# Short-term rental rules in Sedona, AZ

- Status: **REGULATED**
- Last checked: 2026-09-11 (claims cite official sources; items we could not verify are listed below)
- Canonical page: https://strwatch.ai/sedona-az/

## Summary

Short-term rentals are legal in Sedona under Arizona's statewide limits on local regulation. Sedona requires a nontransferable annual permit for each rental unit; an official May 2026 page capture lists $210, but the current fee schedule remains unverified. Before offering a rental, an owner needs an Arizona transaction privilege tax license, county rental-property registration, at least $500,000 liability coverage or equivalent marketplace coverage, a 24/7 emergency contact, and certified-mail or hand-delivered neighbor notice. City permit and state TPT numbers must appear in advertising, permit-requiring special events and other nonresidential uses are prohibited, and Sedona requires a detailed onsite notice and booking-guest sex-offender screening. The City has implemented an owner-residency condition for certain ADUs. Sedona spans Coconino and Yavapai Counties, so the combined lodging tax depends on the property's county and whether a marketplace facilitates the booking.

## At a glance

- Unhosted whole-home rental: Conditional
- Hosted rental (host present): Conditional
- Primary residence required: Not verified
- Guest cap: none verified
- Rules apply to stays under: 30 days

Notes: Arizona law protects both individually owned one-to-four-family dwellings and owner-occupied homes offered for transient use. Sedona permits qualifying whole homes, individual rooms and casitas subject to its permit. The statutory definition includes qualifying one-to-four-family dwellings and condominium/cooperative units, subject to property-tax classification. Other accommodation types need separate classification review. STRs may not host special events requiring a separate permit or be advertised for special events, including weddings. Retail, restaurant, banquet and other nonresidential uses are prohibited. No general occupancy cap was found. Under SCC 5.25.050(G), an ADU issued a certificate of occupancy on or after September 14, 2024 may be an STR only if the owner's primary residence is the primary structure on the same property. Pre-date compliant guest quarters are legal nonconforming uses, but converted-kitchenette or modified without required permits guest quarters are treated as ADUs and subject to that residency condition. There is no single citywide residency answer: the ADU rule applies to specified properties. Zoning, habitable-structure, sanitation, noise, waste, traffic and nuisance rules still apply; the City may require an inspection when it has reason to suspect code noncompliance. The STR definition covers stays under 30 consecutive days; longer stays are not exempt from all other rental laws.

## Requirements

### City of Sedona Short-Term Rental Permit (permit)

- Authority: City of Sedona
- Cost: $210 per unit in the May 2026 official-page archive; current fee not verified
- Renewal: Annual from issuance; renewal runs from the previous expiration date, including late renewals
- Official source: https://sedona.municipal.codes/SCC/5.25.030
- Notes: Nonrefundable and nontransferable. The application includes address; owner/entity, statutory-agent, designee and emergency-contact details; proof of TPT license; and compliance acknowledgments. Sections 5.25.030(F) and .040(C) require prior written notice of changes while also specifying notice within 10 days of the effective change; confirm timing with the City. Any ownership interest change in an owning entity and a property sale require a new permit, and advertisements must be removed at sale. The $210 fee is supported by a May 2026 City-page capture and a November 2025 City fee packet; the current consolidated fee schedule itself was not recovered. Arizona law caps the fee at actual issuance cost or $250 and requires issuance or denial within seven business days after a complete application. Renewal applications must include any violation notice or disciplinary action received; late fees follow the current fee schedule, which remains unverified. State and City denial grounds are not worded identically, including the felony lookback and violation-based denial grounds; their interaction needs legal review.

### Arizona Transaction Privilege Tax license (license)

- Authority: Arizona Department of Revenue
- Cost: $14 initial for one location/name ($12 state + $2 Sedona); no state or Sedona renewal fee
- Renewal: Annual calendar-year license; renew for January 1, with municipal renewal fees delinquent after January's last business day where applicable
- Official source: https://www.azleg.gov/ars/42/05005.htm
- Notes: Required before offering lodging. The operator must display the TPT number on every advertisement. Each business location or name generally requires a license. Current ADOR fee pages list a $12 state license fee and $2 initial Sedona municipal fee, with no state or Sedona renewal fee. File returns even for a period with no rentals. Report direct bookings under state/county code 025 and city codes 044/144. Report marketplace receipts too, using deduction 775 for qualifying OLM receipts and retaining the signed Form 5018 supplied by the marketplace; direct bookings are not covered by that deduction. Rental-related charges, including housekeeping, cancellations and deposits, enter taxable income when nonrefundable unless exempt. An owner remains ultimately liable when a property manager files on the owner's behalf.

