Vacation Rentals & Short-Term Rentals
All properties offered for rent less than 30 days require a Scottsdale license
Scottsdale Ordinance 4566 requires rental property owners/operators to obtain a Scottsdale license for each property and comply with several safety, health and neighborhood notification requirements.
Learn more and apply for a license.
Scottsdale's Short Term Resource Center map shows the license status of short-term/vacation rentals in Scottsdale.
Property Owner Requirements & Resources
City
Short-term/vacation rental owners must obtain and maintain an annual city license for each Scottsdale property. The annual license fee is $250 per property; funds received will go 100 percent to cover costs associated with licensing vacation and short-term rentals. This license is in addition to the county and state requirements outlined in the sections below.
Scottsdale's licensing portal will open Nov. 28, 2022, and owners of existing short-term/vacation rental properties must obtain licenses by Jan. 8, 2023. New short-term/vacation rental properties must also comply with ordinance requirements and be licensed before being offered for rent in Scottsdale.
Note: The city's license described here applies only to rentals of less than 30 days. Owners that rent for 30 days or longer do not need to obtain a City of Scottsdale license through this process.
- Read Scottsdale City Code Article IX: Vacation Rentals and Short-term Rentals
- Download printable version of the Short-Term/Vacation Rental Licensing Process Guide
Step 1: Obtain a Transaction Privilege Sales Tax (TPT) license from the Arizona Department of Revenue (ADOR)
A valid TPT license is required for each rental property in Scottsdale; your TPT number will be needed to apply for the City of Scottsdale rental license in Step 2.
Step 2: Apply for a Scottsdale license (required for each property)
- Instruction on how to Register a New Account Guide
- Instruction on how to Apply for a Short Term Rental License
- Apply for a Scottsdale short-term/vacation rental license
- Download STR-Vacation Rental Owner Designee Certification
Step 3: Notify neighbors and provide proof of insurance
Within 30 days of receiving your Scottsdale license (or any time the contact information for a property changes), you must notify all single-family residential properties adjacent to, directly and diagonally across the street from the property, or in a multi-family residential building, all units on the same building floor.
The Neighbor Notification letter must include the short-term rental license number, the physical address of the short-term rental, and the name, address, and twenty-four (24) hour telephone number of the emergency point of contact for the rental.
Scottsdale's ordinance requires that every short-term/vacation rental property be insured with liability coverage of at least $500,000 (either directly or through an online lodging marketplace).
Once neighbor notification has occurred:
Step 4: Complete Maricopa County requirements
Each property must be registered with Maricopa County as required by ARS 33-1902 - it is illegal to rent a property before it is registered with the Maricopa County Assessor.
Step 5: Generate and Display the Required Short Term Rental Notice
Generate the Required Short Term Rental Notice and display it as defined in Sec. 18-175. (h).
Sec. 18-175. (h): The following notice must be completed in 14-point or larger bold font, on a laminated or otherwise similarly shielded paper, and prominently displayed on the inside of
the front door and the primary door to the backyard or a conspicuous location
near each such door. The notice shall include information regarding the location of any fire or life safety equipment such as fire extinguishers, and the City of Scottsdale nuisance waste disposal
regulations.
Maintenance:
Once your property is licensed and neighbor notification has occurred, make sure contact information is maintained.
County
All rental units, including vacation and short-term rentals, shall file with Maricopa County, prior to being occupied, the information required by ARS
33-1902
.
It is illegal to rent a property before it is registered with the Maricopa County Assessor.
State
All Vacation Rentals and Short-term rentals have a Transaction Privilege Sales Tax (TPT) and a Transient Tax liability. A Transaction Privilege Sales Tax license with the State of Arizona Department of Revenue is required. Be sure to list Scottsdale (SC) as a region code on your license.
Download Good Neighbor Guides
Nuisance Parties & Unlawful Gatherings
Under Scottsdale's Nuisance Parties and Unlawful Gatherings ordinance, property owners are accountable for repeated unruly gatherings or parties. This ordinance applies to all private residences whether they are long- or short-term rentals, or owner occupied.
Resources for Neighborhoods
Short-term Rental Hotline
Scottsdale's short-term rental hotline allows residents to report issues with rental properties and provides assistance for property owners and managers.
Report an unlicensed or unregistered property
If you are aware of a short-term rental property that is not licensed with the city or registered with the county, submit that information to Code Enforcement so that the city can work with the property owner or agent to ensure the property is properly licensed and registered.
Short-Term Rental Working Group
In 2021, the city formed a short-term rental working group to explore issues and identify potential solutions to problems with vacation and short-term rentals in Scottsdale. On July 1, 2021, the City Council adopted nine recommendations from the working group.
Learn more and see current status updates on those recommendations in the
Short-Term Rental Quarterly Report.
What are Vacation Rental & Short-Term Rental Properties?
