Idaho Falls, ID Short-Term Rentals: Host Presence Rule (2026)

Idaho Falls has no rule requiring the host, owner, or a local manager to stay on site or remain in town during a short-term rental. The city's Short-Term Rentals FAQ describes an STR as renting out "their property or a part of their property such as a bedroom," which embraces both hosted room rentals where the owner is present and unhosted whole-home rentals where the owner is away. Nothing in the FAQ conditions operation on a host being on the premises, nor does it require a 24-hour local contact or designated responsible party within a set distance, which are common features of stricter STR ordinances elsewhere but are absent here. The principal operational constraint the city does impose is that "A short term rental cannot involve more than one guest party at a time," a limit on simultaneous bookings, not on host presence. Because Idaho Code 67-6539 classifies an STR as a residential land use and prohibits ordinances that have the practical effect of prohibiting STRs, an on-site-host requirement that effectively barred unhosted whole-home rentals would be vulnerable under state law. Idaho's strengthened preemption (House Bill 583, 2026) reinforces that cities may apply only generally applicable residential rules and not STR-only operational mandates. The owner does remain responsible for the property's continued compliance with city property-maintenance, parking, and nuisance rules even when not physically present, so many hosts voluntarily arrange a local contact, but the city does not require one.