STRWATCH.AI / AZ / Phoenix

Is a short-term rental legal in Phoenix, AZ?

REGULATED

Phoenix allows hosted and unhosted residential short-term rentals, subject to Arizona's state preemption, but each dwelling unit must have a current city permit before it is offered or occupied as a short-term rental.

See permits and requirements

Sources checked6 open items listed below

A.R.S. §9-500.39(A)-(B) prevents a city from prohibiting vacation rentals or regulating them by classification, use, or occupancy except as the statute permits. Phoenix defines a short-term rental as an eligible residential dwelling offered for a term of less than 30 days. No general owner-occupancy requirement was found. Under Phoenix City Code §10-197(A)(11), however, an applicant for a property containing an ADU whose certificate of occupancy was issued on or after September 14, 2024 must attest that the owner will reside on the same property. Nonresidential uses, including special events requiring a permit and retail, restaurant, banquet, or similar uses, are prohibited. No enacted numeric guest cap was found in the current city code or current A.R.S. §9-500.39.

Permits and requirements

Short-Term Rental Permit $250 initial application and annual renewal; nonrefundable
City of Phoenix Planning and Development Department
Renewal: Annual; file renewal at least 15 working days before expiration
A separate current, unrevoked, unsuspended permit is required for each dwelling unit. Apply through SHAPE PHX. Under §§10-196 and 10-197, the permit expires one year after issuance, and the Director must approve or deny a complete application or renewal within seven days under the city text; A.R.S. §9-500.39(C) says seven business days. Required information includes owner/designee and 24-hour emergency-contact details, TPT-license proof, insurance evidence, county-assessor registration, lawful-presence proof for an individual applicant, a compliance agreement, and a written description or map of required safety equipment. The permit number must appear in every advertisement, and a permit copy must be visible within ten feet of the primary interior entrance. The adopted 2023 revision uses seven business days and bars new or renewal applications during suspension; the current section's different deadline wording requires reconciliation. Include notarized agreement/notice attestations and designee authorization when applicable. The August 2026 form's ADU checkbox refers only to an application for the ADU, whereas the amended rule covers STR applications on a property containing the qualifying ADU; confirm the correct attestation for a main-home application.
official source
Liability insurance Cost not verified
City of Phoenix Planning and Development Department
Renewal: Maintain while operating; qualifying platform coverage may substitute
Application evidence must show aggregate liability coverage of at least $500,000, or that each rental transaction will be through a platform providing equal or greater primary liability coverage.
official source
Notice to neighboring properties and associations Cost not verified
City of Phoenix Planning and Development Department
Renewal: Before first offering; repeat after ownership or emergency-contact changes; association notice is also part of renewal guidance
Before first offering, send certified-mail notice to adjacent single-family properties in all cardinal directions and directly/diagonally across the street; for a unit in a multifamily building, notify all residential units on the same floor. Also notify registered HOAs and neighborhood associations whose operating boundaries fall within or intersect a 600-foot radius. Submit the notification attestation, mailing receipts, notice copy and attester contact information before offering. Repeat after ownership or emergency-contact changes; check for newly registered associations at renewal.
official source
Arizona Transaction Privilege Tax license $12 state license per location + $50 Phoenix TPT license fee; annual renewal $50 for Phoenix, no state renewal fee
Arizona Department of Revenue
Renewal: Annual January 1 renewal for January–December validity; renewal payment delinquent after the last business day of January.
Phoenix requires proof of a valid TPT license with the permit application. ADOR requires the TPT license number on advertising and requires returns even when an online lodging marketplace remits the tax. File even with no rentals or only marketplace bookings: report marketplace receipts and claim deduction code 775 rather than omitting the return. Obtain and retain the marketplace's signed Form 5018 confirming collection/remittance. Direct receipts remain the owner's responsibility. Follow the DOR filing calendar, which distinguishes nominal due dates from paper-receipt and electronic timely-filing/payment deadlines. Renewal fees are assessed per jurisdiction, not per location. Late renewal may add 50% of the city renewal fee. License ownership is not transferable; ownership changes require a new license. The 2025 removal of long-term residential-rental TPT did not remove short-term-lodging licensing or taxes.
official source
Maricopa County Assessor rental registration $0 registration fee; county eliminated its $10 charge effective May 1, 2020
Maricopa County Assessor
Renewal: Update required information within ten days of a change.
Permit applicants must show that the rental is registered with the Maricopa County Assessor under A.R.S. §33-1902. Section 33-1902 requires owner/entity contact details, the street address and parcel number, and construction year. An out-of-state owner must designate an Arizona-resident statutory agent for service. Registration is required before occupancy; the county's May 2020 announcement eliminated the registration fee, and the current form does not request payment. Use the parcel's Register Rental option or the current registration form; update the registry when information changes.
official source
Owner/designee attestation and guest screening Cost not verified
Phoenix Planning and Development / code enforcement
Renewal: Owner/designee attestation before offering; guest screening for each rental, subject to the state marketplace waiver.
The adopted September 19, 2023 revision of G-7156, section 10-200, requires a notarized attestation concerning owner/designee sex-offender registration and specified serious felony convictions during the preceding five years. Section 10-204(D) requires registered-sex-offender checks on each guest and retention of compliance evidence for the preceding 12 months, available to code enforcement. A.R.S. 9-500.39(E) requires waiver if the online lodging marketplace screens the booking guest; confirm the marketplace actually does so. No 24-hour pre-check-in deadline appears in the recovered text. Current online sections 10-200/204 remain inaccessible; later changes to these provisions have not been fully excluded.
official source
Safety equipment and displayed emergency information Cost not verified
Phoenix Neighborhood Services Department
Renewal: Maintain while operating; any inspection schedule remains unverified.
Current section 10-205 requires working smoke and carbon-monoxide detection/notification under NFPA 72 and a portable fire extinguisher in the kitchen and each area with an open-fire source, including a stove, fireplace or grill. Display owner, designee and emergency-contact names, phone numbers and emails conspicuously and unobstructed within ten feet of the primary entrance. The Director may adopt a regular-inspection policy; this provision does not establish an actual inspection interval or fee. The August 2026 application also requires compliance with applicable pool-barrier and building codes; detailed parcel-specific standards remain unverified.
official source

