Owners of existing short-term rental properties in Fountain Hills must obtain the required permit to operate within 60 days, and anyone operating a short-term rental without proper registration is subject to a violation.

On Feb. 3, The Town of Fountain Hills launched an online permit portal to make the process of obtaining the necessary permit simple for operators. Before starting a short-term rental, the property owner is required to register the rental through the town.

The town council previously passed an ordinance requiring owners of short-term rentals to obtain an annual permit from the town. The permit application must contain the full name, address and 24-hour phone number of the person serving as the emergency point of contact for the property, proof of insurance and proper tax license, among other information.

With the launch of the registration portal, those who operate a short-term rental now have 60 days to obtain the required permit. Notices of violation will be sent and handled by code enforcement following the 60-day period. In addition to any other penalty pursuant to Town Code, the town may impose a civil penalty of up to $1,000 per month against an owner if they fail to apply for the permit within 30 days of receiving the written notice of violation.

Currently, there are more than 400 properties operating as short-term rentals in Fountain Hills.

Another new portal also allows residents to report complaints or nuisances, which will go to code enforcement for review and follow-up.

A written notice will be sent to non-compliant operators on a monthly basis alongside code enforcement actions, as applicable.

The registration portal can be accessed at portal.deckard.com/az-maricopa-town_of_fountain_hills-str-portal.

Complaints can be registered at complaint-str.deckard.com/fountainhills-as-str-complaints.