Summary
For rental income alone, rarely: in 2026 a long lease grosses about 4% to 7% in Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula, and a foreign non-resident owner keeps roughly 1% to 2% of the price once tax and costs are paid. It works best as a cash purchase at a negotiated price, or as a home you also use.
A foreigner can own and rent out without residency, but Roatán and the coast sit inside the 40 km Article 107 zone, where Decree 90-90 allows one urban home of up to 3,000 m² per person.
You need an RTN (the tax number, free and issued on the spot), and as a non-resident 25% of your rent is withheld as tax, against 10% for a resident once rent passes L 15,000 a month.
A long lease beats Airbnb on the mainland: the average Tegucigalpa listing grossed about $3,834 in a year, against $6,260 to $12,000 for a 2-bedroom on a 12-month lease. On Roatán, Airbnb grosses more (about $17,350 for an average 2-bedroom), but taxes and costs eat most of the gap.
Airbnb occupancy averages 27% nationally and 32% on Roatán (October 2026 data).
Real asking rents in 2026: L 11,250 to L 15,000 ($420 to $560) for a 1-bedroom in the two big cities, L 14,000 to L 18,000 ($520 to $670) for a standard 2-bedroom, $800 to $1,400 for a furnished one in the best districts, and $700 to $1,200 in West End, Roatán.
Holding costs: about $150 a month of condo fee on the mainland and $300 to $500 on Roatán, plus property tax of at most L 3.50 per L 1,000 of cadastral value; nobody publishes a vacancy rate, so budget one empty month a year.
Our full math: a non-resident keeps about 2.1% on a furnished Lomas del Guijarro 2-bedroom, 0.9% in San Pedro Sula, 0.4% to 1.8% on a Roatán long lease, and about zero on an average Roatán Airbnb.
Don't borrow locally to buy a rental: Ficohsa lends at 13% in lempiras, the central bank raised its rate to 6.00% in September 2026, and inflation reached 6.28% over the year to September 2026. Roatán, on the other hand, is a buyer's market, with closed sales down 26% and final discounts of 7.7% to 10.1%.
Tenants pay most in Lomas del Guijarro, Palmira and Lomas del Mayab in Tegucigalpa, in Río de Piedras in San Pedro Sula and in West End and West Bay on Roatán; a 3-bedroom in Lomas del Guijarro or Nivo asks $2,400 to $2,500.
What gets a unit rented is a guarded gate, backup power and water storage; furnished 2-bedrooms in Tegucigalpa ask $800 to $1,400, against L 14,000 to L 18,000 for standard ones.
The tenant law lets you set the first rent freely on any home worth more than L 40,000, but you can't raise it on your own during the lease, and a tenant can leave with 60 days' notice.
Airbnb supply is crowding the mainland: 1,010 active listings in Tegucigalpa (+67.5% in a year) and 855 in San Pedro Sula, while Roatán lost 7% of its listings. On October 4, 2026, the tourism minister said app hosts should pay like hotels; no rule is published yet.
Bottom line: buy a secure 1- or 2-bedroom in a guarded building for cash, let it on a 12-month lease, and pay no more than about $200,000 for a unit that rents at $1,000 a month (6% gross). Buy on Roatán only if you will use the place yourself.
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Message a proCan a foreigner own and rent out a place in Honduras?
Can a foreigner own-and-rent a residential property?
Yes. A foreigner can buy a home in Honduras, register it in their own name and rent it out, with no local partner and no special permit for an ordinary 12-month lease.
The catch is Article 107 of the Constitution: land within 40 km of the coasts and land borders, and the islands (Roatán, Utila), is reserved for Hondurans by birth. Decree 90-90 makes an exception: a foreigner can buy one urban home of up to 3,000 m², condos included. If you buy a vacant lot under that exception, the house must be finished within 36 months, or you pay a surcharge of 20% a year on the appraised value.
A Honduran company owned by foreigners does not get around Article 107. Beyond one home in the zone, the route is a tourism project declared with the tourism institute (IHT).
Check the title before anything else. The US State Department says about 80% of private land in Honduras has no title or a faulty one. You want full ownership (dominio pleno) registered at the Instituto de la Propiedad, not a use right (dominio útil). For a mainland city, ask your notary to confirm in writing which side of the 40 km line the parcel sits on.
Do I need residency to rent out in Honduras right now?
No. You don't need Honduran residency to own or rent out, but it changes your tax: a non-resident landlord has 25% of the rent withheld, while a resident pays 10% on residential rent once it passes L 15,000 (about $560) a month.
