Short-Term Rental Laws in Moab, Utah

Moab and Grand County have an effective moratorium on new short-term rentals outside of designated resort and overnight-accommodations zones. Moab Municipal Code §17.09.700 explicitly prohibits residential short-term rentals in zones A-2, C-1, C-3, C-5, FW, I-1, R&D-1, R-2, R-3, R-4, RA-1, and any other zone where STR is not affirmatively listed as a permitted use. Practical effect: new investor-owned STRs in residential or most commercial zones cannot legally operate. Only properties in resort/overnight-accommodations zones, or properties grandfathered with an active license predating the 2019 moratorium, qualify.

Moab's STR-allowed zones are narrow: typically C-2 (Commercial Resort), RC (Resort Commercial), and specific master-planned overnight accommodations overlays. Most of the city, including all standard residential zones (R-2/R-3/R-4) and most commercial zones (C-1/C-3/C-5), prohibits STRs per §17.09.700. Check the parcel's zoning class against the prohibited-zone list in the code before any STR-pricing offer — this is the most common deal-killer in the Moab market.

Operators must hold a short-term rental permit before listing. See the official permit portal.

Registration is required. Use the city registration portal to start the process.

Moab Municipal Code §5.67 makes operating a nightly rental without a license a Class A misdemeanor (up to 364 days jail + $2,500 fine per Utah Code §76-3-204/301, in addition to civil penalties). License application takes 3–6 weeks and requires proof of insurance, site plan, and a 24/7 local contact. Grand County and Moab city Code Enforcement actively scrape platform listings against the license registry. Recent enforcement actions have included delisting orders to Airbnb/Vrbo and back-tax assessments for the full lookback period.

Combined short-term lodging tax in Moab is approximately 13.000% of gross nightly revenue (state sales + state TRT + local TRT + applicable resort/city options).

Moab City + Grand County + Utah State (state sales tax + state TRT 0.32% + Grand County TRT + resort community tax — combined typically ~13%; confirm with Moab Treasurer)

Verify the current combined rate via the Utah State Tax Commission before remitting — rates drift quarterly.