Short-term rentals in Broken Bow, explained properly.

Section 56-140(1) defines "short-term rental" or "nightly rental" as a rental of a property for residential purposes for a period of less than 30 consecutive nights. It defines "residential purposes" as the use of a structure or part of a structure as a place of abode, maintained by or for a person, whether or not owned by such person.

Section 56-398(a) says its requirements table applies to all uses permitted in the C-5 district: minimum lot area 7,000 sq. ft., minimum lot frontage 50 ft., maximum percentage coverage N/A, maximum height 35 feet, front yard setback 25 ft. from the street right-of-way, and a side yard setback of 1 ft. for each 1 ft. of height when abutting an R-district. Section 56-398(b) requires an unobstructed alleyway, service court, rear yard or combination of not less than 20 feet when a commercial building is serviced from the rear. Section 56-399 limits total floor space to a one-to-one relationship with open space. Section 56-397 allows any use permitted in the C-1 through C-4 commercial districts, and mobile home parks, in C-5. The district's description in section 56-396 is a commercial district for accommodations, supplies or services to motorists and specialised commercial uses. We haven't reviewed the C-1 through C-4 district text or the City zoning map yet.

Section 1354(A)(7) of Title 68 of the Oklahoma Statutes levies an excise tax of 4.5% of the gross receipts or gross proceeds from the service of furnishing rooms by a hotel, apartment hotel, public rooming house, motel, public lodging house or tourist camp, unless the sale is exempted in the Oklahoma Sales Tax Code. The Oklahoma Tax Commission says the state sales and use tax rate is 4.5%, that local taxes may also apply, and that, except for residential utilities and certain food, local taxes apply to the same taxable items and services as the state tax; it also lists lodging among the transactions the state sales tax levy covers. The statute and the Commission's answers read do not say in so many words whether a private home or room rented for short stays is a "public lodging house"; owners should confirm their filing duty with the Commission. City and county rates are shown on each place's page.

Under sections 1391 and 1392 of Title 68, a marketplace facilitator is a business that lists or advertises a marketplace seller's products and, directly or through others, collects the buyer's payment and passes it to the seller. Since Senate Bill 1339 (effective January 1, 2023), "product" includes services and other transactions taxable under the Sales Tax Code, but not a hotel or motel built with more than 12 rooms. A facilitator with at least $10,000 of taxable Oklahoma sales in the previous 12 months must file an election each year with the Tax Commission either to collect and remit the tax or to comply with notice and reporting requirements; one that elects to collect must get a sales tax permit, and its collection duty also covers local sales taxes administered by the Commission. The Tax Commission says marketplace facilitators making sales of Oklahoma lodging may now be required to collect and remit state and local taxes. Which election a given platform has made is not stated in these sources; check with the platform. City hotel or lodging taxes are separate and shown on each place's page.

Section 1-1201 of Title 63 of the Oklahoma Statutes makes it unlawful to operate or maintain a hotel without a license from the State Commissioner of Health, which (unless a rule says otherwise) expires each June 30 and carries an annual fee set by the Commissioner. For this section, "hotel" includes any hotel, motel, tourist court, apartment house, rooming house or other place where sleeping accommodations are furnished or offered for pay to transient guests, if five or more rooms are available for transient guests. The statute does not say how the Department applies this to a house or apartment rented short-term; owners renting five or more rooms should check with the Oklahoma State Department of Health.