Is short-term rental legal in Phoenix, AZ?
Arizona law forbids Phoenix from prohibiting short-term rentals. What the city may do — and does — is require registration inside the state's narrow ceiling.
Rules checked October 2026
Run the Phoenix verdict on your facts
| What counts as a short-term rental | Arizona law forbids Phoenix from prohibiting short-term rentals. What the city may do — and does — is require registration inside the state's narrow ceiling. |
|---|---|
| Permit / license | City STR Registration (inside the state preemption ceiling) — issued by City of Phoenix |
| Fee | $250 registration (the state caps local fees at the lesser of cost or $250) |
| Renewal | Registration renews per the city schedule; the state requires the city to act within 7 business days |
| Primary-residence rule | None — the state bars the city from imposing one. |
| Whole-home rental | Whole-home and hosted rentals are both lawful; the city cannot ban either. |
| Night cap | — |
| Guests / occupancy | Set by state law and standard housing codes, not by the city |
| Minimum stay | None the city may impose |
| Zoning | Zoning bans on STRs are preempted — this is the CITY CAN'T BAN class in its purest form. |
| Density / scarcity | No density cap found in the current rules |
| Fines | The city's enforcement is the state's list: nuisance and health/safety fines as for any home, and up to $1,000 per 30 days for a missing emergency contact |
| Taxes | A state TPT license is required (platforms collecting the tax does not replace the license). |
| Platform duties | No platform delisting duty under the preemption statute. |
| State layer | A.R.S. § 9-500.39 / § 11-269.17: a city, town or county may NOT prohibit vacation or short-term rentals. Local power is a narrow list: a registration/license for contact information (fee capped at the lesser of cost or $250, decided in 7 business days), health-and-safety and nuisance rules applied as to any home, and penalties up to $1,000 per 30 days for a missing emergency contact. |
What trips hosts in Phoenix
- Phoenix can register you, tax you and fine you for noise — it cannot tell you not to rent. Know which list a rule comes from before you obey or fight it.
The private layer still applies
These are the city's rules. Your HOA, condo board, lease or mortgage can say no on top of them — that layer is printed as a warning in the checker, never merged into the city's verdict.
Sources: A.R.S. § 9-500.39 · Phoenix City Code STR registration provisions. Rules checked October 2026.