Chelan County, WA Short-Term Rentals: Short-Term Rental Permits (2026)

290(4)(A)(i) bars any owner or operator from advertising, offering, operating, renting, or otherwise making a dwelling available as a short-term rental in the unincorporated county on or after September 27, 2021, without a valid administrative land use permit from the director or a conditional use permit approved by the hearing examiner. All dwelling units on a single parcel must be reviewed together in one application, with the specific unit to be rented clearly identified. Subsection (4)(A)(ii) further requires the property have no unresolved code, land use, or building permit violations under Titles 3, 11, 15, or 16 before an application can be accepted; nonconforming rentals claiming legal status had to resolve violations and register by December 31, 2022.

Permits run on a calendar-year term under subsection (4)(E) and must be renewed annually by the deadlines in subsection (4)(B): applications are timely September 1 through October 31, late (double fee) November 1-30, and very late (triple fee) December 1-31, with no renewals accepted after December 31. 24 and are due at application and nonrefundable under subsection (4)(D)(v). 10 and are annually renewable, non-transferable permits. The director evaluates applications against the approval criteria in subsection (4)(J), and appeals of denials or renewal conditions go through Title 14.