Vacation rentals or Short-term rentals are dwelling units for a rental term of less than 30 days to transient guests. They are considered the same as traditional dwelling units and are allowed by-right in all residential districts, subject to the following:
- All Dwelling units and any accessory guest houses must be rented or offered for rent together and may not be rented or offered for rent independently.
- All Dwelling units, including Vacation Rentals and Short-term rentals shall have a maximum family size of 6 adults (and their related dependent children).
- Non-residential uses, including retail, restaurant, banquet space, event center, or other similar use is prohibited.
Short-Term Rentals in Your Neighborhood
Join representatives from Tax & License, Code Enforcement and the Scottsdale Police Department for a discussion of the steps to follow if you have a concern with a short-term rental in your community. Learn about Scottsdale's new ordinance and how it's being enforced.
Recorded January 2023
FAQ
Vacation rental or short-term rental means any individually or collectively owned single-family or one-to-four-family house or dwelling unit or any unit or group of units in a condominium, cooperative or timeshare, that is also a transient public lodging establishment or owner-occupied residential home offered for transient use (offered for rent for less than thirty days.) These types of rentals can be found in both single family and multi-family housing throughout Scottsdale.
Vacation rental and short-term rental do not include a unit that is used for any nonresidential use, including retail, restaurant, banquet space, event center or another similar use.
In 2017, Arizona State Legislature enacted A.R.S. §9-500.39 which eliminates the ability for local cities and towns including Scottsdale to regulate these types of rentals based solely on their classification or use. Consequently, these rentals are allowed, by state law, in Scottsdale. However, A.R.S. §9-500.39 does not preclude the ability for Homeowner Associations to regulate or restrict these types of uses.
Except in neighborhoods where Homeowner Associations restrict or regulate these types of rentals, vacation or short-term rentals are allowed by-right in all residential neighborhoods in Scottsdale, subject to the following:
- All dwelling units and any accessory guest houses must be rented or offered for rent together and may not be rented or offered for rent independently of one another.
- All dwelling units, including Vacation Rentals and Short-term rentals, shall have a maximum family size of 6 adults (and their related dependent children).
- Non-residential uses, including retail, restaurant, banquet space, event center, or other similar uses are prohibited.
- All rental units, including vacation and short term rentals, must be registered with Maricopa County, in accordance with ARS 33-1902.
- The owner of a vacation rental must provide to the City of Scottsdale the name and contact information of a person designated as an emergency contact, as well as contact information for owner or owners designed for responding to complaints.
Yes. All vacation and short-term rentals in Scottsdale are required to pay both Transaction Privilege Sales Tax and a Transient Tax (commonly referred to as a bed tax) – both of which are collected by the State of Arizona. In order to engage in, or continue a property rental business, a Transaction Privilege (Sales) Tax license with the State of Arizona Department of Revenue is required. It is the property owner's responsibility to make an application and obtain a license with the Arizona Department of Revenue. For more information on this requirement, Keyword “Taxes” on ScottsdaleAZ.gov or call 480-312-2400.
The City of Scottsdale imposes a 1.75% Transaction Privilege "sales" tax. Privilege tax revenues are used to finance the cost of various City services including but not limited to police, fire, parks, libraries, and streets.
Half of the revenue derived from the five percent Transient Tax imposed on properties used as a vacation or short-term rental is used for destination marketing to promote tourism in Scottsdale, and the remaining half is divided among tourism-related event support, research, capital projects, and other eligible uses as determined by city ordinance and state law.
Arizona state law requires that an owner of any type of residential rental property register with the Maricopa County Assessor's Office. The city maintains this information at Keyword “Rental” on ScottsdaleAZ.gov Please recognize that this rental property registry is for all types of rentals and does not distinguish between long term and short term or vacation rentals.
Please submit to Code Enforcement at ScottsdaleAZ.gov/EZ so that the city can work with the property owner or agent to ensure the contact information is collected per City Code requirements.
Scottsdale has developed this helpful guide for owners and managers of short-term and vacation rental properties in Scottsdale to help them understand the city's regulations and manage their property in a way that is least disruptive to neighborhoods:
Good Neighbor Guide for Short-term/Vacation Rental Property Owners and Managers (PDF)
In addition, the city has created a good neighbor guide for people staying at short-term/vacation rental properties in Scottsdale, and requests that owners/operators provide this guide at rental properties:
Good Neighbor Guide for Scottsdale Visitors (PDF)
The City's ability to regulate vacation or short-term rentals is limited to protecting the public health and safety in accordance with Arizona law as well as to ensure that property owners register their rentals and the appropriate tax is collected for this type of commerce.
Neighborhoods may be able to regulate short-term rentals through voluntary private agreements made between neighbors. These agreements, commonly referred to as private deed restrictions, are regulations that the City is not a party to nor can it enforce them or provide advice on how to implement them.