### Liability insurance (insurance)

- Authority: City of Sedona
- Cost: not verified
- Renewal: Continuous
- Official source: https://sedona.municipal.codes/SCC/5.25.090
- Notes: At least $500,000 aggregate coverage per rental unit or coverage supplied by the online lodging marketplace. Proof must be supplied to the City within 10 calendar days after a City request.

### Neighbor notification (other)

- Authority: City of Sedona
- Cost: not verified
- Renewal: Before first offer/rental; updated within five calendar days after a covered change
- Official source: https://sedona.municipal.codes/SCC/5.25.060
- Notes: Notify adjacent single-family properties and those directly and diagonally across the street by certified mail, return receipt requested, or hand delivery. Notice includes permit number, rental address and the emergency contact's name, physical address, email and 24-hour phone number; submit an attestation identifying each property and delivery method before offering the rental.

### Emergency contact (registration)

- Authority: City of Sedona
- Cost: not verified
- Renewal: Maintain a 24/7 contact; prior written change notice and a 10-day change-reporting provision both appear in the code
- Official source: https://sedona.municipal.codes/SCC/5.25.040
- Notes: When requested by police, the contact must affirmatively respond in person, by telephone, or by email within 60 minutes and assist with resolution. Other STR complaints require response by one of those methods within 24 hours. The owner remains responsible for a contact's failure. State law also allows public-safety personnel to require an in-person response; do not treat a phone response as sufficient when attendance is required.

### Guest sex-offender screening (other)

- Authority: City of Sedona
- Cost: not verified
- Renewal: Each booking
- Official source: https://sedona.municipal.codes/SCC/5.25.100
- Notes: Screen the booking guest at least 24 hours before check-in, keep the full check for at least 12 months after the booking date, and provide it to the City on request. Marketplace screening may satisfy the duty if the owner has evidence; marketplace failure does not relieve the owner. A.R.S. §9-500.39(E) requires waiver of a guest-check requirement when a marketplace performs the booking guest's check; confirm how the City administers its evidence requirement and the statutory waiver.

### Advertising and onsite notices (other)

- Authority: City of Sedona and Arizona Department of Revenue
- Cost: not verified
- Official source: https://sedona.municipal.codes/SCC/5.25.080
- Notes: Every advertisement must display the state TPT number and City STR permit number. SCC 5.25.070 requires only the permit-number City disclosure; it does not require special-event warning language in the advertisement. The prescribed onsite notice must use bold type of at least 14 points, be laminated or similarly protected, and be conspicuously displayed within 10 feet of the primary entrance with fire/life-safety equipment locations, noise and waste rules, prohibited uses, emergency contact and permit number.

### County residential rental-property registration (registration)

- Authority: Coconino or Yavapai County Assessor
- Cost: Up to $10 for initial registration and each information change
- Renewal: Update within 10 days after required information changes
- Official source: https://www.azleg.gov/ars/33/01902.htm
- Notes: The owner must maintain owner/entity, property-address, parcel-number and building-year information with the assessor for the county where the property lies. An out-of-state owner must designate an Arizona-resident statutory agent. The statute permits, but does not require, the assessor to charge up to $10; the actual county charge was not independently established.

## Taxes

- **Arizona and county TPT on transient lodging**: Operator rate: 6.90% in Coconino County or 6.325% in Yavapai County; online-marketplace rate: 6.60% in Coconino County or 6.325% in Yavapai County — applies to Gross lodging income for transient stays; county and operator-versus-marketplace classification determine the rate; platform collects: not verified. Source: https://azdor.gov/sites/default/files/document/TPT_RATETABLE_09012026.pdf
- **Sedona hotel TPT**: 3.50% — applies to Transient lodging within Sedona; platform collects: not verified. Source: https://azdor.gov/model-city-tax-code/city-profile/sedona
- **Sedona additional hotel tax**: 3.50% — applies to Transient lodging within Sedona; stacks with the 3.50% hotel TPT; platform collects: not verified. Source: https://azdor.gov/model-city-tax-code/city-profile/sedona

