Park City Nightly Rental Rules: Zoning & Resort Districts

Park City, Utah operates a zone-based STR framework distinct from neighboring resort markets. Only properties in Resort, Mixed Use, and certain Old Town designations are permitted to operate as Nightly Rentals (NR) under city code. Single-family residential zones (R-1, RD-Lake) generally prohibit nightly rentals. The result: most legal Park City STRs are condos in resort-base communities (Park City Mountain Resort, Deer Valley, The Canyons base areas) or designated Old Town properties. HOA covenants in resort condo communities frequently govern additional rental rules — minimum stays, rental-management requirements, peak-season blackout dates.

Licensing & Registration

Park City Business License: required for any rental property generating income, $50-$150/year depending on category. No separate STR-specific permit beyond zoning compliance. Required: registration with Utah State Tax Commission for tax remittance, county business license. The binding regulatory layer for most operators is HOA covenants in ski-resort condo communities.

Lodging & Occupancy Taxes

Utah state sales tax 4.85% + Summit County 1.55% + Park City 1% + Summit County transient room tax 4.25% + Park City transient room tax 1.2% = 12.85% combined transient room tax (varies slightly by exact location). Stays of 30+ days are exempt from transient room tax. Airbnb collects Utah state taxes + most local options. Verify county-level transient room tax collection per platform.

Penalties & Enforcement

Operating an STR in a non-NR-permitted zone: $250-$1,000 per violation plus potential cease-and-desist orders. Business-license non-compliance: $50-$200. The city's enforcement framework is zone-focused — operating in a permitted zone with proper licensing rarely triggers enforcement; operating in a residential single-family zone consistently does.

Recent Changes

Park City's regulatory framework has been stable through 2024-2025. The dominant concerns are workforce housing (similar to Sedona) and ski-resort base infrastructure rather than additional STR restrictions. Property values in resort-base condos remain strong; entry into the Park City STR market increasingly requires significant capital ($800K-$2M+ for quality resort-base condos).

Tax Strategy for Compliant Investors

Even within Park City's regulatory framework, properly-licensed STR investors retain the federal tax stack. Cost segregation accelerates depreciation, the STR loophole can convert losses to active-income offsets for materially-participating owners, and 100% bonus depreciation under OBBBA applies to all reclassified 5- and 15-year assets. See cost segregation for Airbnb properties for the full playbook.

Frequently asked questions