Scranton STR Rules: Call Licensing Before You Advertise

Thomas Garner
14 hours ago
6 min read

Empty Steamtown National Historic Site roundhouse, no people

Call Scranton Rental Licensing at 570-348-4193 ext. 4555. Robin Selemba, Rental Registration Manager. Email rselemba@scrantonpa.gov. 340 N. Washington Avenue. The Rental Ordinance of 2022 requires a Rental License on every rental property. Official city page: apply by September 15. Beginning in 2024, license renewal applications must be submitted March 15 annually. New rental units must be licensed within 30 days of tenancy. Fees: $45 per unit for 1 to 3 units; $150 flat for 4 to 9; $250 flat for 10 to 19; $350 flat for 20 to 49; $450 flat for 50 or more. Immediate-family-occupied units are exempt from fees but still require a license. Inspections run on a three-year cycle. The first re-inspection is free. Portal slate.tolemi.com. e-check has no fee. Card is 3 percent. Renting an unlicensed unit is a violation as of September 16, 2023. Foreclosed, vacant, lis pendens, and deed-in-lieu properties must register. Pennsylvania hotel occupancy tax is 6 percent. Lackawanna County hotel tax is 7 percent. Confirm remaining Pennsylvania Department of Revenue collection. Confirm 2026. AirROI's low-regulation scrape is not the license file. Confirm you are inside Scranton before you advertise. AirROI's current Scranton extract, August 2025 through July 2026, pins typical listings at about $14,656 a year on 85 active rentals. The average night was $155. Occupancy was 37.9 percent. Revenue per available night was $54. Year over year is minus 11.4 percent. Active supply moved plus 34.9 percent.

Confirm You Are Inside Scranton

Confirm you are inside Scranton before you advertise. Wilkes-Barre is another municipality. Harrisburg is another hall. Do not remesh Allentown or Pittsburgh. Scranton PA Shoulder is already live on Crest and Cove. Use it for the related stay, not as a blended year.

Call Licensing at 570-348-4193 Ext. 4555

Call Scranton Rental Licensing at 570-348-4193 ext. 4555. Robin Selemba, Rental Registration Manager. Email rselemba@scrantonpa.gov. 340 N. Washington Avenue. The Rental Ordinance of 2022 requires a Rental License on every rental property. Official city page: apply by September 15. Beginning in 2024, license renewal applications must be submitted March 15 annually. New rental units must be licensed within 30 days of tenancy. Fees: $45 per unit for 1 to 3 units; $150 flat for 4 to 9; $250 flat for 10 to 19; $350 flat for 20 to 49; $450 flat for 50 or more. Immediate-family-occupied units are exempt from fees but still require a license. Inspections run on a three-year cycle. The first re-inspection is free. Portal slate.tolemi.com. e-check has no fee. Card is 3 percent. Renting an unlicensed unit is a violation as of September 16, 2023. Foreclosed, vacant, lis pendens, and deed-in-lieu properties must register. Pennsylvania hotel occupancy tax is 6 percent. Lackawanna County hotel tax is 7 percent. Confirm remaining Pennsylvania Department of Revenue collection. Confirm 2026. AirROI's low-regulation scrape is not the license file. Scranton Remote Stays is already live on Crest and Cove. Use it for the related stay, not as a blended year.

Forty-Five Dollars for One to Three Units

$45 per unit for 1 to 3 units. Flat fees rise at 4, 10, 20, and 50 units. Family-occupied units still need a license. Confirm 2026. DIY vs Hire in Scranton is already live on Crest and Cove. Use it for the related stay, not as a blended year.

March 15 Is the Renewal Date

Official city page: apply by September 15. Beginning in 2024, renewals are due March 15 annually. New units within 30 days of tenancy. Who Books Scranton is already live on Crest and Cove. Use it for the related stay, not as a blended year.

State 6 Percent and County 7 Percent

Pennsylvania hotel occupancy tax is 6 percent. Lackawanna County hotel tax is 7 percent. Confirm remaining Pennsylvania Department of Revenue collection. Buying a Scranton Rental is already live on Crest and Cove. Use it for the related stay, not as a blended year.

A Listing Scrape Is Not the Town File

AirROI's scrape is not Licensing. Zero licensed on AirROI is not the town file. Scranton Tourism Data is already live on Crest and Cove. Use it for the related stay, not as a blended year.