## Enforcement

- Penalties: Any Chapter 5.25 violation is a misdemeanor and civil offense, with a minimum $500 penalty. For verified violations at the same property in 12 months, the City may impose up to the greater of $500 or one advertised night for the first, $1,000 or two nights for the second, and $3,500 or three nights for the third and later; multiple violations from one incident response count as one for this schedule. After notice, failure to apply for a permit within 30 days may draw up to $1,000 per month, and failure to provide emergency-contact information may draw up to $1,000 per 30 days after the City's initial 30-day notice. Civil penalties are due within 30 days. Advertising lodging without a current TPT license separately carries $250 for a first offense and $1,000 thereafter.
- Platform liability: An online lodging marketplace must register with ADOR and pay state, county and municipal taxes due on transactions it facilitates. Marketplace screening may satisfy Sedona's booking-guest check if the owner has evidence, but marketplace failure does not relieve the owner. An online lodging marketplace may be fined up to $2,500 for each day it fails to remove an advertisement after the owner requests removal.
- Notes: False permit information causes suspension until corrected and verified. The specialist must suspend up to 12 months for three finally adjudicated verified violations in 12 months (excluding specified non-serious aesthetic, waste and parking matters) or one enumerated serious violation. Suspension notice describes the grounds and gives 15 days to request a hearing. Denial or revocation ordinarily bars reapplication for one year, reducible for a good-faith incomplete application once compliance, fees and penalties are resolved. Denial/suspension appeals are due within 15 days of the decision letter and do not stay suspension; the hearing is scheduled within 30 days and a written decision follows within 30 days after close. A final suspension is one year, reducible to six months for reasonable prevention efforts. Separately, a court may suspend STR use up to 12 months for an attempted or completed felony arising from occupancy/use that causes death or actual or attempted serious injury. Section 5.25.110 says up to 12 months, while .130 specifies a one-year final suspension reducible to six months; the interaction, including false-information suspensions, is not resolved here. The appeal procedure excludes court-imposed fines and judicial-relief proceedings.

## Unresolved research items

- 2026 LEGISLATION: HB 2429 reported 'likely dead' on 2026-04-07 (Arizona Capitol Times) and the session's final bill signings have occurred per Arizona Mirror; the fate of SB 1076 (Finchem) and SB 1105 (Kavanagh), both of which would also have amended § 9-500.39, was not individually verified. Confirm neither was enacted in the 2026 session.
- No current litigation challenging Sedona Chapter 5.25 was found in the reviewed official sources.
- No general occupancy cap was found; max_guests remains null.
- PERMIT FEE: $210/year verified on the city's official responsibilities page as archived 2026-02-12 and 2026-05-04 (was $200 through at least 2025-10-29). Search-engine snippets of the current live page also say $210, but the live page could not be fetched directly; confirm $210 is still current as of 2026-07-17 and find the effective date of the increase (likely the FY2026 Consolidated City Fee Schedule, which is bot-walled).
- RENT LOCAL: Program details verified from the official city page as archived 2025-04-26; its current funding/status as of 2026-07-17 is unverified (the city site's housing section now references a '2026 Balanced Housing Strategy').
- The current status of Sedona's Rent Local incentives is not a pending STR-law change and was removed; program availability remains unverified.
- The most recent accessible City capture states a $210 permit fee; confirm it remains current and identify its effective date.
- The actual registration fee, if any, charged by the Coconino or Yavapai County Assessor under A.R.S. § 33-1902 was not established.
- No official source reviewed addressed private HOA covenants or lease restrictions; hosts must independently check private restrictions.
- Actual collection of each Sedona/state/county lodging tax by each platform has not been established; statutory marketplace duties do not verify a particular booking or platform.
- Confirm City/state differences in denial grounds, felony lookback, in-person emergency response, screening waiver, change-notice timing and suspension duration before relying on a procedural entitlement.
- Parcel-specific zoning, building/fire requirements, inspection details and any city enactments after the code's July 21, 2026 currency date remain unverified.
- Tax exemptions, account-specific filing frequency and due dates, county assessor fees and parcel-specific tax treatment require confirmation beyond the documented baseline.

