Scottsdale allows short-term rentals in residential districts, subject to Arizona state preemption, but requires a separate $250 annual city license for each property before operation.
A.R.S. §9-500.39 prevents a general city ban or classification-based restriction. Scottsdale describes covered rentals as residential dwellings offered for less than 30 days and allows them by right in residential districts. The limit is six adults plus their related dependent children living as a single housekeeping unit under §3.100; a total-person cap was not established, so max_guests is null. City STR guidance requires dwelling units and guest houses on a property to be offered together; the ADU program distinguishes ADUs from guest houses and allows separate ADU rental, subject to STR eligibility. Restricted-Affordable Detached ADUs cannot be offered as STRs. Enacted §7.203(A)(4) requires an owner's same-property primary residence for an ADU issued a certificate of occupancy on or after September 14, 2024. The current ADU FAQ states owner residence without the cutoff; follow the enacted provision and confirm a property's approval history. There is no uniform primary-residence requirement across all categories. A.R.S. §9-500.39(B)(9) authorizes such local requirements when the property contains an ADU with final approval issued on or after September 14, 2024; that state authorization is distinct from the local enacted certificate-of-occupancy provision. Ordinance 4687 limits cumulative occupancy of the main dwelling plus ADUs to six adults. Private deed restrictions may be stricter and are not enforced by the city. ADUs and accessory guest houses are different code classifications; a guest house is not a dwelling unit or an ADU. Licensing eligibility and building/fire approvals remain conditional. Rental and tax thresholds must be assessed separately: current ADOR guidance and enacted Appendix C §100 use less than 30 consecutive days, while the ADOR city profile includes an older not-more-than-30-day definition. Follow the enacted text; a universal exemption scalar is not asserted because tax classification and exemptions need their own assessment. ADU approval also requires applicable development, building and fire compliance, the main dwelling's certificate of occupancy first, preservation or replacement of its required parking, independent access/egress and a visible unique address; exemptions for utility requirements depend on the provider. Middle-housing developments have a separate approval path under Ordinance 4690 and Resolution 13507: duplex, triplex or fourplex configurations, no ADU or guest house on the same lot, one parking space per dwelling unit, independent egress and unique visible unit addresses. Approved middle-housing zoning and building/fire compliance must be checked for the parcel; these provisions do not establish a blanket right to rent units separately.
Permits and requirements
Scottsdale Vacation Rental License$250 nonrefundable per property, initial and annual renewal
City of Scottsdale Tax and Business Licensing
Renewal: Annual; separate license for each property
A current city license is required before operation, is valid one year from issuance, and cannot transfer to another owner or location. A complete application is issued or denied within seven business days. Apply or renew through the Citizen Portal using owner/agent, property, valid TPT-license, and a real-person emergency contact's information. Owner/designee attestations address sex-offender status and specified felony convictions; individual applicants provide lawful-presence proof unless statutorily exempt. Display the city license number on every advertisement, separately from the state TPT-number duty. Failure to apply within 30 days after written notice carries $1,000 per subsequent 30-day period. Material application-information changes must be reported in writing within ten business days (§18-160). The code's denial provisions include current revocation/suspension and unpaid penalties, while A.R.S. §9-500.39(C) specifies narrower permissible state grounds; confirm application of any conflicting ground rather than assuming local language overrides state limits.
Arizona Transaction Privilege Tax license$12 state fee plus $50 Scottsdale initial city fee per business location; $50 annual Scottsdale renewal per jurisdiction
Arizona Department of Revenue
Renewal: Calendar-year license; renew annually
A valid TPT license is required for each rental property and its number must appear in advertising. The current JT-1 application worksheet multiplies both the $12 state fee and $50 Scottsdale initial fee by locations. ADOR separately calculates city renewal fees by jurisdiction, not location; Scottsdale renewal is $50 and there is no state renewal fee. Renew January 1 for the calendar year; delinquent after the last business day in January. File returns even without rental receipts; report marketplace receipts and deduct qualifying remitted amounts using code 775. Filing frequency is assigned by combined tax liability (annual below $2,000; quarterly $2,000–$8,000; monthly above $8,000), with seasonal filing for eligible operations. Multiple-location renewals must be electronic; prior-year liability of at least $500 also requires electronic returns. Failure to renew does not cancel the license; ADOR can renew and bill applicable fees plus a 50% city-fee penalty. Cancellation or location removal must be explicit.
Maricopa County residential rental registrationNo fee
Maricopa County Assessor
Renewal: Keep rental-property information current
Each property must be registered under A.R.S. §33-1902 before rental. Maricopa County eliminated its former $10 registration fee effective May 1, 2020. Out-of-state owners must designate an Arizona-resident statutory agent for service of process; keep ownership and agent information current.
Renewal: Maintain continuously; submit proof after licensure and when requested
Maintain liability insurance appropriate to STR use with at least $500,000 aggregate coverage, or offer every transaction through an online lodging marketplace providing equal or greater primary coverage. Provide proof within 30 days of licensure and whenever requested.
