Santa Fe County STR hosts must register under new ordinance
- Dec 20, 2022 | Jennifer Sokolowsky
Short-term rental (STR) hosts in Santa Fe County, New Mexico, will need to get a license to operate under a new law. While the measure went into effect on November 25, 2022, operators have until March 15, 2023, to register their vacation rentals.
The ordinance divides short-term rentals into two categories:
- Owner-occupied is defined as a dwelling that is the owner’s primary residence or an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) on the same property. Owners must live in a home for at least 275 days in a 12-month period in order for it to qualify as a primary residence. The annual business registration fee for owner-occupied properties is $35, and only one registration is allowed per owner.
- For non-owner-occupied properties, the registration fee is $375, with a renewal fee of $300.
The new measure also establishes a one-year moratorium on new licenses for non-owner-occupied vacation rental properties that are acquired after the law’s effective date of November 25. The county plans to further study issues related to STRs within that time frame.
Under the law, short-term rentals are permitted in all residential zoning districts and operators must observe rules on occupancy, parking, trash disposal, safety, water restrictions, and quiet hours. All advertisements for vacation rental properties are required to include the business registration number. Owners must also notify adjacent properties when they receive a license and provide contact information for someone who can be reached 24 hours a day, seven days a week in case of issues.
The county follows other local governments in establishing rules for short-term rentals in the past few years.
In the city of Santa Fe, STR regulations allow only one vacation rental permit per person in residential zones and limits the number of short-term rental permits in residential zones to 1,000 citywide.
Albuquerque’s vacation rental ordinance requires hosts to register with the city, include their permit number in any advertising, and designate an agent who can be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to respond to issues, among other rules.
Taos also requires registration and for license numbers to be included in advertisements and limits the number of short-term rentals to 120.
All New Mexico short-term rental hosts are also required to pay the state’s gross receipts tax, which they can pass on to guests. Short-term rental hosts in Santa Fe County and the cities of Albuquerque, Santa Fe, and Taos must also collect local lodgers’ tax. Airbnb and Vrbo collect New Mexico gross receipts tax and local lodgers’ tax for the cities of Albuquerque, Santa Fe, and Taos, but not for Santa Fe County. Santa Fe County STR operators are responsible for collecting and remitting local lodgers’ tax themselves.
MyLodgeTax can help all New Mexico short-term rental hosts comply with lodging tax requirements, from registration to filing. For more on short-term rental taxes in New Mexico, see our state Vacation Rental Tax Guide. If you have tax questions related to vacation rental properties, drop us a line and we’ll get back to you with answers.
