VRMA Administrator
About 20 short-term rental hosts came to the Montana State Capitol on April 5 to meet with lawmakers and share their perspective on that growing market. An analysis from the governor’s budget office says there were more than 12,000 short-term rental units in Montana in 2020, and they expect 15,000 by 2024. House Bill 943, which passed the House a day prior to the meeting, would raise the property tax rate on those units from 1.35% to 1.89%, by classifying them as commercial property instead of residential. The bill includes an exception to the higher tax rate if the short-term rental is in the building where the owner lives at least seven months a year. Senate Bill 268, meanwhile, would generally allow short-term rentals as a residential use for zoning purposes and limit how local governments can restrict those rentals. That bill passed the Senate 31-19 last month. It had a hearing in the House Judiciary Committee, but the committee has not taken any action yet. Several other bills have failed to make it through the process this session, including one that would have prohibited cities and counties from banning short-term rentals.
KTVH (Montana) (04/05/23) Jonathon Ambarian