Neighbor notification and attestationCost not verified
City of Scottsdale
Renewal: Notify again when property contact information changes
Under §18-191, notify adjacent and directly/diagonally across single-family properties, or all same-floor residents in a multifamily building, before offering for rent for the first time; then attest with license number, notified addresses, method, and attester details. Notify neighbors of changed contact information within 15 business days. The code's 30-day post-license grace is limited to rentals lawfully operating before January 8, 2023; current city web guidance states a broader 30-day deadline, a conflict retained for clarification. The written notice includes license number, property address and emergency contact's name, address and 24-hour telephone number; electronic delivery, mail or hand delivery are permitted. 'Adjacent' also covers separation only by a street or alley.
Renewal: Update city within 10 business days; notify neighbors within 15 business days
Ordinance 4720 replaces §18-172: provide an emergency contact reachable 24/7 by telephone or email before offering for rent and throughout the license period, for complaints and emergencies. At public-safety personnel's request following a call for service, the contact must respond in person within one hour. Unreachability and failure to respond in person carry minimum $500 fines; late arrival carries a minimum $250 fine. Culpable owner-caused failure also carries a minimum $500 fine. Failure to provide emergency-contact information can additionally incur up to $1,000 each 30 days after the city's initial 30-day notice. An emergency here includes any police, fire or other public-safety call for service, including a nuisance party; the new reachability rule does not replace the telephone-number requirements in the application, neighbor notice and posted notice.
Booking-guest sex-offender screeningCost not verified
City of Scottsdale
Renewal: Each booking, no later than 24 hours before the stay
Screen the booking person through the U.S. DOJ national public registry and retain the printout for 12 months after booking. City inspection is allowed during normal business hours. The requirement is waived if the online lodging marketplace performs the check. Violations carry a nonsuspendable mandatory minimum $1,000 fine. Knowingly or intentionally booking for a sex offender when the booking person will not stay is also prohibited and subject to a nonsuspendable minimum $1,000 fine.
Health, safety, and posted operating noticeCost not verified
City of Scottsdale
Renewal: Continuous
Section 18-175 requires compliant trash handling, annually maintained working smoke alarms, a displayed egress/safety-equipment map, cleaning between stays, at least bi-monthly pest control where infestation threatens health or safety, pool/spa/hot-tub barriers, and prescribed 14-point-bold laminated notices at the front and primary backyard doors. Juveniles may not rent, and owners may not knowingly, intentionally, or recklessly rent to juveniles. Collection containers cannot be set out before 6 p.m. the preceding day and must be removed on collection day under §18-175(b). The egress map also includes full address, 911 and owner/emergency contact. Prescribed notices include license number, 24/7 telephone contact and the adult/dependent-child occupancy rule; emergency reachability by email alone does not remove these telephone-display duties.
Scottsdale allows short-term rentals in residential districts, subject to Arizona state preemption, but requires a separate $250 annual city license for each property before operation. Owners also need an Arizona TPT license and Maricopa County rental registration, at least $500,000 liability coverage or qualifying marketplace coverage, neighbor notice, a 24-hour emergency contact, guest screening, and detailed health and safety measures. City STR guidance requires dwelling units and accessory guest houses on a property to be rented together, while the separate ADU program allows an ADU to be rented separately subject to its STR restrictions; the city's family-size rule permits six adults plus their related dependent children. Enacted §7.203 requires the owner's primary residence on the same property for ADUs with certificates of occupancy issued on or after September 14, 2024; the ADU FAQ states the residency rule more broadly. Restricted-Affordable Detached ADUs cannot be offered as STRs. Nonresidential and commercial-event use is prohibited. Scottsdale's city lodging taxes are 1.70% under Hotels code 044 plus 5.00% under Hotel/Motel Additional code 144, in addition to applicable state and Maricopa County lodging TPT; qualifying online lodging marketplaces must collect and remit applicable tax, but each platform's actual collection was not independently confirmed.
Taxes on guests & hosts
Short-term rental taxes in Scottsdale, AZ
Tax
Rate
Applies to
Platform collects
Official source
Arizona and Maricopa County transient-lodging TPT
7.27% for direct bookings under code 025; 5.72% marketplace component under code 325
Scottsdale lodging furnished for less than 30 consecutive days. ADOR includes nonrefundable booking-related charges such as housekeeping, cancellation fees and deposits when they cease to be refundable; preserve documentation of deducted marketplace receipts.
Gross income from lodging furnished to a transient within Scottsdale. Enacted Appendix C §100 uses less than 30 consecutive days; the ADOR city-profile page still describes an older not-more-than-30-day definition. Follow the enacted text and confirm eligibility and documentation for any claimed exemption.
