City of Spokane

Spokane Municipal Code

***Note: Many local criminal codes can now be located under Chapter 10.60 SMC while others are now cited under the Revised Code of Washington (RCW), which was incorporated into the municipal code in 2022. (See SMC 10.58.010). Code Enforcement, including Noise Control and Animal Regulations are located in Chapters 10.62 through 10.74.

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Title 17C
Chapter 17C.316
Section 17C.316.020
 

Title 17C Land Use Standards

Chapter 17C.316 Short Term Rentals

Section 17C.316.020 Definitions
  1. Short-term rental. A short-term rental means a lodging use, that is not a hotel or motel, in which a residential dwelling unit, or portion thereof, is rented to overnight guests by a short-term rental owner or operator for a fee for fewer than 30 consecutive days. A dwelling unit, or portion thereof, that is used by the same person for 30 or more consecutive days is not a short-term rental.
  1. Short-term rental platform. A short-term rental or vacation rental platform (Platform) means a person that provides a means through which an operator may offer a dwelling unit, or portion thereof, for short-term rental use, and from which the person or entity financially benefits. Merely publishing a short-term rental advertisement for accommodations does not make the publisher a short-term rental platform.
  1. Resident. An individual or family who resides in the dwelling unit. The resident can be the owner or operator of the short-term rental.
  1. Operator. Any person or entity that receives payment for owning or operating a dwelling unit, or portion thereof, as a short-term rental unit.
  1. Owner. For the purposes of this chapter, any person or trust, alone or with others, has title or interest in any building, property, dwelling unit, or portion thereof, with or without accompanying actual possession thereof, and including any person who as agent, executor, administrator, trustee, or guardian of an estate has charge, care, or control of any building, dwelling unit, or portion thereof. A person whose sole interest in any building, dwelling unit, or portion thereof is solely that of a lessee under a lease agreement is not considered an owner.
  1. Primary residence. A dwelling unit occupied for more than six months each calendar year, as documented by driver’s license, voter registration, utility bills, or other similar evidence.

Date Passed: Monday, July 10, 2023

Effective Date: Friday, September 1, 2023

ORD C36391 Section 2