Short Term Rentals in the Town of Brighton

If you’re interested in having a Short-Term Rental in the Town of Brighton, you’ll need to apply for a business license with the Municipal Services District (which provides services for the Town of Brighton). You'll also need a Sales Tax Identification Number from the Utah State Tax Commission  (scroll down to “How do I get a sales tax number?) 

Business License -You can view the applicant guide here.

Short-Term Rentals are regulated within the Town of Brighton and require a business license to operate. Once the business license is submitted, the application will be reviewed for compliance with Title 5 and Title 19 of the Town of Brighton Municipal Code. 

  • Property owners who are renting a property as a short-term rental and don’t have an active business license can be fined $650 per day. 
  • All business licenses are by location, therefore even if you own more than one property, you have to obtain a business license for each one.  If you own, or are the property manager for more than five properties then you qualify for an umbrella license to cover several licenses. 

Short-Term Rentals (STR) are regulated in three areas of the Brighton Town Municipal Code – Business licensing (Title 5), Land Use (Title 19) and Enforcement/Penalties (Fee Schedule).  The ordinances passed by the Brighton Town Council in relation to STRs can be found in the "Supporting Documents" at the bottom of this page. The majority of the regulations were already in place under the Salt Lake County Code.  ): click here to determine the ability to meet all STR business license requirements.

A business license cap of 15% of the total homes was enacted in the Silver Fork and Pine Tree neighborhoods. This allows 6 licenses in Pine Tree and 30 licenses in Silver Fork. 

Umbrella Licenses

If you use a property management company that has an "umbrella" license, the property management company will obtain the sales tax number for you. The property owner must confirm with the property management company that their property has a business license.  If an owner stops being represented by a property management company, the owner must apply for a business license. Airbnb, VRBO and other online market facilitators are not property management companies and do not have umbrella licenses. 

Short-Term Rental Requirements in the Town of Brighton

(excluding the properties in the Solitude Village Master Association (SVMA)

Short-term rentals are not permitted in the Mount Haven, Laurel Pines, Cardiff Fork, Mill D, and Forest Glen neighborhoods of Big Cottonwood Canyon. Other neighborhoods may allow STRs, but certain requirements must be met. The Forest Service prohibits commercial use of properties on Forest Service Land including prohibiting short-term rentals

Year-round culinary water and a sewer connection are required for STRs (septic tanks, septic fields, or blackwater holding tanks are not allowed for STRs per the Town of Brighton ordinance). Accessory Dwelling Units whether attached or detached are not permitted as a Short-Term Rental.  If a property contains an accessory dwelling, it can only be rented as a Short-Term Rental if the entire property is rented out.  Building and Fire Code requirements include adequate egress from bedrooms.

If your property is in lower Big Cottonwood Canyon (west of, or down canyon from, Laurel Pines), you are not within the boundaries of the Town of Brighton. Contact Salt Lake County or Cottonwood Heights, depending on your location, to determine what rules and regulations apply to your property.      

Parking requirements are two spaces per dwelling unit plus one additional space for each bedroom exceeding two bedrooms. The third and fourth spaces, when required, can be in tandem with the first two spaces.  All parking must be on the property of the short-term rental. Required on-site parking areas and access to parking areas shall be maintained including snow removal, and available for use at all times and throughout the entire year.  Parking is prohibited on grass or other flammable material.  Parking for Short Terms Rentals is prohibited in the public rights-of-way or anyone else’s property including resorts (unless written permission has been obtained).

Short-term rental applicants must contact all properties with dwellings within a radius of 300 feet of the property boundary, before being licensed and preferably in person, and provide
written notice of the responsible party contact information for the short-term rental and Complaint Flow Chart as specified by the Town. Applicants must provide the list of who they
contacted and by what means.  

This provision is also required for short-term rental license renewals at least once every three years.  To determine which dwellings are within 300 feet of your property, follow this tutorial. 

For a fill-in-the-blank notification letter that meets the requirements of the ordinance (with instructions) click here.

 

Short-Term Rental Restrictions

  1. No short-term rental in the Town of Brighton may be used for Special Events including commercial weddings, concerts, parties or commercial purposes not otherwise permitted in the zone.
  2. No short-term rental can exceed a maximum of 15 adults overnight.
  3. The minimum rental period is two nights.       
  4. The owner is responsible for paying road and driveway snowplow costs. The renter is responsible for light snow removal, if necessary, when no plows are present. Snow shovels must be provided to the renter for that purpose.
  5. Periodic housekeeping service shall be provided by the owner including removal of trash to the nearest collection point on at least a weekly basis. All trash and recycle containers must remain inside the home or placed in an approved bear and wildlife-proof trash container until they are taken to a trash collection point or dumpster to prevent wildlife from scattering trash. No trash or recycling can be left outside the dwelling. The owner shall provide directions on recycling protocols and the location of dumpsters to tenants.
  6. All service providers for short-term rentals including cleaning services shall be required to have snow tires from November 1- April 15.
  7. If the short-term rental unit shares an access, hallway, common wall, or driveway with another dwelling, written consent of the owner of the other dwelling is required.
  8. There must be a Responsible Party who can respond on-site within two hours and be available by telephone, or otherwise, twenty-four hours per day and must be able to respond to inquiries within twenty minutes of receipt of an inquiry.
  9. Occupants of a short-term rental shall not create excessive noise. Quiet hours are 10 pm-7 am. It is the responsibility of the owner or property manager to prevent nuisance behavior and maintain neighborhood peace and quiet.
  10. No open fires of any kind except compressed or liquid gas grills, stoves, and pellet-fed smokers are allowed with proper clearance of flammable materials.
  11. The renter must acknowledge in writing or email of the regulations, and an interior sign stating the regulations must also be posted inside the property.  A link to the acknowledgment and the interior posting can be found here (on the Brighton Website).
  12. Inspection of property for building and fire code every three years.
  13. All Short-Term Rentals must have or be associated with a Utah State Tax Sales number and records must be kept for 3 years.

Complaints

View this Complaint Flow Chart to determine who to call for: dogs, illegal STR, vehicle, or noise. 

The Town of Brighton has contracted with Granicus Host Compliance to help get Short Term Rentals permitted and licensed.  Granicus also has a hotline number or an online form to report complaints with Short Term Rentals. Granicus will contact the property manager and report back to the caller when the issue is resolved.   

If you have questions, contact:

Tiffany Bork, Permit Technician, at TBork [at] msd.utah.gov or call 385-468-6690. 

Billie Lujan, Business License Technician, at blujan [at] msd.utah.gov or (385) 468-6686.

Print