PenaltiesSection 18-177 authorizes up to $500 or one night's advertised rent, whichever is greater, for the first verified violation; $1,000 or two nights' rent, whichever is greater, for the second; and $3,500 or three nights' rent, whichever is greater, for third and later violations in 12 months. Multiple verified violations from one incident response count as one. Unlicensed operation carries a nonsuspendable minimum $1,000 per violation; failure to apply after the initial 30-day written notice adds $1,000 per 30 days. Screening and juvenile-rental violations carry mandatory minimum $1,000 fines. Insurance, advertising, and neighbor-notice violations carry minimum $500 fines, with specified reductions after compliance. Ordinance 4720 adds minimum $500 contact-unreachability and culpable owner-caused failure fines, retains minimum $500 no-response and $250 late-arrival fines, and allows up to $1,000 each 30 days for missing contact information after initial 30-day notice. Three qualifying verified violations in 12 months, excluding nonserious aesthetic, trash, and parking violations, or one specified serious violation are grounds for suspension proceedings; a final one-year suspension may be reduced to six months upon substantial corrective steps. Specified serious felony acts may support judicial suspension up to 12 months. Denied or revoked licenses generally cannot be reapplied for at the same property for one year, subject to a good-faith exception.
Platform liabilityA registered online lodging marketplace is required to file and pay applicable state, county, and city TPT on lodging transactions it facilitates. The operator must still maintain a TPT license, report marketplace receipts, claim deduction code 775, and retain Form 5018 documenting that the marketplace remitted or will remit the applicable tax. Direct bookings remain the operator's responsibility. Marketplace-provided insurance and marketplace-performed booking-guest screening may satisfy the corresponding requirements where statutory conditions are met.
NotesScottsdale maintains a public STR Resource Center and complaint channel. Signed Ordinance 4719, adopted June 23, 2026, defines prohibited event-center use to cover organized gatherings having a commercial purpose, event-type impacts, or activity requiring a city permit/license, excluding ordinary residential gatherings incidental to lawful dwelling occupancy. It became operative July 23, 2026 under Charter Article 7 §5's 30-day rule; the signed ordinance has no emergency or special effective-date provision. Signed Ordinance 4720, adopted August 24, 2026, similarly became operative September 23, 2026 and replaces the emergency-contact section. Section 18-161 routes license denial/refusal, revocation, suspension and §18-177 verified penalties to Chapter 16 Article I, but excludes court-imposed fines and §18-159 judicial actions. Section 16-6.1 requires a written appeal with reasons/evidence within ten days of the denial/revocation notice; requested additional information is due within ten days, hearing within 30 days of appeal/additional information and at least ten days' hearing notice. Section 16-7 places the burden on the City by a preponderance, permits counsel and evidence, and ordinarily requires a written ruling within ten working days. Superior Court challenge is stated as within 20 days after the hearing officer's ruling. Revocation-hearing notice is 10–15 working days; immediate health/safety revocation is an exception. Confirm how the imported general language applies to suspension/verified-penalty notices and any controlling court/state procedure. Verified penalties are due 30 days after initial notice unless timely appealed (§18-177(c)). A verified violation requires a finally adjudicated finding of guilt/civil responsibility, not a complaint alone; state law requires a reasonable attempt to notify the owner/designee of citations within seven business days where contact was supplied.
What we could not verify (7)
The Scottsdale general-information page was updated July 31, 2026 but still says the city Hotels rate is 1.75%; ADOR's current Scottsdale profile and the city's July 2025 tax brochure establish 1.70% effective July 1, 2025. Treat the city FAQ figure as stale and preserve the conflict for city correction.
City owner/operator guidance says neighbor notice may occur within 30 days of licensing, but enacted §18-191 requires notice before first offering and reserves its 30-day grace for rentals lawfully operating before January 8, 2023. Seek city clarification; draft follows the enacted provision.
Enacted §7.203(A)(4) was recovered: ADU certificate of occupancy on or after September 14, 2024 triggers same-property owner primary residence. The ADU FAQ omits that cutoff. Separate ADU rental guidance and the general requirement to rent dwelling units/guest houses together still need classification-specific written confirmation; ADUs and guest houses are distinct code categories.
Post-Supplement-80 Ordinances 4719, 4720, 4687 and 4709 and the middle-housing enactment 4690 were read. Resolution 13507's 89-page public record was recovered; relevant definitions, accessory structures, middle-housing qualifications/standards and parking amendments were reviewed, not every district table or site-design detail. Ordinance 4690's operative clause calls the case 5-TA-2025, while its other references and Resolution 13507 use 5-TA-2024; confirm the apparent title error and parcel-specific approvals rather than assuming uniform eligibility.
The ADOR city-profile page uses an older not-more-than-30-day transient definition. Enacted Appendix C §100 and current ADOR short-lodging guidance use less than 30 consecutive days. The draft follows the enacted definition, but the public profile conflict and transaction-specific exemption documentation still need clarification.
Chapter 16's appeal text primarily addresses denial and revocation, while §18-161 also incorporates it for suspension and verified penalties. Confirm the notice-specific appeal route and any controlling state or judicial deadline.
Current property-specific building/fire/parking approvals, tax-exemption documentation and a comprehensive litigation review were not established; no absence of requirements or lawsuits is asserted.
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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.