## Sources

- A.R.S. § 9-500.39 (official, accessed 2026-09-08): https://www.azleg.gov/ars/9/00500-39.htm
- A.R.S. § 42-5005 (official, accessed 2026-09-08): https://www.azleg.gov/ars/42/05005.htm
- A.R.S. § 42-5042 (official, accessed 2026-09-08): https://www.azleg.gov/ars/42/05042.htm
- ADOR Sedona city profile (official, accessed 2026-07-17): https://azdor.gov/model-city-tax-code/city-profile/sedona
- ADOR July 1, 2026 TPT rate table (official, accessed 2026-07-17): https://azdor.gov/sites/default/files/document/TPT_RATETABLE_07012026.pdf
- ADOR September 1, 2026 TPT rate table (official, accessed 2026-09-11): https://azdor.gov/sites/default/files/document/TPT_RATETABLE_09012026.pdf
- ADOR short-term lodging guidance (official, accessed 2026-09-11): https://azdor.gov/business/transaction-privilege-tax/short-term-lodging
- Archived City STR owner responsibilities, May 4, 2026 (official, accessed 2026-09-08): https://web.archive.org/web/20260504200850/https://www.sedonaaz.gov/your-government/departments-and-programs/community-development/short-term-rentals/property-owner-responsibilities
- Archived Sedona Code Chapter 5.25 (official, accessed 2026-07-17): https://web.archive.org/web/20241207095809/https://sedona.municipal.codes/SCC/5.25
- Archived Sedona Code § 5.25.110 (official, accessed 2026-07-17): https://web.archive.org/web/20251031220731/https://sedona.municipal.codes/SCC/5.25.110
- Current Sedona City Code Chapter 5.25 (official, accessed 2026-09-11): https://sedona.municipal.codes/SCC/5.25
- A.R.S. § 33-1902 (official, accessed 2026-09-11): https://www.azleg.gov/ars/33/01902.htm
- ADOR license fees and changes (official, accessed 2026-09-10): https://azdor.gov/transaction-privilege-tax/tpt-license/license-fees-cancellation-and-other-changes
- ADOR TPT license renewal (official, accessed 2026-09-10): https://azdor.gov/transaction-privilege-tax/tpt-license/renewing-tpt-license
- Sedona City Council November 25, 2025 complete agenda packet (official, accessed 2026-09-10): https://swagit-attachments.granicus.com/uploads/video/agenda_file/362100/20251125_Complete_Packet.pdf
- Sedona City Code 5.25.030 (official, accessed 2026-09-11): https://sedona.municipal.codes/SCC/5.25.030
- Sedona City Code 5.25.040 (official, accessed 2026-09-11): https://sedona.municipal.codes/SCC/5.25.040
- Sedona City Code 5.25.050 (official, accessed 2026-09-11): https://sedona.municipal.codes/SCC/5.25.050
- Sedona City Code 5.25.060 (official, accessed 2026-09-11): https://sedona.municipal.codes/SCC/5.25.060
- Sedona City Code 5.25.070 (official, accessed 2026-09-11): https://sedona.municipal.codes/SCC/5.25.070
- Sedona City Code 5.25.080 (official, accessed 2026-09-11): https://sedona.municipal.codes/SCC/5.25.080
- Sedona City Code 5.25.090 (official, accessed 2026-09-11): https://sedona.municipal.codes/SCC/5.25.090
- Sedona City Code 5.25.100 (official, accessed 2026-09-11): https://sedona.municipal.codes/SCC/5.25.100
- Sedona City Code 5.25.110 (official, accessed 2026-09-11): https://sedona.municipal.codes/SCC/5.25.110
- Sedona City Code 5.25.120 (official, accessed 2026-09-11): https://sedona.municipal.codes/SCC/5.25.120
- Sedona City Code 5.25.130 (official, accessed 2026-09-11): https://sedona.municipal.codes/SCC/5.25.130
- Sedona City Code 5.25.140 (official, accessed 2026-09-11): https://sedona.municipal.codes/SCC/5.25.140
- Sedona City Code §5.25.020 — definitions (official, accessed 2026-09-11): https://sedona.municipal.codes/SCC/5.25.020

---
Educational information, not legal advice. Published by STRWatch (Laniakea Technologies LLC).