Short-Term Rentals in Summit County, Utah

Nightly rentals require a county license, and are zone-restricted, not countywide

In unincorporated Summit County -- including the Snyderville Basin area -- a short-term or "nightly" rental (generally meaning a stay of less than 30 days) requires a Summit County Nightly Rental License, and that license can only be issued where the property's zoning district permits nightly rental use in the first place. Nightly rentals are not a countywide-permitted use layered on top of any residential zoning district; the two areas most consistently cited as allowing them are the Canyons Village area of Park City Mountain and the Kimball Junction area (specifically the Redstone and Newpark developments). A property outside a zone where nightly rentals are a permitted use cannot obtain a license regardless of the owner's intent, so confirming zoning-level eligibility has to come before any assumption about rental income potential for a specific parcel.

The license itself carries documented, specific conditions beyond a simple registration fee: an approved nightly rental license application requires a parking plan and guest-limit plan, and a local manager or representative, with the property required to pass a Building Department inspection before licensing approval is granted. That's a meaningfully more involved process than listing a property on a booking platform -- treat license approval as a real gating step in your purchase timeline if nightly-rental income is part of your plan, not a formality to handle after closing.

A 2023 ban on nightly rentals in ADUs and guest houses

In a 4-1 vote on November 8, 2023, the Summit County Council brought county code into compliance with state policy by setting a minimum rental period of 30 days for accessory dwelling units (ADUs) -- effectively banning short-term/nightly rental use of ADUs and guest houses in unincorporated Summit County. If a listing or a seller represents that a property's ADU or guest house can be nightly-rented, that representation should be checked directly against current county code rather than taken at face value, since this is a real, dated policy change, not a longstanding rule a longtime owner might be unaware has shifted.

For a buyer specifically counting on ADU rental income as part of a property's financial case, this means an ADU here can support only longer-term (30-day-plus) rental income under current county rules, not nightly-rental income -- a materially different revenue model than what a booking-platform listing search for the area might suggest is achievable.

Before buying with a nightly-rental plan in mind

1. Confirm with Summit County Community Development ((435) 336-3124) whether the specific parcel's zoning district permits nightly rental use at all -- Canyons Village and the Kimball Junction Redstone/Newpark area are commonly cited examples, not an exhaustive list, and zoning can vary block by block.
2. If nightly rentals are permitted, ask for the current Nightly Rental License application requirements, including the parking plan, guest-limit plan, local-manager requirement, and Building Department inspection standards, before assuming approval is routine.
3. Do not plan on nightly-rental income from an ADU or guest house on unincorporated county land -- confirm the current minimum rental period directly, since the 2023 change set it at 30 days for these unit types.
4. Ask whether the property is inside Park City's municipal boundary rather than unincorporated Summit County -- Park City administers its own, separate short-term rental rules, and this page covers unincorporated county rules only.
5. Check for any HOA or subdivision-level rental restriction recorded against the property, since even a zoning district and county license that both permit nightly rentals do not override a private restriction.