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

Short-term rentals in unincorporated Grays Harbor County are a permitted use only in seven zoning districts, general development one (G-1), general development five (G-5), general residential (R-2), resort residential (R-3), rural residential (RR), Lake Quinault (LQ) and general commercial (C-2), and only with a valid permit issued by the county administrator under § 17.60.020(A)(1). Short-term rentals already approved through a conditional use permit or a planned unit development before March 22, 2022 are grandfathered out of the new permit requirement under § 17.60.020(A)(2). To get a permit, an operator must meet the standards in subsection B, covering everything from smoke and carbon monoxide detectors to occupancy limits, and once issued the permit under § 17.60.020(E) must show the site address, the permit-holder's name, the permit number and occupancy limit, twenty-four-hour contact information for the holder or a local contact who can respond in person within three hours, and the dates the permit is valid.

Within thirty days of issuance the permit-holder must mail that information to every property owner within three hundred feet and file an affidavit of mailing with the county. The permit is non-transferable, runs for one year, and must be reapplied for and renewed at least thirty days before it expires, with the renewal requiring a fresh attestation that the prior year's state taxes were paid. A limited exception lets the permitting requirement itself be modified or eliminated inside a PUD entirely in the R-3 zone under a recorded development agreement with centralized professional management, per § 17.56.190(E)(3).