Wilkes-Barre and Harrisburg Are Other Halls

Wilkes-Barre listings earned about $11,303 last year from 45 active rentals on the current AirROI extract. Keep that stay on its own line. Wilkes-Barre is another hall. Harrisburg listings earned about $16,656 last year from 225 active rentals on the current AirROI extract. Harrisburg is another hall. Complete Visitor's Guide to Scranton on the Lack is already live on Crest and Cove. Use it for the related stay, not as a blended year.

What to Bring to the License Desk

What to bring to the license desk is the parcel, a local representative contact, and remaining city-code questions. Call 570-348-4193 ext. 4555. What It Costs to Start a Legal Scranton STR Stay is already live on Crest and Cove. Use it for the related stay, not as a blended year.

Hosts who underwrite Lackawanna River stays should keep $14,656 on 85 city listings, call 570-348-4193 ext. 4555, and leave Wilkes-Barre and Harrisburg on their own lines. We market. We do not take the lock.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much did typical Scranton short-term rentals earn last year?

AirROI's current Scranton extract, covering August 2025 through July 2026, puts typical listings at about $14,656 a year across 85 active rentals. Average night ran $155, occupancy came in at 37.9 percent, and revenue per available night was $54. Year over year, revenue fell 11.4 percent while active supply grew 34.9 percent, which explains part of the softening.

Do older data passes like the Rabbu figure still apply?

An older Rabbu pull printed $15,547 a year on 83 listings at a $159 ADR and 39.2 percent occupancy, down 10.4 percent year over year, with January named the slowest month. A separate AirDNA pull showed 166 listings averaging roughly $13,300 at 53 percent occupancy and $129 ADR. File each pass on its own line rather than averaging it with the current $14,656 AirROI extract.

When is Scranton's strongest month for bookings?

August is the busiest revenue month on the current extract, with June and May also running strong. July shows as the slowest month on this data, though an older brief named January instead. Price the calendar around whichever hole your own booking history confirms rather than assuming one dataset over the other.

Do I need a rental license to operate in Scranton?

Yes. The Rental Ordinance of 2022 requires every rental property in the city to hold a Rental License. Fees run $45 per unit for one to three units, with flat tiers of $150, $250, $350, and $450 as unit counts grow. New rental units must be licensed within 30 days of tenancy, and renewals are due March 15 annually as of 2024. Reach Rental Licensing at 570-348-4193 ext. 4555 or rselemba@scrantonpa.gov to confirm current requirements.

Is Scranton's revenue figure the same as Wilkes-Barre's?

No. Scranton's extract shows $14,656 a year on 85 listings at a $155 average night. Wilkes-Barre, a separate city with its own market, published roughly $11,303 on 45 listings. Keep the two figures on separate lines rather than blending them into one regional average.

Which Scranton neighborhoods show up most in the data?

AirROI names Downtown Scranton, West Side, and the University District as the leading submarkets for active listings. Write toward whichever neighborhood your property actually sits in rather than a generic downtown pitch, since Wilkes-Barre and other nearby cities have entirely separate submarket breakdowns.

What share of Scranton listings are entire homes versus other setups?

Entire homes make up 62.4 percent of the 85 active rentals, with houses specifically at 51.8 percent. Superhost status covers 70.6 percent of active listings, suggesting a market where reputation and reviews carry real weight for booking conversion.

Who typically books a Scranton stay?

Most guests arrive from New York, followed by Pittsburgh. The typical stay runs 5.6 nights with a booking lead time of about 35 days. Urban travelers gravitate toward downtown, Steamtown, and City Hall, so listing photos and copy that reflect that walkable core tend to perform better than a generic suburban pitch.

Should I hire a property manager in Scranton?

Only 5.9 percent of active listings are professionally managed, with Evolve holding just 2 listings citywide. Independent hosts still run most of this market. A manager built for a different city's scale may not be the right fit here, so weigh the cost against what a dedicated independent host can already handle.

Where do I confirm current licensing details before I advertise?

Call Scranton Rental Licensing directly at 570-348-4193 ext. 4555, or email Robin Selemba, the Rental Registration Manager, at rselemba@scrantonpa.gov. The office is located at 340 N. Washington Avenue. Confirming fees and deadlines directly with the city is the safest way to avoid relying on outdated or third-party figures.

Work with Crest & Cove Creative

A Scranton listing that still leans on a scraped “low regulation” tag instead of the city's actual Rental License requirement is one inspection away from a costly surprise.

We help independent Scranton hosts write listing copy and marketing materials that match the city's real licensing status — send your current listing and we'll flag anything that reads like outdated or scraped data.

Reach out at crestcove.co or (256) 998-7502.