The City Council adopted an ordinance regulating short-term rentals in Kirkland in October 2017. The ordinance, O-4607, defines short-term rentals as a rental lasting for less than thirty days, as opposed to long-term rentals, which are defined as those lasting 30 days or more.
The ordinance primarily applies to single family residences. Multifamily residences are generally governed by the rules of the individual complex.
Residents should be aware, however, that the City of Kirkland requires business licenses for any commercial transaction, including all short-term and long-term rentals (including multifamily residences).
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The property owner, or an authorized agent, must occupy the property as a primary residence at least 245 days per year to enter into short-term rentals there.
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A property manager living within 15 miles of the residence must be identified for those days when neither the owner nor an authorized agent are occupying the property.
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The property owner must have a business license from the State of Washington.
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The property owner (or authorized agent) also must complete and submit a business license application for the City of Kirkland, and pay licensing fees.
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As part of the application, a declaration must be filled out and signed. If the applicant is not the owner, it must still be signed by the owner, as owners retain specified responsibilities in all events.
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Lodging taxes for short-term rentals must be paid to the State of Washington, and those payments are the responsibility of the property owner.
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First, you must check to see if your condo homeowner's association allows short-term rentals. Then, if those rules do allow for short-term rentals you must obtain State of Washington and City of Kirkland business licenses. Then you must comply with the rules of your condo homeowner’s association. The City's short-term rental requirements generally do not apply in multifamily settings like condominiums.
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This can be anyone you like, but they will need to be identified on the City’s license application form. To meet the City’s occupancy requirements, and if the property is not owner occupied, the agent will need to live at the rental property as his or her primary residence either continuously or for at least 245 days per year (depending on how may days per year you want to be able to undertake short-term rentals at your property).
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A City of Kirkland business license is required prior to undertaking long-term or short-term rentals in Kirkland. Failure to obtain a business license or to keep your license current may result in penalty fees and possibly other sanctions. Operating a business in Kirkland without an active business license can also constitute a misdemeanor crime.
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In addition to the lodging excise tax applicable to short-term rentals, the City’s business license fee (for both long-term and short-term rentals) consists of two parts: a base fee of $100 and a revenue generating regulatory license (RGRL) of $105 per employee (always a minimum of one employee). For many short-term rentals, a $205 annual fee would be charged.
If the annual gross receipts of your business are less than $12,000.00, you are eligible to pay the registration fee of $50.00, and no RGRL fee is required.
A new business is eligible for the New Business Incentive, which exempts the business from the RGRL fee for the first year of operation.
The City of Kirkland charges no Business and Occupation tax. Short-term rentals are required to pay lodging taxes to the State of Washington.
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The Ordinance will be enforced primarily based on complaints submitted to the City. To initiate an investigation, the Complaint Investigation Request form at Our Kirkland Portal should be filled out completely. The City may become aware of violations in the absence of a complaint, however.
The City does plan to analyze compliance levels during the third quarter of 2018 and will reach out to owners of short-term rentals without business licenses as may be appropriate.
Depending on the facts and circumstances, business licenses can be revoked or suspended, nuisance or code enforcement actions brought, or misdemeanor charges filed.
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In addition to requiring your short-term renters to exercise their best efforts to avoid conflicts with neighbors, you are required to exercise your best efforts to make sure those conflicts are avoided as a condition of maintaining your business license. As the owner, you are also responsible for meeting all off-street parking and other applicable zoning and building code requirements.