Short-Term Rentals in Flagstaff, AZ (2026)

7 verified short-term rentals rules for Flagstaff, Arizona, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.

Verified from official government sources

Short-Term Rental Permits

Flagstaff requires every short-term rental to hold a valid STR license before it lists or rents, with a separate license needed for each individual unit. The City issues or denies applications after review, and an owner who keeps renting without a license risks escalating civil penalties on top of losing STR status. Online listings referencing a Flagstaff address are treated as proof the property is operating as an STR.

Flagstaff Short-Term Rental License Required

Some Restrictions

Flagstaff City Code §§ 3-12-001-0003(A), 3-12-001-0004(E)

A. License Required. ... It is unlawful to rent or offer to rent a short-term rental (STR) without having first obtained a valid STR license issued under this chapter. A separate license is required for each STR. ... ... E. Violations. ... In addition to any other penalty imposed under Section 3-12-001-0015 (Penalties for Verified Violations), the City may impose a civil penalty of one thousand...

Full ordinance details →Official source ↗

Noise Rules

Flagstaff treats a noise violation at a short-term rental as a licensing violation, not just a nuisance complaint. City Code § 3-12-001-0007(A)(3) makes any STR use that breaks the City's noise regulations a prohibited use, and the underlying nuisance-noise standard bars audible noise from a residential unit between midnight and 6 a.m. on weeknights and 1 a.m. to 7 a.m. on weekends. A verified noise violation can trigger STR civil penalties and count toward license suspension.

Flagstaff STR Noise Rules

Some Restrictions

Flagstaff City Code §§ 3-12-001-0007(A)(3), 6-08-001-0002(A)-(B)

3. Any other use that violates applicable laws, including but not limited to local zoning, outdoor lighting standards, building and fire codes, current fire restrictions, health and sanitation, and noise regulations. ... ... A. The noise regulations of this Chapter shall apply on Monday through Friday between the hours of twelve o’clock (12:00) A.M. and six o’clock (6:00) A.M. and on Saturday a...

Full ordinance details →Official source ↗

Taxes & Fees

Every short-term rental in the City of Flagstaff must carry a state transaction privilege tax license and pay the city's $250 annual STR license fee. Miss the 30-day licensing deadline and the civil penalty jumps to $1,000, on top of a forced shutdown until the owner is licensed.

Flagstaff STR License Fees and TPT

Some Restrictions

Flagstaff City Code § 3-10-001-0008

Short-term rental license – annual (see Chapter 3-12) ... $250 ... Short-term rental license – failure to apply within 30 days (see Chapter 3-12) ... $1,000

Full ordinance details →Official source ↗

Insurance Requirements

Before listing or renting a short-term rental, a Flagstaff owner must carry liability insurance covering the property for at least $500,000 in the aggregate, or book exclusively through an online platform that already provides equal or greater coverage. City Code § 3-12-001-0011 makes that coverage a precondition to offering the STR for rent at all, not just a licensing paperwork item.

Flagstaff STR $500,000 Insurance Rule

Some Restrictions

Flagstaff City Code § 3-12-001-0011

Prior to offering or renting a short-term rental for rent, owner shall obtain liability insurance appropriate to cover the short-term rental in the aggregate of at least five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000.00) or advertise and offer the short-term rental through an online lodging marketplace that provides equal or greater coverage.

Full ordinance details →Official source ↗

Primary-Residence-Only Rule

Flagstaff does not require every short-term rental host to live on site, but it does when the property holds an accessory dwelling unit built under a newer certificate of occupancy. Under City Code § 3-12-001-0007(B), the owner must occupy the property as a primary residence whenever it contains an ADU that received its certificate of occupancy from the City on or after September 14, 2024, and renting that ADU as an STR without living there is a prohibited use.

Flagstaff STR Owner Residency for ADUs

Some Restrictions

Flagstaff City Code § 3-12-001-0007(B)

B. Effect of Accessory Dwelling Unit. The owner of an STR shall reside on the property as the owner’s primary residence if the property contains an accessory dwelling unit and if a certificate of occupancy was issued for the accessory dwelling unit by the City on or after September 14, 2024.

Full ordinance details →Official source ↗

Repeat Violator Strikes

In the City of Flagstaff, a short-term rental can lose its license for up to twelve months after three verified violations in a twelve-month period under Flagstaff City Code Section 3-12-001-0014. Section 3-12-001-0015 layers on civil fines of $500, $1,000, and $3,500 for the first, second, and third-or-later verified violation.

Flagstaff STR Three-Strikes License Suspension

Significant Restrictions

Flagstaff City Code §§ 3-12-001-0014, 3-12-001-0015

A. License Suspensions. ... The City may suspend an STR license for a period of up to twelve (12) months for any of the following: 1. Three (3) verified violations within a twelve (12) month period, not including any aesthetic, solid waste disposal or vehicle parking violation that is not also a serious threat to public health and safety. ... ... A. Penalties. ... Notwithstanding any other law ...

Full ordinance details →Official source ↗

Host Platform Liability

Flagstaff requires an STR owner or their designee to run a sex-offender background check on every guest within 24 hours of check-in, and lets the marketplace's own screening satisfy that duty. But City Code § 3-12-001-0012(D) makes clear the platform's failure to screen a guest never shifts liability away from the owner, who stays on the hook under the ordinance regardless of what the booking site did or didn't check.

Flagstaff STR Background Check Liability

Some Restrictions

Flagstaff City Code § 3-12-001-0012(A), (C)-(D)

A. No later than twenty-four (24) hours before every stay the owner or owner’s designee shall perform a background check on the person booking a short-term rental through the online national sex offender public website operated by the United States Department of Justice to confirm such person is not identified as a sex offender. ... ... C. The requirements of subsections (A) and (B) of this sec...

Full ordinance details →Official source ↗

Looking for Coconino County county-wide rules?

County ordinances apply to unincorporated areas and may supplement Flagstaff city rules.

Short-Term Rentals in Coconino County →