Summit County, UT Short-Term Rentals: Permit Requirements (2026)

Summit County's nightly rental framework is codified at Summit County Code Title 3, Chapter 1, Article D (Sections 3-1D-1 through the end of the article), administered by the Summit County Clerk's Office Business Licensing Division.

SECTION 3-1D-2 (LICENSE ISSUANCE): All nightly rentals must obtain a Nightly Rental License before operating. The licensee for nightly rentals must be both the managing agent AND the owner; both are deemed the responsible party and the primary contact for the rental. The license is issued by the County upon completion of a complete application and payment of the required fees, subject to approval from the Planning, Health, Assessor, Sheriff, and Fire departments. Routine processing is approximately one week but may take up to 30 days.

SECTION 3-1D-3 (APPLICATION PROCEDURE): Every new and renewal application must include: (1) the name, address, and a 24-hour phone number of the managing agent/owner where they can be reached at all times; (2) the street address of each nightly rental unit; (3) the owner's name and contact information for each unit; (4) a Utah State Sales Tax Collection Number for each unit (obtained from the Utah State Tax Commission, tax.utah.gov); and (5) all other information requested on the application form. Applications are submitted via the County's CivicReview portal or in person at the Clerk's Office.

SECTION 3-1D-6 (ZONING REQUIREMENT): Licenses are only issued for properties located in zoning districts allowing rentals 'for the period of which the license is applied for.' This means the underlying Snyderville Basin Development Code (SBDC) or Eastern Summit County Development Code (ESCDC) zoning must permit nightly rentals; properties in residential zones that prohibit nightly rentals cannot be licensed. Effective November 2023, Summit County aligned with state policy to prohibit short-term rentals in accessory guest houses (a separate restriction adopted to mirror the state's policy on guest house occupancy).

FEES AND TERM: The Nightly Rental License fee is $350 per year. Licenses are active from issuance through January 15 of the following year, at which point renewal is required. Fees are NOT prorated. A separate Condotel Management License is available for properties operated as part of a managed condominium-hotel program.

RESPONSIBLE AGENT (24/7 CONTACT): A managing agent must be assigned for each nightly rental and must be reachable 24 hours per day, 365 days per year. The managing agent must be capable of responding to any concern or code violation within ONE HOUR. Failure of the managing agent to respond is independently enforceable.

PARKING: Each short-term rental must provide a minimum of one on-site parking space, with a maximum of five outdoor parking spaces for guests. The number of parking spaces must be disclosed in every advertisement. On-street parking must not obstruct traffic, circulation, or public safety. The County does not require proof of adequate on-site parking for properties advertising sleeping capacity for up to 15 individuals; however, exceeding the on-street parking and traffic-flow standards is a separate violation.

ADVERTISING: Every nightly rental advertisement (including listings on Airbnb, Vrbo, Booking.com, and equivalent platforms) must include the County-issued Nightly Rental License (permit) number. Advertisements must also state the maximum occupancy and the number of available parking spaces. Under recent amendments aligning with state law, Summit County may notify a vacation rental platform that a license has been suspended, revoked, or issued a notice of violation, and the platform may remove the listing. However, per Utah Code 17-50-338, a listing on a short-term rental website may NOT be used as the sole basis for finding an ordinance violation.

BOOKING LIMIT: Following the regulatory package adopted by the County Council, a booking-frequency cap is imposed in lieu of nightly caps. The Council ultimately adopted a booking limit of 35 separate bookings (in lieu of an earlier proposal capping nights at 135 per year). The booking-limit framework is applied through the license conditions and is intended to mitigate noise, trash, and parking concerns from neighbors.

NIGHTLY RENTAL CONCERNS HOTLINE: Summit County operates a 24/7 Nightly Rental Concerns Hotline at 435-615-3924, staffed by trained operators who forward complaints to enforcement officials or the listed managing agent. Noise complaints, potential law-enforcement matters, and emergencies are still routed through Summit County Emergency Dispatch at 911. Repeated complaints feed into license-suspension and revocation actions.

INSIDE PARK CITY (separate City regime; included for STR-market context): The City of Park City administers its own Nightly Rental License through the Finance/Accounting Department under Park City Municipal Code Sections 4-2-1 and 4-5-3 (Business License) and the Land Management Code (LMC), Title 15. Park City applications go to nightly_rental@parkcity.org; an activity number is issued; the property must pass an inspection scheduled with the Park City Building Department at 435-615-5105; the passed Nightly Rental Inspection Report is returned to nightly_rental@parkcity.org; and the City issues the license after fee payment to PCMC-Finance Department, 445 Marsac Avenue, Box 1480, Park City, UT 84060. Park City processing is typically 15-30 days. Park City zoning is far stricter than the County: only zones expressly permitting nightly rentals in the LMC may be licensed (Old Town in the Historic Residential HR-1, HR-2, and RC zones; certain commercial and resort/Conditional Use zones). The HRL (Historic Residential-Low Density) district treats nightly rental as a Conditional Use on the west side of the valley while prohibiting it east of Ontario Avenue and in the McHenry Avenue sub-neighborhood. Residential zones such as Prospector and most Park Meadows R-1 areas DO NOT permit nightly rental at all. The City publishes an interactive short-term rental zoning map for verification.

UTAH STATE TAX REQUIREMENTS: Stays of fewer than 30 consecutive days are subject to Utah Sales and Use Tax (4.85% state rate) plus the Transient Room Tax administered by the Utah State Tax Commission (rates vary by jurisdiction; combined Park City/Summit County total approaches 12-13% inclusive of city/county add-ons). Operators must obtain a Sales Tax License from tax.utah.gov or 801-297-2200 and file electronically. Marketplace facilitators (Airbnb, Vrbo) collect and remit state-level taxes on behalf of hosts under Utah Code Title 59, but local license requirements remain the host's responsibility.

UTAH STATE LAW PREEMPTION: Utah Code Section 17-50-338 ('Ordinances regarding short-term rentals -- Prohibition on ordinances restricting speech on short-term rental websites') and the parallel Section 10-8-85.4 for municipalities prohibit a county or city from enacting or enforcing an ordinance that uses a listing or advertisement on a short-term rental website as the SOLE evidence of a violation. The 2023 Short Term Rental Amendments (HB 291) clarified that counties and cities may, however, require disclosure of the owner's sales-tax license number and the local rental-license number in any short-term rental listing. There is NO statewide STR registration; licensing remains a local matter. Earlier statewide preemption proposals (commonly referred to in advocacy as the HB 232 family of bills) have not become law in a form that strips counties of zoning or licensing authority - Summit County and Park City retain full authority to require licenses, condition them on inspections, and prohibit STRs in zones where they are not a permitted use.