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/STAY · LOCAL RULES · SCOTTSDALE, AZ

Scottsdale vacation and short-term rental rules

Every vacation or short-term rental in Scottsdale needs a city license, renewed every year. Arizona law stops the city from banning rentals, so Scottsdale regulates them closely, down to a notice it writes word for word for your front and back doors.

Checked on Nov 11 2026 against the official pages below

The three things to know

PERMIT

A yearly city license, $250, for each home, with an Arizona TPT license first, a 24-hour emergency contact, $500,000 liability insurance (unless the platform covers it) and neighbor notice. Before every stay, check the guest who booked against the national sex offender website.

DOOR NOTICE

The city's NOTICE, in 14-point bold, laminated, on the inside of the front door and the main backyard door (or near each): its list of banned uses, the 6-adult limit, your local contact and 24/7 phone, your license number, where the fire extinguishers are, and the city's trash rules. Plus a floor-plan map with the ways out.

TAX

Arizona transaction privilege tax (TPT): state and Maricopa County lodging 7.27%, plus Scottsdale's 1.70% and 5% hotel taxes. You need a TPT license even if you only book through platforms; platforms collect on their bookings and you deduct them on your return.

Print the door notice

This prints Scottsdale's NOTICE from City Code sec. 18-175(h) word for word, in 14-point bold, with your contact, phone and license number in the code's own blanks. Print two: one for the front door, one for the main backyard door, and laminate them or put them in sheet protectors.

Type what you know. Anything left empty prints as a line to write on, so it works as a blank form too. What you type stays on this phone.

CITY OF SCOTTSDALE

NOTICE

Required by Scottsdale Revised Code sec. 18-175(h).

    Scottsdale Revised Code sec. 18-175(h). Notice made free at headedin.com/stay/rules/scottsdale/

    Prints in 14-point bold on letter paper, likely two pages. Print two sets: one for the inside of the front door, one for the main backyard door. Laminate them or use sheet protectors.

    What the rules say

    Who needs the license
    "no person shall operate a vacation rental or short-term rental in the city without first having obtained a current vacation rental license"Sec. 18-151
    • Stays under 30 days. One license per home, good one year, not transferable. A listing that names a Scottsdale location counts as evidence you're operating. Renting unlicensed: $1,000 minimum.
    • Fee: $250 a year (sec. 18-152); Arizona caps it at $250 (A.R.S. 9-500.39).
    • Apply (city steps): get an Arizona TPT license listing region SC, apply on the city's online portal, notify neighbors and file the attestation, register with the Maricopa County Assessor, then post the notice. The city issues within 7 business days of a complete application.
    • Application (sec. 18-154): owner and emergency contact with a 24-hour phone, TPT license, proof of lawful presence, and an attestation about sex offender status and certain felonies.
    • Insurance: at least $500,000 liability unless the platform gives $500,000 primary coverage (sec. 18-173).
    • Neighbors (sec. 18-191): notice to the homes next door and across the street (or the same floor in a multifamily building) with the license number and emergency contact, again within 15 business days of any change.
    What has to be posted, and where
    "The following notice must be completed in 14-point or larger bold font, on a laminated or otherwise similarly shielded paper, and prominently displayed on the inside of the front door and the primary door to the backyard or a conspicuous location near each such door."Sec. 18-175(h)

    The notice must also say where the fire and life safety equipment is, and give the City of Scottsdale's trash rules.

    Also posted (sec. 18-175(d)): a floor-plan map showing the ways out, the fire detection and suppression equipment, the full address, 911, and the owner and emergency contact. No outside sign is required.

    Guest checks, response time, ads
    • Sex offender check: "No later than twenty-four (24) hours before every stay", check the person booking on the U.S. Department of Justice's national sex offender website; keep a printout 12 months. Waived if the platform runs it (sec. 18-176).
    • Response: the contact "shall respond in-person within one (1) hour" when police or fire ask (sec. 18-172).
    • Ads show the city license number (sec. 18-174), and Arizona wants the TPT number too.
    • Trash out no earlier than 6 p.m. the day before pickup, back in on pickup day (sec. 18-175(b)).
    • No renting to minors; no commercial or event use. Verified violations: up to $500 or a night's rent, then $1,000 or two, then $3,500 or three (sec. 18-177).
    Taxes
    "The OLM is responsible for collecting and remitting the TPT due from the rental income."Arizona Department of Revenue, online lodging marketplaces
    • You still need your own TPT license, even platform-only: hosts "may not offer for rent or rent a lodging accommodation without first obtaining a current TPT license."
    • Rates (state table from Nov 1 2026): transient lodging in Maricopa County 7.27% (state + county); Scottsdale hotel tax 1.70% plus its additional 5% hotel tax.
    • File your return and deduct platform-booked rent; direct bookings you pay yourself.

    House rules go in your listing

    For bookings made from Nov 20 2026, Airbnb wants every house rule in the listing itself; signs in the house can only repeat them. This notice only carries what Scottsdale requires, so it adds no new rules. Put quiet hours, parking and the rest in your listing first.

    Official sources, read Nov 11 2026

    Plain-words summary, not legal advice. Rules and fees change, and the official page always wins. Checked Nov 11 2026.

    Help us get it right

    Host in Scottsdale? If a rule, fee or form here has changed, or we missed something, tell us. We check every note against the official source before we change a page, and we put the new checked date on it.

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