Short-term rental rules · Missoula, Montana
Short-term rentals in Missoula, explained properly.
This page covers the City of Missoula, Montana. The City's zoning code (Title 20, Section 20.40.135) permits tourist homes, meaning short-term rental lodging, within lawfully established dwelling units in zoned and unzoned areas, and requires every tourist home to hold a City registration renewed each year. In an R district the applicant must first notify the owners and residents one parcel deep around the property. The code allows 1 tourist home per parcel in the R215 to R3 districts and 2 units per building in the RT, RM and RMH districts and unzoned lands, and no individual may register more than 2 tourist homes in residential districts. Occupancy is capped at 1 paying guest per 150 square feet, a responsible party must answer calls around the clock, signs are prohibited, and 3 violations within 12 months revoke the registration for a year. Montana's 8% lodging taxes and State public accommodation license also apply (see state law below). We haven't reviewed the rest of Title 20 Zoning (the district use tables and Section 20.45.060) or the City's fee pages yet, so confirm zoning and fees with the City before you buy.
At a glance
What you need to know before you buy or list
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Are short-term rentals allowed? | Yes: tourist homes (short-term rental lodging) are permitted within lawfully established dwelling units in zoned and unzoned areas, with an annual City tourist home registration [1] ClauseConfirming |
| Is a City tourist home registration required? | Yes: registration is required for all tourist homes and must be renewed every year; in an R district the applicant must first notify the owners and residents one parcel deep around the property [1] Clause |
| Is there a limit on the number of tourist homes per parcel or building? | Yes: 1 tourist home unit per parcel in the R215, R80, R40, R20, R8, R5.4 and R3 districts; 2 units per building in the RT2.7, RT10, RT5.4, RM2.7, RM1.5, RM1, RM0.5 and RMH districts and in unzoned lands; no individual may register more than 2 tourist homes in residential districts [1] Clause |
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Detailed rules
The full picture, section by section
Operating rules and enforcement
| Neighbor notification before applying (R zoning) | Required for a tourist home in an R district: notify owners and residents one parcel deep around the property before filing, then give Development Services a written statement of how and when [1] Clause Section 20.40.135.C.1.b requires the notice before the application is filed for tourist homes located in an R district, and refers to figure 20.40-5 for example notification areas. Right-of-way is not counted when measuring one parcel deep. After approval the City mails its own follow-up letter to the adjacent parcels, residents and owners (C.1.c). Notice rules for districts other than R districts are not shown in this section. |
|---|---|
| Maximum occupancy | No more than 1 paying guest per 150 square feet of floor area, and the maximum occupancy must be conspicuously posted [1] Clause Section 20.40.135.H caps the number of paying guests at one guest per 150 square feet of floor area and requires the maximum occupancy to be conspicuously posted. Which floor area is measured is not shown here, so confirm the method with the City. |
| Local responsible party and posted contact | Post the responsible party's name and telephone number and the regulatory agency's contact information in the unit; the responsible party must answer calls 24 hours a day, 7 days a week during every rental [1] Clause Section 20.40.135.I requires the name and telephone number of the local responsible party, along with regulatory agency contact information, to be conspicuously posted within the tourist home unit. The responsible party must answer calls 24 hours a day, seven days a week for the length of each short-term rental period to address problems with the rental. |
| Building code and safety equipment | A tourist home must meet all applicable building codes, which may include egress windows, smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors [1] Clause Section 20.40.135.J says tourist homes shall meet all applicable building codes, which may include requirements for safe sleeping rooms such as egress windows, smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors, and refers readers to the Building Division of Development Services. The building code itself has not been reviewed. |
| Signs | Signs are prohibited at a tourist home [1] Clause Section 20.40.135.K states that signs are prohibited. Whether this reaches online advertising is not shown here, so confirm with the City before you list. |
| Accessory dwelling unit on the same parcel | If a tourist home operates on a parcel with an accessory dwelling unit, all of Section 20.45.060 applies [1] ClauseConfirming Section 20.40.135.F sends tourist homes on a parcel with an accessory dwelling unit to Section 20.45.060 of Title 20. We haven't reviewed Section 20.45.060 yet, so this page doesn't describe what it requires. |
| Revocation of registration and appeal | Three violations of any City ordinance or law at a tourist home within 12 months revoke the registration at that location for 1 year; appeals go to the Board of Adjustment [1] Clause Section 20.40.135.D says that if Development Services determines that three violations of any City ordinance or law occur at a tourist home rental, including other provisions of Title 20 or Title 9, within 12 months, the registration to operate a tourist home rental is revoked at that location for one year. Appeals of revocations are made to the Board of Adjustment. Fines and other penalties are not shown in this section. |
State law that also applies
| Montana lodging taxes on short-term rentals | 8% in total: a 4% lodging facility use tax and a 4% lodging facility sales tax on accommodations, which Montana law defines to include short-term rentals offered for lodging periods of less than 30 days; the Department of Revenue gives the combined rate as 8% [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] Clause 1 Clause 2 Clause 3 Clause 4 Clause 5 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. |
|---|---|
| Do booking platforms collect the state lodging taxes? | Yes: a short-term rental marketplace must register with the Department of Revenue and collect, report and pay both lodging taxes on every stay booked through it; the host still owes the taxes on bookings made outside a marketplace or online hosting platform [2] [7] [6] [5] Clause 1 Clause 2 Clause 3 Clause 4 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. |
| State public accommodation license (tourist home) | Yes, for a private home or condominium that no owner or manager lives in and that is rented in its entirety to transient guests by the day or week: Montana law calls it a "tourist home", one of the establishments that need an annual license from the Department of Public Health and Human Services, validated by the county's local health officer; the license fee is $100 a year for 10 or fewer rooms [8] [9] [10] Clause 1 Clause 2 Clause 3 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. |
| Statewide short-term rental law? | No statewide short-term rental ban, cap or limit on local rules was found in the Montana Code Annotated (2025) read for this page; the state rules that reach short-term rentals are the lodging taxes, platform tax collection and the tourist home license above. Two 2025 bills on short-term rentals (SB 336 and HB 802) died, and a request to draft a 2027 bill to generally revise short-term rental laws (LC0284) is on hold with no text yet [11] [12] [13] Clause 1 Clause 2 Clause 3 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. |
Changes
Recent and pending changes
We read Section 20.40.135 (Tourist Homes) of Title 20 Zoning in the Missoula Municipal Code on Municode, version dated October 1, 2026 (Supplement 16, codified through Ordinance No. 3769, enacted March 24, 2025). We haven't reviewed the rest of Title 20, the City's fee pages, local lodging charges, or City Council agendas yet, so we will watch the Code and the City's short-term rental page for changes.
Sources
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This page is general information compiled from public sources, not legal or tax advice. HOA rules, deed restrictions and zoning for a specific property can be stricter. Confirm with the local permitting office and a qualified professional before buying or listing a property.