Short-term rentals in Cedar City, explained properly.

A license holder must give the License Officer written notice within thirty (30) days after transferring or disposing of legal or equitable control of a licensed rental. The notice is treated as a request to cancel the license, with no refund or rebate except where ownership is transferred for a reason listed in Subsection 23-7(D)(2). The new owner must obtain a Residential Short-Term Rental Business License.

Section 23-9 says a person who owns multiple short-term rentals is not required to obtain more than one business license for operating and maintaining them. The license itself is not transferable between persons or structures, and the application lists the address of each building containing a rental.

All licenses expire on January 1st of each year unless sooner canceled and are issued for one year only.

Section 23-9 says the fee for a Residential Short-Term Rental Business License is identified on the City's consolidated fee schedule. The fee schedule hasn't been reviewed yet, so no amount or schedule date is shown here.

The application must meet Section 23-6 and include at least: the address of each building containing a rental; proof of liability insurance; proof of adequate parking under 26-V-5; a lodging sales tax number; the number of bedrooms; a diagram showing the available 9'x18' parking stalls; the owner's signature certifying that the owner will collect and remit transient lodging taxes on time; and the local property representative's name, address and telephone number. The owner also certifies compliance with local, state and federal law and building and safety codes, review of any HOA rules and CC&Rs that could restrict short-term rental use, a working smoke detector in each bedroom and corridor leading to a bedroom, and a working carbon monoxide detector on each floor.

Before licensure the City Building Official conducts an onsite inspection to verify adequate off-street parking. The parking standard itself is in Ordinance 26-V-5, which hasn't been reviewed.

Grounds include failing to meet license qualifications, nonpayment of fees, false or incomplete application information, operating contrary to the license conditions or Chapter, and failing to provide or update contact information or to respond within twenty-four (24) hours to complaints. Three (3) or more citations for violations of any state or local law within a twelve (12) month period may result in license denial, suspension or revocation. A decision may be appealed to the Cedar City Manager. Fine amounts (Section 23-20) haven't been reviewed.

Maximum occupancy of a residential short-term rental is two (2) guests per bedroom plus four (4) guests per home.

The owner certifies that the property has an adequate amount of off-street parking under Cedar City Ordinance 26-V-5 and submits a diagram showing the available 9'x18' stalls. The required number of spaces is in 26-V-5, which hasn't been reviewed.

Section 23-9 does not allow outdoor advertising signs related to the rental dwelling on the site.

Cedar City requires these detectors and strongly recommends adequate ingress and egress for each room and a minimum 2A:10BC fire extinguisher on each floor; the recommendation is not a requirement. The Code acknowledges that Utah restricts the City from requiring alterations of existing residences to meet current building code and safety standards.

A renter may not use a short-term rental for a purpose not incidental to a normal residential use, and tenants may not violate state and municipal law on nuisances, noise or disturbing the peace. The owner certifies that the rental will not involve accessory buildings, mobile structures or yard space for activities outside the dwelling not normally associated with residential use, assumes responsibility for all guests' activities, and will use best efforts to prevent unreasonable noise, disorderly conduct and illegal alcohol or drug use. The Code gives using mass transit to transport renters as an example of an incompatible use.

The owner designates a local property representative whose name, address and telephone number, and the owner's, are kept on file at the City. The representative responds within twenty-four (24) hours to complaints about the condition, operation or conduct of occupants and takes remedial action.

The application must include proof of liability insurance for the residential short-term rental. The coverage amount is not stated in Section 23-9, and Section 23-15 (insurance certificates) hasn't been reviewed.

The City's transient room tax (Chapter 40) hasn't been reviewed, so no City rate is shown here. State rules are below.

Utah Code section 10-8-85.4 defines a short-term rental as a residential unit, or part of one, offered for occupancy for fewer than 30 consecutive days. A city may require the owner or lessee to get a business license or other permit before operating a short-term rental. A city may not prohibit listing or offering a short-term rental on a booking website, and may not fine or prosecute someone solely for listing one; it may use a listing as evidence that a rental took place if it has additional information showing a violation. Cities may not regulate booking websites, but a city that allows short-term rentals in some or all residential or commercial zones may ask a website to remove a listing that violates its business license or zoning requirements, identifying the listing's URL and the reason. A city that charges transient room tax may give listings to the county auditor as evidence that the tax may be owed. The section was last amended in the 2025 First Special Session (effective November 6, 2025).

The Utah State Tax Commission says amounts paid for temporary lodging (a hotel, motel, inn, tourist home or similar accommodation for less than 30 consecutive days) are subject to both sales tax and transient room tax. Stays of 30 consecutive days or longer are exempt from both. Charges such as cleaning fees are taxable for both sales tax and transient room tax. Sales tax is reported on form TC-62M or TC-62S and transient room tax on TC-62T.

The Utah State Tax Commission lists the state sales and use tax rate as 4.85%. Local sales taxes are added on top and vary by city and county; the Tax Commission publishes the combined rate for each location in quarterly rate charts at tax.utah.gov/sales/rates. Lodging is taxed at the rate for the rental's location, not the owner's mailing address.

Transient room tax is charged on stays of less than 30 consecutive days, in addition to sales and other applicable taxes. The Tax Commission says the rate for a location may combine: a 1.07% statewide transient room tax; an extra 0.25% state transient room tax in Salt Lake County; a county-wide transient room tax (up to 4.5% in counties other than Salt Lake County; Salt Lake County imposes 4.25% plus a 0.5% tourism transient room tax); and a city or town transient room tax of up to 1% (with an additional amount allowed for cities that meet certain requirements). Check the Tax Commission's current rate chart for the exact rate at a location.

The Tax Commission says every seller with an established presence in Utah must have a Utah sales tax license, and lists accommodations of less than 30 consecutive days among the businesses that typically must register. You apply online through the Taxpayer Access Point (tap.utah.gov). Sellers whose sales all go through a marketplace facilitator do not need a license for those facilitated sales unless they also make sales outside the marketplace.

Under Utah's marketplace rules, a marketplace facilitator is treated as the seller of what it facilitates and must collect sales tax and all sales-related taxes, including transient room tax. Sellers cannot opt out of having the facilitator collect, and are not liable for taxes the facilitator must collect. A host with a Utah sales tax license still files returns but does not report sales made through a marketplace.