Tempe, AZ Short-Term Rentals: Host Presence Rule (2026)
Key Facts
- Trigger date
- ADU final approval on/after 9/14/2024
- Grandfathered date
- ADU approval on/before 9/13/2024
- Requirement
- Owner must reside on property
- Adopting ordinance
- Ord. No. O2024.52, 11-21-24
- Administering officer
- Financial Services Director
Summary
Tempe requires the owner of a short-term rental to actually live on the property if it contains an accessory dwelling unit whose certificate of occupancy or completion was issued on or after September 14, 2024, closing a workaround where owners rented out both the main house and a detached ADU as separate short-term listings.
(k)Residency. Owners of a short-term rental or vacation rental shall reside on the property if the property contains an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) and if a certificate of occupancy, certificate of completion or similar final approval for the additional dwelling unit was issued by the City on or after September 14, 2024. This paragraph does not apply to an owner of a vacation rental or short-term rental if the property contains an accessory dwelling unit and the certificate of completion, the certificate of occupancy or a similar final approval for the accessory dwelling unit was issued on or before September 13, 2024.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: City Code: Supplement 33 Update 4 | Zoning and Development Code: Supplement 11 Update 2).
Full Breakdown
City Code Section 16A-213(k) imposes a residency requirement tied to accessory dwelling units. If a property offered as a short-term or vacation rental contains an ADU, and the certificate of occupancy, certificate of completion, or similar final approval for that ADU was issued by the City on or after September 14, 2024, the owner must reside on the property. The provision does not apply retroactively: it carves out any property whose ADU received its certificate of completion, certificate of occupancy, or similar final approval on or before September 13, 2024, so owners who built or converted an ADU before that date are not forced to move in.
The rule was added to Article X, Short-Term Rentals and Vacation Rentals, by Ordinance No. 52, adopted November 21, 2024, and the article was further amended by Ordinance No. 01 on January 8, 2026. The residency requirement sits alongside the article's other licensing conditions, an emergency point of contact reachable within 30 minutes for a public-safety dispatch and 24 hours for other complaints, a $500,000 liability insurance minimum, and mandatory neighbor notification, all administered by the Financial Services Director as Licensing Officer.
Violations & Fines
Section 16A-213(f) treats any information required for a license application, which includes the facts establishing whether the residency requirement applies, as material, and a knowing failure to maintain accurate information is a civil offense. A property found operating an ADU short-term rental in violation of the post-September 2024 residency rule can also have its license denied or suspended under Sections 16A-213(d) and 16A-220, with suspension appealable to the Licensing Officer under Section 16A-222.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do all Tempe short-term rental owners have to live on-site?
My ADU was approved in 2023. Do I still have to live there to rent it short-term?
When did Tempe add the ADU residency rule for short-term rentals?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Tempe
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