City Council cracking down on short-term rentals in Cottonwood Heights

SALT LAKE CITY — Residents of Cottonwood Heights who run illegal short-term rentals will now face heavier fines.

Earlier this month, the Cottonwood Heights City Council voted to increase the fines for property owners operating non-compliant short-term rentals.

“I think all of us want to show that we’re working in good faith,” council member Suzanne Hyland said. “The legislature is going to be looking at this … We’re going to have something to say about that next year after the legislature meets [and] we know what they’re doing.”

Hyland is referring to a law currently in place that doesn’t allow a property listing to be used as proof that the property is a short-term rental.

Council member Ellen Birrell said the next step would be making sure owners list the properties online with clear licenses.

“There needs to be … a program that issues business licenses and includes the mandate that whenever an owner is advertising their short-term rental, they must include their business license number,” she said.

Birell also said there must be local management who can respond to a problem within an hour. Additionally, she said there should be a limit of only one unit within a house that can be rented.

The legislature will be looking at issues regarding short-term rentals in the next session.

Michele Rowe is a traffic reporter for KSL NewsRadio.

Keep reading:

• Utah lawmaker plans to target illegal short-term rentals
• How Utah is ensuring homes go to owners, not renters
• In Utah and the US, more people are renting than buying

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