Short-Term Rentals in HOAs: What the Law Actually Says

By Anjali Patel

Short-term rentals in HOAs are one of the most misunderstood areas of Arizona property law, largely because two separate legal frameworks are operating at the same time and people frequently confuse them. Arizona has strong state preemption that prevents cities and counties from banning short-term rentals, but that preemption does not touch private restrictions in HOA declarations. The result is that an Arizona homeowner can be fully compliant with state law and city licensing requirements and still be in clear violation of the recorded CC&Rs governing their community.

The short answer is that an HOA in Arizona generally can restrict or prohibit short-term rentals if the recorded declaration authorizes it, but how and when those restrictions can be added or enforced depends on what the original declaration said and how any amendments were adopted. The state preemption statutes protect owners from city bans. They do not protect owners from their own HOA's contract.

Can my HOA prohibit short-term rentals in Arizona?

In most cases, yes, an Arizona HOA can prohibit or restrict short-term rentals through its recorded CC&Rs, including by setting minimum lease periods such as 30, 90, or 180 days, but only if the restriction is authorized by the original declaration or properly added through an amendment that satisfies Arizona law.

How state preemption actually works

Arizona is one of the strongest short-term rental preemption states in the country. A.R.S. § 9-500.39 prevents cities and towns from prohibiting vacation rentals or short-term rentals, and A.R.S. § 11-269.17 does the same for counties. Local governments can still license, tax, and regulate operational issues like noise, occupancy, safety, and emergency contact information, but they cannot ban the use outright.

This is the source of most of the confusion. Owners hear that short-term rentals are protected by state law and assume that protection extends to the HOA context. It does not. The preemption statutes apply to government regulation. Private contracts, including HOA declarations, are a separate body of law governed by Title 33, Chapters 9 and 16 of the Arizona Revised Statutes. A condominium owner's right to use the unit as a rental is set by A.R.S. § 33-1260.01, which expressly ties rental rights to the recorded declaration. If the declaration restricts rentals, the owner is bound by that restriction.

For planned communities, the analysis runs through the declaration itself rather than a single statute on rentals, but the result is similar. The CC&Rs are a contract among the owners and the association, and Arizona courts enforce them as contracts.

When an HOA restriction holds up and when it does not

The harder question is whether a particular restriction is enforceable, especially when it was added by amendment after the owner bought into the community. The Arizona Supreme Court addressed this directly in Kalway v. Calabria Ranch HOA, LLC, 252 Ariz. 532 (2022). In Kalway, the Court held that HOA amendments adding new restrictions are enforceable only if they were reasonable and foreseeable based on the original declaration. An HOA cannot use the amendment process to impose entirely new burdens that the original CC&Rs gave no notice of.

The Arizona Court of Appeals applied that rule in the short-term rental context in Gross v. Shores at Rainbow Lake Homeowners Association, in 2024. The court invalidated a 30-day minimum lease amendment because the original declaration did not put owners on notice that short-term rentals could be prohibited. The amendment converted what had been an allowed use into a prohibited one, and the court held that change was not reasonable and foreseeable under Kalway.

The practical effect is a sliding scale. Original declarations that already restrict rentals or that clearly contemplated future rental restrictions are generally enforceable. Amendments that simply tighten existing rental rules are often defensible. But amendments that take a use the original declaration plainly allowed and convert it into a prohibited use are vulnerable to challenge under Kalway and Gross. The Arizona Supreme Court's reasoning on the limits of HOA amendment authority is summarized in the firm's earlier post on the Kalway decision.

What buyers and current owners should actually look at

For buyers considering an HOA property they intend to rent short-term, the listing language and the seller's representations are not the controlling source of information. The recorded CC&Rs are. So are the rules and regulations, the architectural guidelines, and any recorded amendments. Each of those documents can contain rental restrictions, and they do not always say the same thing.

The minimum lease period is the most important single number. Many Arizona HOAs have moved to 30-day, 60-day, or 90-day minimums, which effectively eliminate Airbnb and VRBO use. Some have moved to 180-day or 12-month minimums, which restrict the use even further. Other communities cap the percentage of units that can be rented at any one time, which means even a long-term rental might not be allowed if the cap is full.

Architectural and use restrictions matter too. Some communities prohibit commercial use of the property, which has been interpreted in some declarations to include short-term rental operations. Some restrict signage, parking by guests, or common-area access for non-owners, all of which complicate a vacation rental operation even if the rental itself is technically allowed. The broader analysis of what to check before buying into an Arizona HOA is laid out in the firm's guide to buying a home or condo in an HOA in Arizona.

For current owners, the question is usually defensive rather than acquisitive. If the HOA has sent a violation notice, the first step is to read the rule being cited and compare it to the recorded declaration in effect when the owner purchased. If the rule is in the original declaration, enforcement is generally on solid ground. If it was added by amendment after purchase, the Kalway and Gross analysis becomes relevant. The owner's options often turn on whether they can show the amendment exceeded what the original CC&Rs put owners on notice of.

City licensing and HOA rules are independent

A short-term rental operator in Arizona must comply with both state and city requirements (transaction privilege tax registration, city operating licenses where required, county assessor filings, and operational rules around noise, emergency contacts, and occupancy) and with any HOA restrictions that apply. Compliance with one does not satisfy the other. Owners sometimes hold a city short-term rental license and assume that license preempts the HOA. It does not. The HOA can issue fines, place liens, and pursue injunctive relief regardless of state or city compliance.

The reverse is also true. An HOA that allows short-term rentals does not relieve the owner of the obligation to register and pay TPT, comply with local licensing, and maintain required emergency contacts.

What to do if you receive a violation notice

If the HOA has issued a violation notice for short-term rental activity, the worst response is to ignore it. The next worst is to assume the HOA is automatically right. The right approach is to request a copy of the specific rule being cited, request the recorded declaration and any amendments, and check whether the rule was in place when the property was purchased.

If the rule was added by amendment, the dates matter. The amendment process itself has to comply with statutory and CC&R requirements, and the substantive change has to be reasonable and foreseeable under Kalway. If the amendment fails on either ground, it may not be enforceable against the owner. That analysis usually requires reviewing the actual recorded documents rather than relying on what the management company says.

The hearing process required by A.R.S. § 33-1803 (planned communities) and A.R.S. § 33-1242 (condominiums) gives the owner a chance to raise these issues before the fine becomes enforceable. Skipping the hearing forfeits that opportunity, and the fine becomes much harder to challenge later.

The bottom line is that short-term rentals in Arizona HOAs are governed by the recorded declaration first, the amendments to that declaration second, and the statutes and case law that limit what amendments can do third. State preemption is real but narrow. It protects against city bans, not against the contract you signed when you bought into the community.

If you need help with your situation in Arizona, you can learn more about our HOA practice here.