Short-term rentals in Billings, explained properly.

Under 27-1621.A, in addition to anything else the zoning coordinator prescribes, the application includes: contact information for the owner (person, trust or corporation); contact information for the owner's local contact person; an attestation and agreement to comply with the section; identification of all dwelling units rented on a short-term basis; the URL for any and all advertisements of the rental; and proof of building code compliance for single-family attached and detached units (with the multi-family ownership proof described in its own row).

The application must give contact information for the owner's local contact person, who has authority to fix any problems or violations of chapter 27 and who is available twenty-four (24) hours a day, seven (7) days a week at a phone number provided to both the city and any person staying at the property.

Short-term rental permits are issued for one year and must be renewed annually. An application to renew should be received by the zoning coordinator not less than thirty (30) calendar days before the permit expires.

Under 27-1621.C the coordinator may deny if: the property has any unresolved code enforcement violations, including issues unrelated to the rental; the property is not in compliance with all applicable zoning code requirements, permit requirements, or where applicable fire, building and safety or other laws; the applicant knowingly made false, misleading or fraudulent statements of material fact; the property is not available for immediate rental on a short-term basis consistent with the regulations; or the property owner's business license is not current. Under 27-1621.D, after a denial the coordinator may not approve a new application for that applicant and location for thirty (30) days unless the coordinator determines the reason has been cured or no longer exists. An applicant who asked for review on cured circumstances and is again denied may appeal under section 27-1616, Appeal of administrative decision.

Under 27-1621.E the coordinator may revoke a short-term rental permit if any of the issues in the 27-1621.C review criteria are substantiated during the permit term. The coordinator gives written notice of the pending revocation to the permit holder and any named local manager or long-term tenant listed on the permit, and the holder has thirty (30) calendar days to bring the property into compliance. A permit holder who is in violation is prohibited from taking any further or future reservations. If a permit is revoked, the short-term rental must cease immediately and the unit shall not be rented for thirty (30) calendar days from the date of revocation unless the coordinator determines the reason has been cured or no longer exists.

Section 15-68-101 defines accommodations as short-term rentals or individual sleeping rooms, suites, camping spaces or other units offered for overnight lodging periods of less than 30 days to the general public for compensation, and a short-term rental as a house, dwelling unit, condominium, cooperative or timeshare unit, or owner-occupied residential home offered for a fee for 30 days or less. Section 15-68-102 imposes a 4% sales tax on accommodations, collected by the seller from the purchaser, and section 15-65-111 imposes a 4% lodging facility use tax on the user of accommodations, both on the sales price, which includes any service, commission or other charge by an online hosting platform that the guest must pay. The Department of Revenue's lodging tax page says Montana charges a combined 8% (use tax 4% and sales tax 4%), lists vacation rentals among taxable lodging, and says units rented 30 continuous days or more to the same purchaser are exempt. A seller of accommodations must obtain a seller's permit before doing business (15-65-114), and returns are due quarterly. Local resort or other local taxes are not part of this state rule; see each place's page.

Section 15-68-101 defines a short-term rental marketplace as a person that provides a platform through which a seller or the seller's agent offers a short-term rental to an occupant, and counts an online hosting platform (including online travel companies and third-party reservation intermediaries) as a seller. Section 15-68-111 requires a short-term rental marketplace to register with the Department of Revenue and to collect, report and pay the lodging facility use tax and the sales tax on any sale it facilitates; section 15-65-114(2) repeats this for the use tax. The Department of Revenue's page says marketplaces and online hosting platforms should be collecting, reporting and paying all taxes from sales through their platforms, and that taxpayers must still pay the taxes on any sales outside a marketplace or online hosting platform.

Section 50-51-102 defines a tourist home as a private home or condominium that is not occupied by an owner or manager and that is rented, leased or furnished in its entirety to transient guests on a daily or weekly basis, and lists tourist homes among the establishments covered (with bed and breakfasts, hotels, motels, roominghouses and others). Section 50-51-201 requires a person operating an establishment to obtain a license from the Department of Public Health and Human Services every year, a separate license for each establishment, and the license must be validated by the local health officer (or sanitarian) in the county before it is issued. Section 50-51-204 sets the initial and renewal fee at $100 a year for an establishment with no more than 10 rooms for rent, $175 for 11 to 25 rooms and $250 for more than 25, plus a $25 late fee for renewals paid after the license expires. A home where an owner or manager lives does not meet the tourist home definition; whether another category (such as a bed and breakfast) applies is not covered here, so check with the county health department.

Searched: the Montana Code Annotated 2025 sections cited on this page, the Montana Land Use Planning Act's limits on local zoning (76-25-303, which has no short-term rental provision), and the Legislature's Bill Explorer for 2025 and 2027 session bills with short-term rental, rental, lodging or tourist home in the title. SB 336 (2025, Revise laws related to short-term rentals) had its Senate third reading and was sent to the House on March 5, 2025, was tabled in a House committee on April 8, 2025, and died in committee on May 23, 2025. HB 802 (2025, Revise zoning laws related to the rental of a primary residence) was tabled in committee and died in process on May 20, 2025. Neither has a session law chapter. For the 2027 session, draft request LC0284 (Generally revise short-term rental laws) was assigned to a drafter and put on hold on September 16, 2026; there is no bill text yet.