Short-term rentals in Salt Lake City, explained properly.

City Code 5.13.010 defines a short-term rental as a building or part of a building constructed as a dwelling where lodging is offered for a fee for a period of less than 30 days. The zoning code (21A.62.040) uses the same 30-day line.

The City's ADU rules (21A.40.200) say an accessory dwelling unit shall not be rented as a short-term rental, and the ADU approval process includes a statement that the ADU and the principal structure cannot be used for short-term rental.

If the dwelling is subject to a rental agreement or to the rules of a homeowners' association, condominium association or similar body, the license application must include written documentation that the owner, landlord or association consents to short-term rental use. The City's licensing page asks for an HOA authorization letter for condominium units.

No license is issued or renewed if the property, its owner or the licensee has an unresolved or active nuisance citation under City Code chapter 11.18, if the property is subject to the dangerous buildings chapter (18.48), or if there are outstanding citations for unresolved building (Title 18) or zoning (Title 21A) violations. An application must be complete and the fee paid before a license is issued.

A short-term rental license cannot be transferred between people or properties. Any change in ownership or control of the unit requires a new license application, and attempting to transfer a license is a violation. A license also does not legalize an unlawful dwelling, use or structure, or create a legal nonconforming use.

Applications go to the City's Business Licensing division and must include the address and description of the dwelling; proof of ownership or legal authority to operate the rental there; names and contact details for the applicant, property owner and local contact person; a certification that the dwelling meets building, fire and safety codes on a City checklist; a local contact affidavit; any required landlord or association consent; and the licensee's signature agreeing to follow the rules and allow inspections. The City's licensing page also asks for a government-issued photo ID and an emergency contact.

The license fee is set in the City's Consolidated Fee Schedule and is paid every year when the license is renewed. The FY2027 schedule (amended June 16, 2026) lists a $342 per-unit fee for short-term rentals and a separate base fee for short-term rental property; the schedule says all businesses pay a base license fee, which is $198 for commercial and residential rental businesses from September 2026 ($193 before). The schedule's short-term rental row does not state the base fee amount, so confirm the total with Business Licensing (801-535-6644).

Every license needs a local contact person who lives or has an office in Salt Lake County, can be reached 24 hours a day (including by text message), is designated for service of process, is authorized to fix problems, and will respond within two hours of being contacted by the City. If the local contact resigns, the license is suspended until a new one is named.

The City license number must appear in a conspicuous place in every advertisement, listing or other promotion of the rental, including on booking platforms.

Using a City form, the licensee must post the license number and a text-capable phone number and email address for the local contact person inside the rental and in a conspicuous place on or near the front door.

Each short-term rental must provide at least one off-street parking stall for the exclusive use of its occupants, meeting the City's zoning and design standards, including the parking location rules in chapter 21A.44.

Maximum occupancy follows fire and building code requirements; the City code sets no separate guest number for short-term rentals. The property must be kept to the City's published self-certification standards, and the licensee must follow all noise, waste and nuisance rules.

Operating, advertising or allowing a short-term rental without a license carries civil penalties of $1,000 that accrue every seven calendar days. Other violations of the chapter are subject to the City's general business licensing penalties (chapter 5.88), and enforcement actions may be appealed under chapter 2.75.

The City may suspend or revoke a license for repeated violations. Three verified noise, nuisance, parking or other operating-standard violations within 12 months allow the City to suspend the license for the rest of the license period. If a license is suspended for three consecutive license periods (or parts of them), the City may revoke it, and the dwelling and licensee are then ineligible for a new license for at least three years. A suspended or revoked rental may not be operated, advertised or offered; each day of operation is a separate violation.

City Code requires licensees to collect and remit all applicable transient room taxes. The Utah State Tax Commission says Salt Lake County imposes a 4.75% county-wide transient room tax (4.25% transient room tax plus a 0.5% tourism transient room tax), and that the State adds 1.07% statewide plus an extra 0.25% in Salt Lake County (see the state rules below). These are charged in addition to sales tax. Any Salt Lake City transient room tax and the local sales tax rate are shown in the Tax Commission's current rate chart; no combined total is given here.

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.