The full picture

Phoenix allows hosted and unhosted residential short-term rentals, subject to Arizona's state preemption, but each dwelling unit must have a current city permit before it is offered or occupied as a short-term rental. The permit costs a nonrefundable $250, expires after one year, and renewal must be filed at least 15 working days before expiration. Applications require a TPT license, Maricopa County rental registration, at least $500,000 aggregate liability coverage or qualifying platform coverage, a 24-hour emergency contact, safety-equipment map, neighbor and association notice, and other attestations. A special owner-occupancy rule applies when the property has an ADU whose certificate of occupancy was issued on or after September 14, 2024. September 2026 Phoenix lodging TPT totals 13.07% for direct bookings and 11.52% for online-lodging-marketplace bookings; the marketplace collects and remits tax on transactions it facilitates. Court-adjudicated violations can trigger escalating penalties or a permit suspension; city guidance and state law use conflicting minimum/maximum language for fines.

Taxes on guests & hosts

TaxRateApplies toPlatform collectsOfficial source
TPT — direct short-term lodging bookings 13.07% combined: 7.27% state/Maricopa County transient lodging (025), 2.80% Phoenix hotels (044), and 3.00% Phoenix hotel/motel additional tax (144) Phoenix lodging stays under 30 days booked directly with the operator; September 2026 standard rates. Taxable gross income includes nonrefundable cleaning, cancellation and other rental-related charges; refundable amounts become reportable when no longer refundable. Verify whether a special taxing district applies to the address. No source
TPT — online lodging marketplace bookings 11.52% combined: 5.72% state/Maricopa County online lodging marketplace (325), 2.80% Phoenix hotels (044), and 3.00% Phoenix hotel/motel additional tax (144) Phoenix lodging stays under 30 days booked through an online lodging marketplace; September 2026 standard rates. Taxable gross income includes nonrefundable cleaning, cancellation and other rental-related charges; refundable amounts become reportable when no longer refundable. Verify whether a special taxing district applies to the address. Yes source

