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Short Term Rentals – Permitting and Compliance Finance Staff March 17, 2026 Regulatory Requirements Regulatory Requirements for Short Term Rentals (STR) • A.R.S. § 9-500.39 • Town may not prohibit STRs, but may require a local permit • Maximum $250 annual permit fee • Neighbor notification requirements • Emergency contact information • Liability insurance requirements • Other health and safety considerations (non-residential uses) Regulatory Requirements for Short Term Rentals (STR) • Ordinance 22-09 • Approved by the Town Council on November 15, 2022 • Created Article 8-6 of Town Code, mirroring State law requirements, establishing framework for staff to: • Require a permit to operate a short-term rental in Town • Deny or suspend a permit • Require emergency contact information and neighbor notification • Require other health and safety standards to protect Town residents Permitting and Compliance Efforts Permitting and Compliance Efforts Timeline • November 2022 – Council approved Ordinance 22-09 • January 2023 – Finance/IT implemented electronic STR permit application form • January 2023 through December 2024 • Finance staff manually issued STR permits and renewals (ending with about 105 active STR permits) • Finance reviewed vendor options for automated processes • January 2025 – Town implemented new contracted STR permitting and compliance platform • Rentalscape platform – Deckard Technologies Rentalscape – STR Application Form STR owners can apply for a permit on our website, which leads to the online application Rentalscape – Application Requirements • Applicants provide information about STR property and ownership, as well as emergency contact information and acknowledge neighbor notification requirements • Pay $250 annual permit fee • Upload 3 documents: • Valid Transaction Privilege Tax (TPT) license • Evidence of liability insurance coverage • Evidence that the property is registered as a rental property with Maricopa County Assessor’s Office Rentalscape – Automated Compliance Efforts • Rentalscape uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) to scrape and analyze STR listings (Airbnb, VRBO, etc) and compare to assessor and other publicly available data/picture to: • Identify unpermitted STRs in Town • Identify possible Town Code violations • Automate warning letters process • 2 warning letters are automatically mailed by vendor to noncompliant STR operators, before possible Code Enforcement actions, significantly reducing staff time spent on compliance efforts Rentalscape – STR Operator Warning Letters Rentalscape – Automated Compliance Efforts Red dots = 45 unpermitted STRs (possible Code Enforcement citations) *210 Active STRs in the Town of Fountain Hills, as of 3/10/2026 Blue dots = 165 permitted STRs (Permitted properties increased by 57% since system implementation) Rentalscape – Other Tools Rentalscape cross-references STR listing calendar dates to renter reviews to confirm booking activities and estimates financial activities based on each individual STR Rentalscape – STR Complaints Town residents may file a complaint with the Town through our website, which is attached to a STR within Rentalscape. Code Enforcement investigates STR complaints, as applicable. Future Staff Efforts • Finance and Code Enforcement collaborate to: • Provide STR operators opportunities to register unpermitted properties • Impose civil citations, as necessary and applicable • Manage STR complaints and investigate, as necessary • Monitor new State legislation efforts for STRs