You will need an RTN, the tax number the tax office (SAR) uses for everything. For a foreigner it takes a passport and a proof of address, it's free the first time and issued on the spot once the file is complete (TuNota, October 11, 2026). A local bank account isn't required by law, but it makes rent, utilities and the municipal tax far easier.
Managing from abroad is doable, and most foreign owners do it through a local manager or a trusted lawyer who collects rent, handles repairs and files the taxes. We found no published management tariff, so get two written quotes.
Long lease or Airbnb: which earns more in Honduras?
Is long-term renting more profitable than short-term?
On the mainland, yes, by a wide margin. The average Airbnb in Tegucigalpa grossed about $3,834 (about L 103,000) between August 2025 and July 2026. A standard 2-bedroom on a lease at L 14,000 a month brings in L 168,000 (about $6,260) a year, and a furnished one at $1,000 brings in $12,000. In San Pedro Sula, the average Airbnb 2-bedroom grossed about $5,770, against $9,600 a year for a 2-bedroom let at $800.
On Roatán, Airbnb grosses more: the average 2-bedroom made L 466,000 (about $17,350) between October 2025 and September 2026, against $8,400 to $14,400 a year on a long lease in West End. But once 15% sales tax (ISV), the 4% tourism tax, a co-host and utilities come out, about $12,400 is left, before cleaning and condo fees. That is inside the long-lease range, for far more work.
$18,000 to $30,000 a year is what a strong Roatán short-term rental makes, not the average.
What's the average gross rental yield?
About 4% to 7% on a long lease in the big cities, and less on Roatán. Nobody publishes a reliable national figure, so here is what asking prices and rents give city by city.
In Tegucigalpa, an apartment bought at the city median of $2,481 per m² and let at the typical $11 per m² a month grosses about 5.3%. A furnished 2-bedroom in Lomas del Guijarro at $1,000 a month against a 2-bedroom asking $179,900 gives about 6.7%; a gated 2-bedroom in El Trapiche at L 14,000 against the city's 2-bedroom median of $147,900 gives about 4.2%.
In San Pedro Sula, a 2-bedroom asks a median of $230,000 and rents for about $800, so 4.2%. On Roatán, a $315,000 West End 2-bedroom let at $700 to $1,200 grosses 2.7% to 4.6%.
Crowdsourced sites that show 11% or more rest on a handful of entries.
What's the realistic net rental yield after costs?
For a foreign non-resident, roughly 1% to 2% on a long lease in the cities, and close to zero on an average Roatán Airbnb. The 25% tax alone takes a 5.3% gross yield down to about 4.0%; empty months, condo fees, property tax, upkeep and a manager take most of the rest.
A resident landlord does better: in our Tegucigalpa example, about 3.0% instead of 2.1%, because the rental tax is 10% instead of 25%.
What eats the yield, in order: the 25% withholding, the condo fee in the guarded buildings tenants want, the month or two between tenants, and on the coast, salt air and humidity on everything metal. The full calculation is further down.
What monthly rent can I get?
In the two big cities, a 1-bedroom rents for roughly L 11,250 to L 15,000 a month ($420 to $560), and a standard 2-bedroom in a gated middle-class area for L 14,000 to L 18,000 ($520 to $670).
Furnished units in the best districts ask far more: furnished studios of about 31 m² at $750 (about L 20,100) in Tegucigalpa towers, and furnished 2-bedrooms at $800 to $1,400 (about L 21,500 to L 37,600) in Florencia, Lomas del Guijarro, Lomas del Mayab and Palmira.
On Roatán, a West End 2-bedroom rents for $700 to $1,200 a month and a Sandy Bay one for $600 to $1,000 (GoPro Caribbean, May 2026).
Many city listings bundle water, internet and security into the rent, so compare the total monthly cost, not the headline number.
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What will a rental cost you to hold in Honduras?
What's the total "all-in" monthly cost to hold a rental?
For a 2-bedroom condo in Tegucigalpa or San Pedro Sula, count roughly $300 to $400 a month before income tax: about $150 (about L 4,030) of condo fee, up to about $55 of property tax, about $75 of upkeep and, if you use one, about $90 to $100 for a manager.
On Roatán, the condo fee alone runs $300 a month (Blue Vista, West End) to $500 (Acqua di Mare, West Bay), and power is expensive: RECO charges L 6.11 per kWh up to 150 kWh and L 8.95 beyond (September to November 2026). Our Roatán Airbnb example costs about $940 a month to run.