Enforcement

PenaltiesCurrent section 10-206(B) combines 'up to' $500/$1,000/$3,500 with 'whichever is greater' advertised one-/two-/three-night rent and a mandatory-minimum clause. The adopted September 19, 2023 revision specifies the greater dollar-or-night amount; A.R.S. 9-500.39(F) instead authorizes maximum penalties up to that amount. Confirm the operative assessment rather than treating the webpage's minimums as an unlimited fine. The sequence applies to verified violations within twelve months; state law counts violations from one incident response as one and requires final adjudication. Section 10-206(C)-(D) sets $1,000/month for unpermitted rental, with mandatory dismissal of that complaint if a permit is obtained within 30 days after the complaint's notice; state subsection G separately requires 30-day written notice before its nonapplication penalty. The current section has no STR-specific misdemeanor provision; the earlier draft's criminal clause was removed. State subsection D permits up to twelve-month administrative suspensions for three qualifying violations or specified serious owner/designee conduct, excluding aesthetic, waste and parking violations unless also a serious health/safety threat. Its separate felony/death/serious-injury provision calls for judicial relief, while the recovered 2023 city text lists that event among administrative grounds; this procedural difference remains unresolved. Section 10-201 requires advertisements to warn of up to $2,000 police-response costs for owner/renter/guest and authorizes up to $2,500 per violation per day for online lodging operators listing without the required current permit/number.
Platform liabilityPhoenix City Code §10-201 requires online lodging operators to require a current, unsuspended Phoenix permit and permit number for listed properties, and requires an online advertising platform to verify permit compliance before advertising. ADOR states that an online lodging marketplace is responsible for collecting and remitting TPT on rental income from transactions it facilitates.
NotesThe Neighborhood Services Department investigates unpermitted rentals, verifies violations, and issues notices through code compliance. Under §10-198, the emergency contact must be on premises or available by phone or text within 30 minutes when requested by police, fire, or code enforcement; after one verified violation in 12 months or a suspension in 36 months, the contact must respond in person within 30 minutes. Under section 10-203, a denial or suspension appeal is due within 21 days of the decision or 28 days of filing the new/renewal application, whichever is longer. The hearing is scheduled within 30 days of appeal and the decision within 30 days after hearing. Filing an appeal does not stay the suspension. The recovered 2023 section 10-202 says suspension becomes effective ten days after decision unless appealed, while section 10-203 says an appeal does not stay suspension. Obtain confirmation of the effective date; do not assume filing authorizes continued operation.

What we could not verify (6)

  • The adopted 2023 revised ordinance establishes notarized owner/designee attestations (10-200), each-guest sex-offender screening with 12-month evidence (10-204(D)), and suspension provisions (10-202). Those current online sections remain inaccessible; later amendments have not been fully excluded. State law requires the marketplace-screening waiver. Confirm current implementation and evidence requirements.
  • No official source located in this audit comprehensively states whether HOA declarations, condominium documents, or leases may impose stricter private restrictions; operators must check property-specific private restrictions.
  • HB 2429 proposed material changes to Arizona STR occupancy and enforcement rules for January 1, 2027, but this audit did not locate a definitive 2026 chaptered/signed disposition. Confirm bill status before adding a pending change.
  • Current 10-206 mixes 'up to' figures, 'whichever is greater' and mandatory-minimum language; the adopted revised text and state maximum language differ. Reconcile operative fine amounts and the city administrative versus state judicial felony-suspension procedure. The 10-202 appeal exception also differs from 10-203's no-stay provision.
  • Application-decision deadline remains unresolved: the adopted 2023 revision and state law say seven business days, while the previously read current section was reported as seven days. numeric occupancy limits, permit transferability, detailed building/pool/inspection rules, parking/noise rules and special taxing-district applicability remain incompletely verified; null fields are not exemptions.
  • The August 2026 affidavit's ADU checkbox is narrower than the amended property-containing-ADU owner-residence rule. Confirm main-home application documentation; no comprehensive current litigation or post-codification ordinance search was completed.

Sources

A markdown mirror of this page lives at /phoenix-az.md for AI tools and researchers.

STRWatch publishes educational information about short-term rental regulation, checked against the official sources linked above as of the date shown. It is not legal advice, and rules change — a city can move between the times we check it. For decisions with money at stake, confirm with the authority linked above or a local attorney.