental home.
• Approval is not transferrable (Limited exceptions are provided in NMC 15.445.330(F)).
• You are required to designate a local manager within 40 miles of the vacation rental home.

• Step 1. Land Use Approval: Submit a Planning Application online.
  • Once we receive your application and fees, the application will be reviewed for completeness (15-30 days). If the application is deemed complete, the City will send you approved public notice materials to mail and post on the site, and the application will be reviewed (typical processing time is 35-60 days). The decision can be appealed to the Planning Commission by the Applicant or anyone who provided public comment.
  • Type II Special Use Permit require public notice. Once the application is deemed complete, the Applicant will mail notice to properties within 500 feet, post signs on the property, and submit an affidavit to the City that the public notice has been completed.
  • The 2025 fee is $1,131.90. APPLY HERE.
• Step 2. Business License & Transient Lodging Tax: The vacation rental home Business License and Transient Lodging Tax Registration are a consolidated application. Your Business License must be renewed annually, and TLT reported quarterly. The application, renewal, and quarterly filing forms can be found HERE.
  • The 2025 Business License fee is $50.
  • The City has a template Good Neighbor Notice and tool to identify a mailing list. You will submit materials confirming you mailed the Good Neighbor Notice at the time of Business License application or renewal.
  • You are required to collect and remit Transient Lodging Taxes to the City quarterly. If you use an agent (i.e. AirBnB, VRBO) to advertise, manage, or book rentals, the agent is required to collect and remit the applicable taxes. If an agent remits TLT, you must also submit a return confirming the estimated amount submitted.

 

Land Use Approval for vacation rental homes is valid as long as the operator maintains a business license and remits Transient Lodging Tax. If a vacation rental home business license lapses for over a year past its expiration date, the associated land use approval is void and must be resubmitted.

All vacation rental home Special Use Permits are held by the property owner (applicant) only. When the property ownership changes through a sale or transfer the permit becomes void and a new permit must be issued to reestablish a vacation rental on the same property. 

• “Sale or transfer” does not include:
  • (1) a change in ownership where title is held in survivorship by a spouse, domestic partner, or child,
  • (2) transfers on the owner’s death to a trust which benefits only a spouse, domestic partner, or child for the lifetime of that spouse, domestic partner, or child, and
  • (3) transfers of ownership to a trustee, a limited liability company, a corporation, a partnership, a limited partnership, a limited liability partnership, or other similar entity, but only while the transferor lives and remains the only owner of the entity to which ownership was transferred.
• Conditional Use Permits issued prior to the policy update’s effective date of September 3, 2025, may be transferred to one subsequent owner or contract purchaser, and thereafter must comply with current registration requirements including the above limitation on permit holders.

City Council Ordinance 2025-2935 increased the penalties for operating a vacation rental home without city registration. Operators of unregistered vacation rental homes operating within the city of Newberg will receive a notice and have 45 days in which to register their rental and must stop operating the rental until they receive City approval.

If the vacation rental home continues to operate without approval, a $2,000 penalty is assessed for the first offense, and a $5,000 penalty is assessed for each additional offense. (An offense is each confirmed property rental following the 45-day notice period.)

Yes. The city collects Transient Lodging Tax (TLT) for short-term rental activity. The TLT registration form is part of the business license application. Operators or agents (i.e. AirBnB or VRBO) must remit TLT to the City on or before the fifteenth (15) day of the month following each quarter of collection.

Sales Quarter	Due Date
January - March	April 15th
April  - June	July 15th
July - September	October 15th
October-December	January 15th

File a return through the online portal: Quarterly Tax Filing (TLT/Marijuana)

• Payments can be made through the portal by credit card or ECheck.

Each rental facility must be registered with our office fifteen (15) calendar days after commencing business. 

Vacation rental/short-term rental properties (VRBO or Hotel/Motel) must receive land use approval from the City of Newberg Planning division before Transient Lodging Tax (TLT) registration can be approved.

If you have any questions, please feel free to call or email Accounts Receivable department at: (503) 554-7745 or Accountsreceivable@newbergoregon.gov

As part of the policy update adopted by City Council through Ordinance No. 2025-2935, where a vacation rental home agent (AirBnB, VRBO, etc.) is used to advertise a vacation rental home, the agent is now required to collect and remit Transient Lodging Tax to the City quarterly. Operators are required to collect and remit any TLT not collected through an agent. Operators are also required to submit a form with estimated total collection or that no rentals occurred each quarter. Submit TLT information through the Opengov permitting platform here (under Licenses, Alarm Registration & Tax Filing).

