Short-Term Rentals in Wasatch County, Utah

The three-part test: CC&Rs, zoning, and (often) a Development Agreement

Under Wasatch County Code, a property can be used as a short-term rental only if two things are both true: first, short-term rentals have to be specifically allowed under any CC&Rs that apply to the property, and second, the property has to sit either in a zone where short-term rentals are a permitted or conditional use, or in a development where a lawfully-approved Development Agreement specifically authorizes short-term rental use. That second half matters a lot in a county built around large, negotiated resort-adjacent developments: a lot of Jordanelle-corridor parcels get their short-term-rental rights (or restrictions) from a project-specific Development Agreement rather than from the county's general zoning map, so the zoning district by itself doesn't answer the question.

Practically, this means a buyer can't infer short-term-rental eligibility from a property's zoning designation alone, and can't infer it from a neighboring or comparable property either, since CC&Rs and Development Agreements are recorded, negotiated documents that vary project by project -- some Jordanelle Corridor developments have relatively flexible rental policies written into their approvals, while others carry tight HOA-level restrictions. Pull the specific parcel's CC&Rs and, if it's inside a planned development, its Development Agreement, before assuming a short-term-rental plan is viable.

A county business license, and a 14-day carve-out for primary residents

Beyond the underlying eligibility test, operating a short-term rental in unincorporated Wasatch County requires a county business license, issued through the county's licensing process, in addition to meeting zoning and safety requirements. Separately, the Wasatch County Council amended its rules on primary-residence short-term rentals to allow an owner to rent a primary residence short-term for up to two weeks (14 days) per year without losing that property's primary-residence property-tax classification -- a real, dated policy change worth knowing if your plan is to live in a Wasatch County home most of the year and rent it out occasionally around ski season or the county's other peak travel windows, rather than run it as a full-time rental.

That 14-day figure is specifically about preserving primary-residence tax status, not a general cap on how much any Wasatch County property can be rented -- a property that qualifies as a short-term rental under the three-part test above and isn't claimed as a primary residence isn't bound by that same 14-day number. Confirm the current, specific rule for your situation with the county rather than assuming either figure applies by default.

Heber City runs its own, separate rulebook -- know which jurisdiction your parcel is in

A meaningful share of Wasatch County's populated land, including much of Heber City itself, sits inside Heber City's municipal boundary, not unincorporated Wasatch County -- and Heber City administers its own short-term rental ("nightly rental") rules separately from the county's, with the city periodically updating its own ordinance (Heber City tightened its rules in 2025, including provisions aimed at neighbor complaints and enforcement). Heber City's core area has historically had more permissive rules for whole-home nightly rentals than some unincorporated-county zones do, so the same rental plan can be treated very differently a few blocks apart depending on which jurisdiction actually has authority over the parcel.

Before budgeting on short-term-rental income, confirm (1) whether the parcel is inside Heber City or unincorporated Wasatch County, since that determines which office and which ordinance actually governs, and (2) which office to apply through -- Heber City's Community Development office for city parcels, or Wasatch County's licensing office for unincorporated parcels. Don't assume a rental rule you've read about for "Wasatch County" or "Heber Valley" generally applies to a specific parcel without checking which jurisdiction it's actually in.

Before buying with a short-term-rental plan in mind

1. Confirm which jurisdiction governs the specific parcel -- Heber City or unincorporated Wasatch County -- since each administers its own short-term rental rules and licensing process.
2. For an unincorporated-county parcel, get the property's recorded CC&Rs and, if it's within a planned development, its Development Agreement, and confirm the property's zoning district permits short-term rental as a permitted or conditional use -- all three have to line up.
3. Ask the relevant licensing office (Heber City Community Development for city parcels; the county's licensing office for unincorporated parcels) about the current business-license application, fees, and any inspection requirements before assuming approval is routine.
4. If your plan depends on renting a primary residence short-term while keeping the primary-residence property-tax exemption, confirm the current day-limit rule directly with the Wasatch County Assessor rather than assuming the 14-day figure is fixed indefinitely.
5. Check for HOA-level rental restrictions separate from county or city rules -- a zoning district and Development Agreement that both allow short-term rentals do not override a private HOA restriction recorded against the property.