State College has launched a new system for management of short-term rental licenses in the borough.
Rentalscape, a platform from Deckard Technologies, provides an interactive application portal to improve communication between residents operating short-term guest rentals and borough staff, according to a news release on Thursday.
Property owners with a previous license that has expired and short-term rental properties that have never received a license will be required to submit a new license application with the system.
“Letters have been mailed to all property owners who need to submit a new license application,” according to the borough release. “The Planning Department, which staffs the license program, is available to assist residents in navigating the new system and application submission requirements.”
State College previously worked with Granicus and its Host Compliance platform for short-term rental licensing, but ended that contract in 2025 and began working with Deckard Technologies in June. College Township also works with Deckard for its short-term rental program.
Ed LeClear, State College planning director, said during a Borough Council meeting on Feb. 2 that the borough “had some real challenges with [Host Compliance] as far as administration and also just changing the online portal.”
“We [were] never actually been able to get them to the point where we’ve been able to have a renewal option on the website,” LeClear said.
State College initially adopted a short-term rental ordinance in 2021 to manage residential properties rented through Airbnb, Vrbo and other means. It underwent substantial revisions in 2022 before implementation began and has been updated several times since then, most recently in February with changes to clarify language and improve implementation and enforceability.
The ordinance permits short-term rentals for guest stays of less than 29 consecutive days and no more than 120 total days a year. It sets other requirements and regulations for short-term rentals, and licenses carry a fee of $450.
Property owners are also required to obtain a standard rental housing permit from the Centre Region Code Administration before applying for a short-term license from the borough.
For detailed information on short-term rental licensing in State College and to access the Rentalscape platform, visit statecollegepa.us/762/Short-Term-Rental-License.