Property tax is small everywhere: L 3.50 per L 1,000 of cadastral value in Tegucigalpa, L 3.00 in San Pedro Sula and L 2.50 on Roatán (2024 municipal plan). RE/MAX Roatán puts it at about $800 a year for a 3-bedroom house.
What's the typical vacancy rate?
Nobody publishes one. We found no reliable vacancy rate or time-to-rent figure for Honduras. Treat any percentage you see as a guess.
Budget one empty month a year for a well-priced unit in a guarded building, two if you're testing a high rent or renting on Roatán, where expats come and go with the seasons.
What we do know: demand for leases is growing. The rent office (DAI) recorded more than 20% more registered rental contracts in 2024 than in 2023, and about 17.8% of Honduran homes are rented (INE 2024). Units without a guarded gate wait longest, whatever the rent.
So, does a rental in Honduras pay off in 2026?
Here is the full math for a foreign non-resident who buys cash and rents to a long-term tenant in Tegucigalpa: a 2-bedroom in Lomas del Guijarro asking $179,900 (about L 4,830,000), let furnished at $1,000 a month.
Rent for 11 months (one month empty): $11,000. Minus the 25% withheld: $2,750. Minus a $150 monthly condo fee: $1,800. Minus property tax at most: $630. Minus upkeep at 0.5% of the price: $900. Minus a manager at 10% of rent: $1,100.
What's left is about $3,820 (about L 103,000) a year, or 2.1% of the price; about 2.7% without a manager. That is the good case. The same math gives:
| Case (non-resident, cash) | Gross yield | Kept after tax and costs |
|---|---|---|
| Tegucigalpa, furnished 2-bed, Lomas del Guijarro, $179,900 at $1,000/month | 6.7% | about 2.1% |
| San Pedro Sula, 2-bed at the $230,000 median, $800/month | 4.2% | about 0.9% |
| Roatán, West End 2-bed, $315,000 on a lease at $700 to $1,200 | 2.7% to 4.6% | 0.4% to 1.8% |
| Roatán, 2-bed condo, $320,000 on Airbnb at the AirROI average | 5.4% | about 1.0% before income tax, about 0% after |
With inflation at 6.28% over the year to September 2026, every one of these loses money in real terms unless the price goes up. So buy a rental in Honduras because you want the place, or because you got it cheap, not for the income.
What to do if you still want in:
- Set a price ceiling from the rent: at $1,000 a month, $200,000 gives you 6% gross; at $800, $160,000 does.
- Get the condo fee, the reserve fund and the building's rules on rentals in writing before the offer.
- Ask the seller for the cadastral value and the last property tax receipt.
- Prefer a 1- or 2-bedroom near offices and universities: smaller ticket, steadier demand.
- Write a yearly increase clause into the lease and take one to two months of deposit.
Is 2026 a good time to buy a rental in Honduras?
For a cash buyer who negotiates, it's better than it was. For anyone counting on a local loan, no.
Credit got more expensive this year. Ficohsa's mortgage rate was 13% in lempiras in June 2026, and the central bank (BCH) raised its policy rate from 5.75% to 6.00% in September 2026 to fight inflation. On a 70% loan for our $179,900 Tegucigalpa unit, the first year's interest alone is about $16,400, against $12,000 of rent. We found no bank that publishes loan terms for non-resident foreigners anyway.
On Roatán, buyers have the upper hand: closed sales fell 26% in the first half of 2026 compared with the first half of 2025, there are 3.7 new listings for every sale, and buyers got final discounts of 7.7% to 10.1% off the asking price. One active listing in four has already been cut, by 15% on average.
The currency isn't the problem: the lempira slid only about 2% against the dollar in 2026, and most rents in the good areas are set in dollars. The real risks are legal: titles, the 40 km rule, and Próspera on Roatán, whose ZEDE status the Supreme Court declared unconstitutional in September 2024 and which is still fighting the state, now with a claim of about $1.63 billion at the World Bank's ICSID. Don't buy a rental inside Próspera unless you accept that unresolved risk.
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Message a proWhich cities and neighborhoods rent best in Honduras?
Which neighborhoods have the highest long-term demand?
In Tegucigalpa, Lomas del Guijarro, Palmira and Lomas del Mayab, close to embassies, offices and international schools. In San Pedro Sula, Río de Piedras, Colonia Trejo and Los Álamos. On Roatán, West End, West Bay and Sandy Bay for expats and divers.
