Colorado Springs, CO Short-Term Rentals: Host Presence Rule (2026)
Key Facts
- Response window
- 1 hour to complaints during any stay
- Contact-change deadline
- update permit within 3 days
- Permit authority
- § 7.5.510 Short Term Rental Permit
- Permit term
- 1 year, tied to the owner
- Liability insurance floor
- $500,000 minimum
Summary
Colorado Springs requires every Short Term Rental to have an owner or designated local contact reachable the entire time a guest is staying, with a duty to respond to complaints about noise, conduct, or property conditions within one hour. City Code § 7.3.301C.5.g ties this directly to the Short Term Rental Permit the city already requires before any unit can operate.
g. During the term that a Short Term Rental is occupied by a short-term tenant, the owner or the local contact person designated by the owner shall be available at all times for the purpose of responding within one (1) hour to complaints regarding the condition or operation of the Short Term Rental or the conduct of short-term tenants. If the local contact person designated by the owner changes, the owner shall update the permit on file within three (3) days.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: 2026 S-21: Code current through: Ord. 26-23, passed June 9, 2026).
Full Breakdown
5. While a short-term tenant occupies the unit, the owner or a local contact person the owner has designated must be available at all times to respond within one hour to complaints about the condition or operation of the rental or the conduct of the tenants staying there. If that designated local contact changes, the owner has three days to update the permit on file with the City. 510 is mandatory before operating, runs one year, is tied to the specific owner rather than the property, and cannot be transferred on sale.
104, and keep the current permit and emergency contact information posted prominently inside the rental. The Permit number must also appear in all rental marketing.
Violations & Fines
Failing to keep a reachable local contact, or missing the one-hour response window on complaints, feeds into the repeat-offender tracking under § 7.5.907 (Penalties). An owner classified as a repeat offender or chronic repeat offender is barred from holding a Short Term Rental Permit, and any owner whose permit was revoked cannot get a new one for two years. The three-day window to update a changed local contact is itself an enforceable permit condition, not a suggestion.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a Colorado Springs STR host have to live nearby to comply?
What happens if the local contact for a rental changes?
What if a host misses the one-hour complaint response?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Colorado Springs
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