Cave Creek, AZ short-term rental license
Cave Creek will license your short-term rental, but two filings have to exist before the town application. Neither is optional: the state tax license and the Maricopa County assessor registration both come first. The town wrote its ordinance as health and safety protection rather than as a restriction on the use itself.[4]
Every rule below links to the official source it comes from, verified October 2, 2026.
Can you rent short term in Cave Creek?
Get a license first
What you apply for: Short-term residential registration and business license
- Seasonal homes
- 221
- Housing units
- 2,859
- Residents
- 5,091
U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 ACS 5-year estimates
- City ruleLicense required
- City fee$250
- Tax on each staySet locally
- Seasonal homes77 per 1,000
Cave Creek short-term rental license
Cave Creek requires a property to be registered as a short-term residential with the town. The annual permit fee is $250 per property, with an annual business license fee of $50 on top. Before applying, an owner must hold a valid transaction privilege tax license issued by the Arizona Department of Revenue. The property must be registered with Maricopa County as required by A.R.S. § 33-1902. The town states that it is illegal to rent a property before it is registered with the Maricopa County Assessor. Applications are made through the town's short-term rental online registration system. The rules come from the short-term rental public health and safety protections ordinance that the town council adopted unanimously on July 17, 2023. It was presented as a reasonable and consistent approach to protecting the health, welfare and quality of life of residents and visitors. That is the ground A.R.S. § 9-500.39 leaves an Arizona town to stand on.[4]
What Cave Creek asks of you
A property must be registered as a short-term residential with the Town of Cave Creek, with an annual permit fee of $250 per property.[4]
An annual business license fee of $50 applies on top of the permit.[4]
The owner must hold a valid transaction privilege tax license issued by the Arizona Department of Revenue before applying for the town license.[4]
Each property must be registered with Maricopa County as required by A.R.S. § 33-1902. The town states it is illegal to rent a property before it is registered with the Maricopa County Assessor.[4]
Applications are made through the town's short-term rental online registration system.[4]
The town council unanimously adopted its short-term rental public health and safety protections ordinance on July 17, 2023.[4]
What Arizona asks wherever you host
These rules apply at this address whatever the city decides.
Arizona cities may not ban short-term rentals. A restriction by classification, use or occupancy is allowed only where the statute lists it.[1]
A city permit fee is capped at $250, or at the city's actual cost of issuing it if that is lower. The application may ask for six things only.[1]
A city may make you notify the adjacent, opposite and diagonally opposite properties before the first booking. It may also require the permit number on every advertisement.[1]
Stays shorter than thirty consecutive days are taxed under the state's transient lodging classification. Longer stays fall outside it.[2]
What a guest pays on top of your nightly rate in Cave Creek
Each layer is set by a different authority, and not all of them are collected by the platform.
| Layer | Rate | Remitted to |
|---|---|---|
| Arizona transient lodging transaction privilege tax[3] | 5.5% | The state revenue department |
| City transient lodging tax[4] | Not published | The city |
Two filings precede the town license, and neither is optional. They are the state transaction privilege tax license and the Maricopa County assessor registration that makes the rental lawful in the first place.[4]
What the census counts
How much of Cave Creek is already a second home
The Census Bureau counts 221 of Cave Creek's 2,859 homes as vacant for seasonal, recreational or occasional use. That is 77 out of every 1,000. It ranks Cave Creek 17th of the 25 Arizona cities on this site for the share of its housing stock kept for part-year use.
- Rank in the state
- 17th of 25
- Share of housing
- 77 per 1,000
- Median home value
- $906,100
U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 ACS 5-year estimates, tables B25004, B25001, B01003 and B25077.
Nearby and comparable
Where Cave Creek sits among its neighbors
Wickenburg, AZ
Permit required
388 seasonal homes, 78 per 1,000 housing units.
Wickenburg short-term rental rulesScottsdale, AZ
License required
12,314 seasonal homes, 89 per 1,000 housing units.
Scottsdale short-term rental rulesFountain Hills, AZ
Permit required
1,565 seasonal homes, 119 per 1,000 housing units.
Fountain Hills short-term rental rulesFAQ
Cave Creek short-term rental questions
What does a Cave Creek short-term rental cost each year?
Do I need to register with the county as well?
When did Cave Creek adopt its rules?
Sources
- A.R.S. § 9-500.39, Limits on regulation of vacation rentals and short-term rentals, Arizona State Legislature, read on September 20, 2026
- A.R.S. § 42-5070, Transient lodging classification; definition, Arizona State Legislature, read on October 2, 2026
- A.R.S. § 42-5010, Rates; distribution base, Arizona State Legislature, read on October 2, 2026
- Short Term Rental License, Town of Cave Creek, read on September 20, 2026
This page is not legal advice. It summarizes the official sources listed on this page as they read on October 2, 2026. Rules can change after that date, so check with the issuing office before you apply or publish a listing.
Before you list
Free tools for new hosts
Short-term rental agreement generator
Parties, dates, rent, deposit checked against your state's cap, and the house rules clauses you enforce. A signed-ready PDF for direct and Vrbo bookings.
Airbnb host fee calculator
What Airbnb takes on a booking under the 15.5% host-only fee or the old split fee, what the guest pays on top, and the payout that reaches you.
Airbnb income calculator
Nightly rate, occupancy, Airbnb fee, management, mortgage, taxes and depreciation. You get cash flow, cash-on-cash return and what is left after the IRS.
Airbnb house rules
Generate a complete PDF house rules document for your property: rules, schedule, amenities, emergency contacts.