Boulder, CO Rental Inspections: Inspection Programs (2026)

Boulder folds its rental inspection program into the same chapter that issues rental licenses. C. C. 1981, not by city staff. Section 10-3-3(b)(1) then makes a current inspection report a condition of every new or renewed rental license: the report must certify compliance with those portions of the Property Maintenance Code and Section 9-9-16, "Lighting, Outdoor," that the report form covers. For a newly converted rental property, Section 10-3-6(a)(1)-(2) requires the inspector's certification to be dated within twelve months of the license application and to record the condition and location of every required smoke and carbon monoxide alarm; the operator must give tenants advance notice of the inspection date and time, stay present, and unlock doors as needed.

The same twelve-month, alarm-certification requirement applies at renewal under Section 10-3-7. Operators must make a copy of the inspection form available to city staff and to tenants of inspected units within fourteen days of a request. A building's first license, tied to new construction, skips the baseline inspection if the application is filed within one year of the first certificate of occupancy under Section 10-3-5. When an inspection turns up Property Maintenance Code violations serious enough to endanger occupant health or safety, the city manager can cut the license term to 24 months under the reduced term license in Section 10-3-4(a)(1) and (b)(1), rather than the normal four years.