Short-term rentals in Kalispell, explained properly.

Section 27.20.095(4) says the permit review must include proof of a Building Department inspection showing life safety requirements are met (including smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, egress windows from sleeping areas, handrails, hot water temperature, no exposed wiring, and ground faults within six feet of sinks and tubs); proof of a State of Montana public accommodation license for a tourist home, administered by the Flathead City-County Health Department and subject to annual inspections; the owner's affirmation that no covenants, conditions or restrictions of record forbid short-term rental; verification that the property is registered for state bed tax purposes; the name and phone number of the owner or a local contact responsible for issues, available around the clock; and access to the minimum required parking for a residential unit in the zone. The City's application form also asks for a site plan showing the lot, buildings and parking, and says that hosts who advertise only on Airbnb, where Airbnb collects the bed tax under an agreement with the State, need not submit more tax documentation; hosts on any other site need their own Department of Revenue sales and use tax permit.

Section 27.20.095(4)(e) says the contact information is included in the notice sent to property owners within 150 feet under the administrative conditional use permit process, and 27.20.095(6) says updated contact information must be sent to them on renewal. The application form's instructions say the Planning Office assembles the list of owners within 150 feet and mails the notice, which gives 15 days to submit comments, and that if the issues raised cannot be adequately addressed with the applicant, the application goes to a full public hearing at the Kalispell Planning Board and then to the City Council for a decision.

Section 27.20.095(5) bars signage indicating the short-term rental of the property; 27.20.095(2) caps the number of units rented at the allowable density for the zoning district; 27.20.095(4)(f) requires access to the minimum required parking for a residential unit in the zoning district, with no nonconforming status; and 27.20.095(4)(e) requires a responsible local contact available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Noise and similar issues may be enforced through the Police Department (27.20.095(7)).

Section 27.20.095(6) requires an annual renewal before April 1 each calendar year that includes verification of all the information listed in 27.20.095(4). Section 27.33.060(1) says a conditional use permit does not run with the lot, building, structure or use; when a new owner, lessee or other operator intends to continue a conditional use, the new user must submit an administrative renewal application to the zoning administrator, and must reapply for a new permit if material changes in the use are proposed.

Section 27.20.095(7) says violations of the permit terms or the section may subject the owner to enforcement under the Zoning Ordinance. Section 27.33.045 lets the City revoke a conditional use permit that is not in compliance: the City must first send written notice of revocation by certified mail stating the alleged misrepresentations or violations, giving 30 business days to come into compliance and setting a hearing date; the City Council is the hearing body and may revoke, suspend or reconsider the permit if it finds, by a preponderance of the evidence, a material misrepresentation in the application or non-compliance with the application or the permit's conditions. The Council's decision is final unless challenged in Flathead County District Court within 30 days. A revoked permit may be reinstated within one year at the Council's discretion. Fine amounts were not found in the sections read.

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.