Families look for gated communities with parking, such as El Hatillo and Lomas del Guijarro in the capital. Students keep small units full near UNAH along Boulevard Suyapa.
Expats and corporate tenants are the ones paying dollar rents for furnished units with reliable internet and 24-hour security; local families mostly rent unfurnished, in lempiras.
Which neighborhoods have the best yield?
The best yields sit in good mainland areas just below the top addresses: in our examples, about 6.7% for a furnished 2-bedroom in Lomas del Guijarro, about 4.2% in El Trapiche, and better-than-average numbers in Colonia Moderna and Los Álamos in San Pedro Sula.
Roatán yields are lower because prices were bid up by lifestyle buyers: 2.7% to 4.6% gross on a West End lease.
A small furnished unit earns more per m² (up to $23 to $29 per m² a month in new towers, against about $11 for most apartments), but it depends on a narrow pool of expat and corporate tenants.
Where do tenants pay the highest rents?
In Tegucigalpa's Lomas del Guijarro, Colonia Lara and Nivo, where 3-bedrooms ask $2,400 to $2,500 (about L 64,400 to L 67,100) a month, and furnished 2-bedrooms in Palmira and Lomas del Mayab ask $1,350 to $1,400.
In San Pedro Sula, the top is Río de Piedras, Colonia Trejo and Lomas del Pedregal, where a family house can ask about $1,500. On Roatán, West End 2-bedrooms reach $1,200, and West Bay beachfront goes higher.
The tenants are foreign executives on assignment, embassy and NGO staff, and dive-business owners. They pay for security, reliable power and water, and English-speaking services over price.
What do Honduran tenants pay extra for?
What features increase rent the most in Honduras?
Security first, power second, water third: 24-hour guarded access with parking, a generator or inverter, and a cistern with a pump. Strong air conditioning comes right after in San Pedro Sula and on the coast.
No study measures the premium in percent. What listings do show: units without guarded access sit at the bottom of every price range. And with Tegucigalpa rationing water in cycles of up to 12 days since September 20, 2026, a cistern is close to mandatory there.
Don't overspend on luxury kitchens. Fast fiber internet with a good router is the cheap upgrade that helps you stand out with remote workers.
Do furnished rentals rent faster?
They appeal to the tenants who pay best: corporate transfers, NGO staff and people on short contracts. In Tegucigalpa, furnished 2-bedrooms ask $800 to $1,400, against L 14,000 to L 18,000 ($520 to $670) for standard unfurnished ones. In San Pedro Sula, a furnished 2-bedroom in Río de Piedras asks $850, against $700 to $800 unfurnished.
We found no data on how much faster they let, so the "one to three weeks faster" and the 15% to 25% premium are gone. Local families often prefer to bring their own furniture.
One legal detail: the tenant law excludes units furnished with more than L 1,500 of furniture, a tiny amount today. Ask your lawyer how your lease will be treated.
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Message a proHow much does the tenant law limit you?
Can I freely set rent prices in Honduras right now?
The first rent, yes. Article 11 of the Ley de Inquilinato makes rent free to negotiate for any home worth more than L 40,000 (about $1,490), which covers every property you would buy as an investment.
Raising it during the lease is another story: a landlord can't raise the rent on his own, and increases go through the agreement with the tenant or the rent office (DAI). Write the yearly increase rule into the lease from day one.
A written lease is mandatory, and the law fines a landlord who doesn't have one one month of rent.
What's the standard lease length in Honduras right now?
12 months. That is what owners in the good areas of the big cities ask for, and what the standard contract uses.
The deposit is negotiable, usually one or two months of rent. Take two from a tenant without local references, and list the condition of the unit with photos at move-in.
A tenant can generally leave with 60 days' written notice; a landlord who needs the home for himself or close family gives about three months. Two months of unpaid rent plus eight days is the ground to go to court, and you can't change the locks or cut the utilities to force a tenant out.
How does Airbnb really do in Honduras?
Is Airbnb legal in Honduras right now?
Yes, short stays aren't banned, and there is no cap on nights per year. But a unit that counts as tourist lodging owes 15% ISV and the 4% tourism tax, should be registered with the tourism institute (IHT) and, as a lodging business, may need a sanitary license from ARSA.
The rule that bites first is often your building's: many towers in the big cities and some Roatán complexes restrict or ban short stays. Read the condo rules before you buy, not after.
What's the average short-term occupancy?
