Crystal Beach · Bolivar Peninsula
Your rental, your rules — mostly
If you’re buying a beach house on Bolivar Peninsula to run as a short-term rental, you’re buying in unincorporated Galveston County — Crystal Beach, Gilchrist, Port Bolivar, and Caplen have no city government, and that changes the ownership math in your favor.
What Bolivar Peninsula does not require
What Bolivar Peninsula does NOT require
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01 No short-term rental permit or license |
02 No registration — and no registration number in your ads |
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03 No rental caps or density limits |
04 No 24-hour local contact requirement |
The one tax
The one tax
Texas state hotel occupancy tax: 6% — and that’s the whole stack. There is no city hotel tax and no county hotel tax on Peninsula rentals. (Airbnb and Vrbo collect the state tax on bookings made through them.)
Your tax, in one number
6%
Texas state hotel occupancy tax — the whole stack on Bolivar Peninsula rentals.
Your real checklist is shorter than most buyers expect: check your HOA documents if your neighborhood has one, insure the property properly for the coast, and keep your state tax filings current.
Bolivar Peninsula vs. the City of Galveston
How that compares to the City of Galveston
Inside Galveston city limits, each rental unit needs an annual city license ($250/unit/year, renewed each December), your registration number must appear in every ad, a local contact must be reachable 24 hours a day, hotel tax reports are filed every period (even zero months) — and the tax is 15%: 6% state + 9% city.
Same beach weather. Very different paperwork.
Bolivar Peninsula
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City of Galveston
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See it in the market
See it in the market
The newest example is the Gilchrist beachfront portfolio — three established rentals sold together. Want the numbers on that one, or help finding your own? Contact our team — Beth Terminella, Mark DeSantis, or Liz Primeaux, One10 Realty Group – Crystal Beach, brokered by eXp Realty: (214) 801-9801.
See the Gilchrist beachfront portfolio →
More of your options
More short-term rentals in our inventory
And here’s the Peninsula secret: with no permit standing between you and your first booking, almost any beach house can be your rental — and most of ours have rented at some point. The portfolio above is just the newest example. A few more from our current inventory:
The Jean Street trio, Gilchrist — 988, 990 & 994 Jean St: three beach rental houses on one street; buy one or assemble the set.
The Magnolia pair, Port Bolivar — 929 & 933 Magnolia Ln: two rental-ready houses, offered together or separately.
1157 Alex Dr, Gilchrist: 7 bedrooms; sleeps a crowd.
412 Seagrass, Gilchrist: 5 bed / 5.5 bath in Seagrass; group-rental scale.
3841 Biscayne Beach Rd, Crystal Beach: 5-bedroom beach house built for big groups.
2496 Gilmore, Crystal Beach: buy it or lease it; your choice of entry.
2006 Idyle View, Crystal Beach: house with the adjoining lot, or the house on its own.
And that’s just the start — if it sleeps people, it can earn. Want the rental numbers on any of these, or on any house we have listed? That’s what the form is for.
Your next move starts here
Get the numbers
Tell us what you’re working on and our team will run it with you.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules and rates change; confirm your property’s specifics with Galveston County, the City of Galveston, or your CPA.