As part of the policy update adopted by City Council through Ordinance No. 2025-2935, vacation rental home operators are required to distribute Good Neighbor Notices to properties within 500 feet. The City has developed a template and tool to generate a mailing list, and a copy of the mailer, address list, and signed affidavit of mailing are uploaded as part of the Business License renewal process. You can download these materials here.

GOOD NEIGHBOR NOTICE TEMPLATE

GOOD NEIGHBOR ADDRESS SEARCH HOW-TO

AFFIDAVIT FOR GOOD NEIGHBOR NOTICE

To report or resolve issues, please follow this process:

1. Contact the Operator/Local Manager (first point of contact, contact information should be available in their annual Good Neighbor Notice).
2. If unresolved, contact Code Compliance at (503) 554-7709 or codecompliance@newbergoregon.gov.

   • Code Compliance hours are 7a-5p Monday – Thursday. For assistance outside these hours, contact the Newberg Dundee Police Department non-emergency phone number at (503) 538-8321. In an emergency call 911.

3. If still unresolved, contact the City of Newberg Planning Division at (503) 537-1240 or planning@newbergoregon.gov.

The Newberg Municipal Code (NMC 15.445.350) outlines the complaint procedure if concerns are not resolved by the operator, local manager, or through the Code Enforcement Officer.

To file a written complaint, please email planning@newbergoregon.gov.

Vacation rental homes are permitted in the following zoning districts:

• R-1 Low Density Residential
• R-2 Medium Density Residential
• R-3 High Density Residential
• R-P Residential Professional District
• C-1 Neighborhood Commercial 
• C-2 Community Commercial 
• C-3 Central Business District
• C-4 Riverfront Commercial

You can check your property’s zoning district with the City’s Interactive Planning Map.

• The structure used for a bed and breakfast establishment shall be designed for and occupied as a single-family residence. The structure shall maintain the characteristics of a single-family residence.
• All residences used for bed and breakfast establishments shall be applicant occupied.
• A minimum of one off-street parking space shall be provided for every two permitted guest sleeping rooms. In addition, parking standards normally required for single-family residences will apply.
• The duration of each guests stay at the bed and breakfast establishment shall be limited to no more than seven consecutive days and no more than 15 days within a 30-day period.
• All bed and breakfast establishments shall conform to the requirements of the current edition of the Oregon Structural Specialty Code and Oregon Fire Code.

• Step 1. Land Use Approval: Submit a Planning Application online.
  • The City has different approval processes for bed and breakfasts based on the number of rooms and zoning district.

	R-1	R-2	R-3	R-P	C-1	C-2	C-3	C-4
2 or fewer rooms	Conditional Use Permit	Special Use Permit	Special Use Permit	Special Use Permit	Special Use Permit	Special Use Permit	Special Use Permit	Special Use Permit
3 or more rooms	Conditional Use Permit	Conditional Use Permit	Conditional Use Permit	Conditional Use Permit	Conditional Use Permit	Special Use Permit	Special Use Permit	Special Use Permit

• • Special Use Permit process: Once we receive your application and fees, the application will be reviewed for completeness (15-30 days). If the application is deemed complete, the City will send you approved public notice materials to mail and post on the site, and the application will be reviewed (typical processing time is 35-60 days). The decision can be appealed to the Planning Commission by the Applicant or anyone who provided public comment.
  • Conditional Use Permit process: Once we receive your application and fees, the application will be reviewed for completeness (15-30 days). If the application is deemed complete, the City will send you approved public notice materials to mail and post on the site, and a public hearing will be scheduled before the Planning Commission. (The typical processing time is 3-6 months.) The Planning Commission decision can be appealed to the City Council by the Applicant or anyone who provided public comment.
  • Both processes require public notice. Once the application is deemed complete, the Applicant will mail notice to properties within 500 feet, post signs on the property, and submit an affidavit to the City that the public notice has been completed.
  • The 2025 fee for a Special Use Permit is $1,131.90 and for a Conditional Use Permit is $3,066. APPLY HERE.
• Step 2. Business License & Transient Lodging Tax: The vacation rental home Business License and Transient Lodging Tax Registration are a consolidated application. Your Business License must be renewed annually, and TLT reported quarterly. The application, renewal, and quarterly filing forms can be found HERE.
  • The 2025 Business License fee is $50.
  • You are required to collect and remit Transient Lodging Taxes to the City quarterly.