Idaho § 67-6539 - LIMITATIONS ON REGULATION OF SHORT-TERM RENTALS

§ 67-6539. LIMITATIONS ON REGULATION OF SHORT-TERM RENTALS

(1) Neither a county nor a city shall enact or enforce any ordinance that has the express or practical effect of prohibiting any type of short-term rentals in the county or city. A county or city may enact or enforce such reasonable regulations as are necessary to safeguard the public health and safety as long as the reasonable regulations do not impose different restrictions or obligations on short-term rentals than are imposed on single-family dwellings or similar structures not used as short-term rentals, or unless the regulations are permitted by this section. A short-term rental shall be classified as a non-transient residential use for zoning and building code purposes and be subject to all zoning requirements applicable thereto and only to building codes adopted by the Idaho building code board.

(2)(a) For purposes of this section, "different restrictions or obligations" means any requirement or regulation that would not be imposed but for a property’s use as a short-term rental and specifically includes but is not limited to the following:

(i) Requiring owner occupation for any amount of time;

(ii) Requiring professional property management;

(iii) Requiring additional insurance;

(iv) Requiring reporting of use or other statistics;

(v) Requiring additional fire protection or fire sprinklers;

(vi) Requiring additional or improved means of ingress and egress;

(vii) Requiring additional parking;

(viii) Requiring modification to the physical structure of the property;

(ix) Requiring inspections;

(x) Requiring internal or external signage, notices, or diagrams;

(xi) Imposing a limit on the days a property can be rented;

(xii) Requiring notices to neighboring properties;

(xiii) Requiring increased sewer or other utility capacity;

(xiv) Requiring a conditional use permit in a residential zone;

(xv) Limiting proximity to other short-term rentals;

(xvi) Restricting the number of short-term rentals in a county or city; or

(xvii) Requiring the property to be improved to meet current building codes unless the same would be required without regard to the short-term rental use.

(b) The terms defined in section 63-1803 , Idaho Code, shall apply to this section.

(3) A county or city may, by ordinance, require an owner of a short-term rental to implement the following requirements only:

(a) That all sleeping areas in a short-term rental, including when applicable, basements, living rooms, and family rooms, be equipped with functioning smoke alarms;

(b) That the short-term rental be equipped with a functioning fire extinguisher and a functioning carbon monoxide detector on each floor;

(c) That removable escape ladders be available in all sleeping areas with a window that are located above the ground floor;

(d) That maximum occupancy limits for short-term rentals do not exceed those non-transient residential limits as contained in the international building codes as adopted by the Idaho building code board; and

(e) That an easily accessible informational handout be available to tenants describing the location of exits, the location of fire extinguishers, the location of any supplied first aid kits, and a phone number to contact the owner or manager of the short-term rental in the case of an emergency.

(4) No county or city shall enact or enforce any covenant, condition, restriction, or contract that regulates a short-term rental except as allowed in this section.

(5) No county or city shall require a license, fee, permit, certification, or registration to operate a short-term rental.

(6) All short-term rental properties along with their owners and tenants shall be subject to all other county and city ordinances and penalties that apply to other non-short-term rental residential uses, including but not limited to noise, parking, nuisance, curfew, and traffic regulations.

(7) Neither a county nor a city shall regulate the operation of a short-term rental marketplace in accordance with the provisions of chapter 18, title 63 , Idaho Code.

[67-6539, added 2017, ch. 239, sec. 2, p. 592; am. 2018, ch. 79, sec. 1, p. 179; am. 2026, ch. 22, sec. 1, p. 109.]