27% nationally between October 2025 and September 2026, so the average listing sits empty almost three nights out of four. Roatán does a bit better at 32%; Tegucigalpa sits at 28.5% and San Pedro Sula at 27.8%.
On Roatán, occupancy swings from 24.5% in November 2025 to 53.1% in February 2026. High season runs January to April with Semana Santa, then a smaller bump in June and July; August to November is slow.
What's the average nightly rate?
L 3,310 (about $123) on average nationally, but that hides two markets: about $57 (about L 1,530) in Tegucigalpa and L 1,826 (about $68) in San Pedro Sula, against L 6,506 (about $240) on Roatán and L 9,127 (about $340) in West Bay.
Prices barely move with the seasons; occupancy does. On Roatán the average rate went from L 5,777 in November to L 6,394 in February, while revenue per listing went from L 45,900 (about $1,710) to L 107,000 (about $3,990) in the best month, March 2026.
Is short-term rental supply saturated?
On the mainland, yes for the average host. Active listings jumped 67.5% in a year to 1,010 in Tegucigalpa and 68% to 855 in San Pedro Sula, where revenue per listing fell 20.4% to L 136,214 (about $5,070).
Roatán went the other way: 777 active listings, 7% fewer than a year earlier, while visitor arrivals to Honduras rose 18.5% in the first half of 2026. Utila grew 25% to 240 listings, and La Ceiba has 272.
The most crowded segment is the plain 1- or 2-bedroom condo in the business districts of the two big cities, competing on price. If you go short-term anyway, aim at what's scarce: a well-run 2-bedroom on Roatán, a 3-bedroom for visiting families, or monthly stays for companies.
Will Airbnb hosts in Honduras soon pay hotel taxes?
It's coming, but nothing is published yet. On October 4, 2026, Tourism Minister Andrés Ehrler told La Prensa that hosts renting through apps should pay taxes like hotels, and that the tax authority (SAR) is working on it. In August 2026, the small hotels association (HOPEH) said it was drafting a bill to make hosts register, invoice and pay tax.
As of October 28, 2026, no new rule or rate has been published. The current rules already apply, though: tourist lodging owes 15% ISV and the 4% tourism tax, and a non-resident owes 25% on the income.
What to do now:
- Run your numbers with 19% of revenue going to ISV and tourism tax, then 25% income tax if you're a non-resident. On an average Roatán 2-bedroom, that's the difference between about 1.0% and about 0%.
- Get your RTN and register with the IHT before your first booking, so a new rule finds you already compliant.
- Don't pay a premium for a unit sold as "Airbnb-ready" on the mainland: with 27.8% occupancy in San Pedro Sula, a lease earns more.
Our methodology
This article estimates what a foreign buyer can really earn by renting out a home in Honduras in 2026: rents, gross and net yields, holding costs, Airbnb performance, and the rules on ownership, tax and leases.
Gross yields are 12 months of asking rent divided by asking price; net yields take off one empty month, the 25% non-resident tax (or 10% for a resident), condo fees, property tax, upkeep and management. Prices come from the TuLugar trackers (October 19, 2026) and Roatán MLS listings, rents from dated Encuentra24 listings, Numbeo and GoPro Caribbean. All short-term figures come from a single platform, AirROI, never mixed with other providers. All sums and percentages are computed by script.
Rules come from official texts: the Constitution (Article 107), Decree 90-90, the Ley de Inquilinato, the Ley de Municipalidades, SAR and IHT guidance, and CREE tariffs.
We checked these figures in October 2026 and converted at about 26.85 lempiras per US dollar.
Limits: Honduras publishes no sale prices, rent index or vacancy rate, so our figures are asking prices and asking rents; the yield examples rest on our own assumptions (one empty month, a $150 mainland condo fee, 0.5% upkeep, a 10% manager), and how the 25% tax applies to Airbnb income should be confirmed with a Honduran accountant. This is not investment advice.
Key sources used for this analysis include the Constitution of Honduras, Decree 90-90, the Ley de Inquilinato, the Ley de Municipalidades, SAR on rental tax, PwC Tax Summaries, Calcularya, BCH exchange rates, CREE tariffs, INE Honduras, the IHT visitor profile, TuLugar Distrito Central, TuLugar San Pedro Sula, Encuentra24, Numbeo, GoPro Caribbean, AirROI Honduras, AirROI Roatán, Tomás Figueroa on the Roatán market, the Ficohsa tariff, La Tribuna on inflation and La Prensa on apps and lodging.
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