On August 4, 2025, the Newberg City Council adopted Ordinance 2025-2935, amending the City’s vacation rental home policies and regulations.
The changes go into effect September 3, 2025.
Information on the policy updates is below, and you can find our more information by calling 503-537-1240, or emailing planning@newbergoregon.gov.
Apply for Land Use Registration HERE and a Business License/Transient Lodging Tax Registration HERE
Vacation Rental Home Registration
All vacation rental homes are required to have a three-part registration:
- Land Use Permit
- Business License
- Transient Lodging Tax Registration
The City Council has approved a registration window for existing vacation rental homes to become registered and continue operating.
- All existing unregistered (needing any of the three parts) vacation rental homes must apply for registration by December 2, 2025.
- If the City receives the application by this date, the vacation rental home may continue to operate while the City reviews the application.
- If a vacation rental home does not apply by this date and continues operating, the following penalties apply.
- All vacation rental homes that apply by December 2, 2025, have until September 3, 2026, to receive City approval, including complying with any land use conditions of approval.
Penalties for Unregistered Vacation Rental Homes
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.)
Transient Lodging Tax Collection
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).
Changes to Vacation Rental Home Requirements
Approval Process – Vacation rental homes in all permitted zoning districts require a Special Use Permit, which requires a Type II land use approval. Public notice is required to be posted on the site and mailed to properties within 500 feet, and the decision can be appealed to the Planning Commission.
Citywide Cap – The number of vacation rental homes permitted in Newberg will be limited to 2% of the total number of households in the City. The 2025 cap is 187 vacation rental homes, and the City’s data indicates there are approximately 90 vacation rental homes operating.
Development Standards
- Parking – New larger vacation rental homes (5-8 bedrooms) are required to have an additional third off-street parking space. Existing permitted vacation rental homes and new vacation rental homes with 1-4 bedrooms are required to have two off-street parking spaces.
- Annual Good Neighbor Notices – All vacation rental home operators are required to mail Good Neighbor Notices to properties within 500 feet annually when they renew their business license.
- Local Manager – New vacation rental homes must provide contact information for a local manager located within 40 miles of the property.
- Permit Holders – All vacation rental home Special Use Permits are held by the property owner (applicant) only. When the property ownership changes the permit becomes void and a new permit must be issued to reestablish a vacation rental on the same property. There are certain exceptions such as for survivorship – additional information can be found on the City’s vacation rental home webpage – and for conditional use permits issued before September 3, 2025.
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- 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.
