Under RCW 64.37, Airbnb, Vrbo, and other booking platforms operating in King County must require operators to attest to insurance, registration, and tax compliance, and must remove listings that fail to meet state and local requirements.
Washington's 2019 short-term rental law assigns shared compliance duties to platforms. Booking platforms must confirm each operator carries at least $1 million liability coverage or that platform-provided coverage applies, must collect and remit state and local lodging taxes (Airbnb has done so countywide since 2015), and must remove listings flagged as noncompliant by King County or city regulators. Seattle additionally requires platforms to verify a current Seattle STR operator license number on every listing. Platform liability is strict liability for tax remittance but compliance-based for license verification, meaning good-faith reliance on operator attestation is generally a defense.
Platforms that fail to remit lodging taxes face state Department of Revenue assessment plus penalties. Failure to delist unlicensed Seattle STRs can lead to municipal fines under SMC 6.600 against the platform.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
Seattle, WA
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Seattle, WA
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Seattle, WA
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Seattle, WA
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Seattle, WA
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Seattle, WA
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See how Seattle's host platform liability rules stack up against other locations.
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