Utah policymakers originally hoped “accessory dwelling units,” which are add-on apartments or guest houses at single-family homes, would ease the statewide housing shortage.
In rural counties like much of Summit County, ADUs have served as living quarters for ranch hands who work on the same property. But other parts of the county are tourist meccas, where short-term or nightly rentals like Airbnbs and Vrbos are extremely lucrative. And when the ADUs become nightly rentals, the housing crisis worsens.
In a 4-1 vote Nov. 8, the Summit County Council came into compliance with older state code that effectively banned short-term rentals in ADUs by setting a minimum rental period of 30 days.
The code came from the Utah Legislature, which wants to use ADUs as a long-term housing solution. The statewide standard on ADUs doesn’t mention short-term rentals, Airbnb or Vrbo by name, but it requires keeping rental terms at 30 days or longer.
“This is us putting the finishing touches on our existing code and bringing it very much in line with what the state code says,” Summit County Director of Planning, Zoning and Design Peter Barnes said.
This could result in a loss of revenue for large corporations managing groups of nightly rentals in Summit County.
It could also hurt landowners who’ve chosen to build an ADU to rent on sites like Airbnb and Vrbo.
“I find it kind of ironic that they licensed us to do it, and now are telling us that we can't,” one such landowner said.
KPCW spoke with a landlord outside the Park City area who rents to clients who can’t stay in hotels due to restrictions on animals. It’s a small unit within their home that doesn’t have a full kitchen, and they’re not keen on renting to a long-term tennant.
“That's more investment on our part for actually less money, because you can't rent long-term for as much as you can rent short-term for,” the landlord said.
It’s possible other ADUs will become long-term units, but the landlord KPCW spoke with said they’ll more likely operate by word of mouth.
“It breaks my heart. They come down on the little guy every time and just stomp them into the ground,” said the landlord who wanted to remain anonymous.
Enforcement, as with most other code, is on the honor system. Utah law won’t let the county investigate a property without cause.
“We rely on people being honest with us, you know? A neighbor could call and report,” County Councilmember Tonja Hanson said. “That's what we have to rely on.”
A county subcommittee is also working on more holistic short-term rental regulations too, which will address entire houses, apartments and condos in Summit County that are currently short-term rentals.
The Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute at the University of Utah estimated in 2022 that around a quarter of Summit County residences are short-term rentals. In Park City, 50% of units are STRs.
Park City has more online STR listings than any other Utah city, with 3,922. The Snyderville Basin comes in second with 1,764.
