Short-Term Rentals in Pitkin County, CO (2026)

Permit Requirements

Pitkin County (home to Aspen, Snowmass Village, Basalt, Redstone, Woody Creek, and Old Snowmass) operates one of the most restrictive county-level short-term rental regimes in Colorado. Under BOCC Ordinance No. 028-2022 (adopted 2022, licensing effective September 20, 2023) and codified at Pitkin County Code Title 6 (Short-Term Rental Code), every property owner in unincorporated Pitkin County who rents a residential dwelling for fewer than 30 consecutive days must obtain a County STR license before advertising or operating. The County imposes (1) a hard 120-night-per-year maximum on every license, (2) a 4-night minimum stay per booking, (3) a tiered fee calculated as a percentage of the County Assessor's market value (0.05%-0.07%), and (4) an eligibility 'history' requirement: applicants must demonstrate documented STR activity between May 11, 2017 and May 11, 2022 — properties without that rental history are ineligible for a new license. The City of Aspen operates a separate, even more restrictive regime under Aspen Ordinance No. 9, Series 2022, with three permit types (STR-C, STR-OO, STR-LE), zone-based caps that reduced allowable STR-C permits to 75% of pre-moratorium counts, an STR excise tax of 5%-10% on top of all sales/lodging taxes (Resolution 106-2022, effective May 1, 2023), and waiting lists in eight of fourteen residential zone districts. Both jurisdictions retain authority under HB20-1093 (C.R.S. § 30-15-401(1)(s)(I)) and HB23-1287 (effective August 7, 2023) to require platform compliance and to compel listing removal.