Pinetop, Arizona

Short-term and vacation rentals are legal in Pinetop-Lakeside, regulated under Town Code Chapter 5.28 (Ordinance 23-461). Before renting a property for stays under 30 days, an owner must obtain an annual Town vacation rental license at $250 per property per year. Prerequisites include a valid Arizona Transaction Privilege Tax license for each property, proof of ownership, at least $500,000 in aggregate liability insurance (or use of a platform such as Airbnb or Vrbo providing equal or greater primary coverage), and a local emergency point-of-contact. Owners must also notify adjacent, across-the-street, and diagonal single-family properties before the first rental.

Consistent with Arizona’s statewide preemption law (A.R.S. 9-500.39), the town cannot ban STRs, cap nights, or require owner-occupancy or primary residence, so there is no annual night limit or owner-occupancy mandate. Lodging is taxed at a combined transient rate of about 12.38% (5.5% state, roughly 0.88% Navajo County, plus 6.0% town). The town opened its licensing portal on September 5, 2023, with existing operators required to be licensed by November 15, 2023. Arizona’s separate long-term residential rental tax was eliminated statewide effective December 31, 2024, but this does not affect the transient (under-30-day) lodging tax that applies to STRs. Enforcement is rated moderate.