Short-term rentals in Bozeman, explained properly.

Section 38.320.060.B.8.b lists what must be provided before an application is accepted: names and contact details of all property owners and the responsible person (and of all business owners if the owner is a business); the Montana Department of Revenue tax registration number; a sketch plan with the street address, number of bedrooms and off-street guest parking spaces; certification of the rental type (Type-1, 2A or 2B); certification that the applicant has read the standards, that the property is the applicant's primary residence and that the applicant has the legal right to rent it; all hosting platforms used; and the permit and fire inspection fees. Before the first permit, the City fire department (or a certified fire inspector using the City's form) must inspect and sign off, with a new inspection after any lapse (38.320.060.B.8.c(1)). Under 38.320.060.B.8.f the director may issue the permit only when the rental meets all City requirements and the applicant provides either a signed pre-operational inspection report from the health department or a valid State public accommodation license under MCA 50-51. The City's page says the license is issued by the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services after inspection by the Gallatin City-County Health Department.

Section 38.320.060.B.9 sets standards that apply to Type-2 rentals unless noted: a written rental agreement for each stay with a written list of rules the guests acknowledge and that is displayed in the unit; a responsible person available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, named in the rules; maximum occupancy of two persons per bedroom plus two, which the City may reduce based on parking and which is noted on the permit; trash and recycling instructions in the rules; no exterior signs identifying the rental, and a sign inside the front door showing fire extinguishers, the gas shut-off and fire exits during a rental; compliance with the noise and nuisance provisions, with outdoor noise discernible from a neighboring property ending by 10:00 p.m. A Type-1 host may rent up to two bedrooms (one in a two-bedroom dwelling) and no other area, with at most two persons per bedroom (38.320.060.B.9.d). Rentals must be inspected by the fire department every three years, with annual self-certification in between (38.320.060.B.8.c(3)).

Under 38.320.060.B.10, a hosting platform must report quarterly to the City the address of each short term rental in the City for which it handled a booking and the name of the host or responsible person; include the City permit number in all public listings before performing a booking transaction; and remove a listing within ten business days if it has reason to believe the rental violates the Code, including after notice from the City or when the host has not supplied a permit number. Platforms that violate the section face a civil penalty of up to $500 (38.320.060.B.11.c(2)).

Section 38.320.060.B.8.j lets the host renew annually; renewals must meet the Code in force at the time of renewal, failure to renew ends the lawful use of the property as a short term rental, and renewing after expiration requires a new application subject to the initial inspection and fee. Section 38.320.060.B.8.h says a hosting permit does not run with the land and a change in the host's primary residence status terminates it; for the unit to stay eligible, a new application naming a new host who lives there must be submitted.

The City's short term rental page says Ordinance 2149, effective December 14, 2023, prohibits Type 3 short term rentals, and that existing, compliant Type 3 rentals with an active (non-expired) City hosting permit may continue as Legacy Type 3 rentals while the permit remains valid and the rental stays code-compliant. If a Legacy Type 3 permit expires, is revoked or is forfeited by transfer of ownership, the property can no longer operate as a Legacy Type 3. The current Unified Development Code (Ordinance 2025-12) lists only Types 1, 2A and 2B and has no section specific to legacy rentals; its general nonconforming use rules (Division 38.790) apply. Confirm the status of any existing permit with the Department of Community Development.

Under 38.320.060.B.11 the director may suspend or revoke a hosting permit, impose administrative remedies or go to court when a host fails to comply with the Code, operates the rental as a nuisance or danger, loses the health department license or tax registration, or obtained the permit by fraud. The host gets written notice at least seven days before action and may ask for a meeting within seven days, unless the director finds a safety hazard and orders the rental to stop immediately. The director may recover a civil penalty of up to $500 for each violation by a host or a hosting platform, with each day a separate violation. Appeals follow 38.760.030. A knowing violation is a misdemeanor punishable under 38.700.160, but no one may be imprisoned for a violation of this section.

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.