ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 16A-213 TO AMEND RESIDENCY REQUIREMENTS FOR STRS.DOCX

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Ordinance No. O2026.01
ORDINANCE NO. O2026.01
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY 
OF TEMPE, ARIZONA, AMENDING TEMPE CITY CODE, 
CHAPTER 
16A 
– 
LICENSE 
AND 
BUSINESS 
REGULATIONS, ARTICLE X – SHORT-TERM RENTALS 
AND VACATION RENTALS, BY AMENDING SECTION 
16A-213 
– 
LICENSE 
REQUIRED; 
PENALTIES, 
TO 
CONFORM TO CHANGES ADOPTED BY THE ARIZONA 
STATE LEGISLATURE. 
WHEREAS, on May 23, 2025, the Arizona State Legislature passed House Bill 2928, 
which, among other things, amended the limits on regulation of vacation rentals and short-term 
rentals by a city or town; and 
WHEREAS, the City Council finds it necessary to amend the Tempe City Code to conform 
to the changes adopted by the Arizona State Legislature.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY 
OF TEMPE, ARIZONA, as follows: 
Section 1.  That Chapter 16A, Article X, Section 16A-213 of the Tempe City Code is 
hereby amended to read as follows:
Sec. 16A-213. - License required; penalties.
. . . .
(a)
License required. Prior to use of a property as a short-term rental, the owner of shall 
obtain an annual short-term rental license from the City. Renting, or offering for 
rent, a short-term rental without complying with the license requirement in 
this Section 16A-216 is prohibited.
(e) 
Notice of denial; appeal. The City shall give notice of the denial of an application 
to the applicant by mailing or emailing the notice to THE applicant at the address 
listed on the application. The notice of the denial shall inform the applicant of the 
right to appeal the denial as provided for in Section 16A-222.
(h)
Operating without a license; penalties. A short-term rental that fails to apply for a 
license within thirty (30) days of the license application being made available by 
the City shall immediately cease operations. In addition to any other penalty 
pursuant to the City Code, the City may impose a civil penalty of up to one thousand 
dollars ($1,000.00) per month against the owner if the owner or owner's designee 
fails to apply for license within thirty (30) days of receiving the written notice of 
violation from the City. Representations or advertisements including online listings

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Ordinance No. O2026.01
that reference the property, house or dwelling unit location within the City is ARE 
prima facie evidence that a short-term rental is operating in the City.
(k)
Residency. Owners of a short-term rental or vacation rental shall reside on the 
property if the property contains an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) that was 
constructed on or after the effective date of this amendment to this section 
(December 20, 2024) and is being used as a short-term rental or vacation rental. 
Unless the time period specified in Arizona Revised Statutes (A.R.S) Section 12-
1134, subsection G has expired (December 20, 2027), this paragraph shall not apply 
to any property owner who has the right to build an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) 
on the property owner's property before the effective date of this amendment to this 
section whether or not the accessory dwelling unit has been built. AND IF A 
CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY, CERTIFICATE OF COMPLETION OR 
SIMILAR FINAL APPROVAL FOR THE ADDITIONAL DWELLING UNIT 
WAS ISSUED BY THE CITY ON OR AFTER SEPTEMBER 14, 2024. THIS 
PARAGRAPH DOES NOT APPLY TO AN OWNER OF A VACATION 
RENTAL OR SHORT-TERM RENTAL IF THE PROPERTY CONTAINS AN 
ACCESORY DWELLING UNIT AND THE CERTIFICATE OF COMPLETION, 
THE CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY OR A SIMILAR FINAL APPROVAL 
FOR THE ACCESSORY DWELLING UNIT WAS ISSUED ON OR BEFORE 
SEPTEMBER 13, 2024.
Section 2.  If any section, subsection, sentence clause, phrase, or portion of this ordinance 
or any part of the code adopted herein is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by 
the decision of any court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of 
the remaining portions thereof.  
Section 3.  All ordinances and parts of ordinances in conflict with the provisions of the 
Code adopted herein are hereby repealed. 
Section 4.  The City Clerk is hereby authorized to correct clerical and grammatical errors, 
if any, related to this ordinance, and to make formatting changes appropriate for purposes of clarity, 
form, or consistency with the Tempe City Code. 
Section 5.  The various city officers and employees are hereby authorized and directed to 
perform all acts necessary to give effect to this ordinance.
Section 6.  Pursuant to City Charter, Section 2.12, ordinances are effective thirty (30) days 
after adoption.

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Ordinance No. O2026.01
PASSED AND ADOPTED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF TEMPE, 
ARIZONA, this 8th day of January, 2026.
_____________________________
Corey D. Woods, Mayor
ATTEST:
_______________________________
Kara A. DeArrastia, City Clerk
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
_______________________________
Eric C. Anderson, City Attorney