Lakewood, CO Short-Term Rentals: Occupancy Limits (2026)

Ordinance O-2023-05, codified at LMC Title 5, Chapter 5.55, took effect September 1, 2023 and reshaped how occupancy works in Lakewood STRs. Whole-home rentals for less than thirty consecutive days are prohibited; the only permitted short-term rental is a home-share, in which individual rooms are rented within an existing owner-occupied dwelling unit while the owner continues to live there as their primary residence. Because the owner must remain on-site, the practical occupancy ceiling is the home's existing legal bedrooms minus the owner's space, plus building-code habitability and life-safety standards. Chapter 5.55 does not publish a numeric per-bedroom guest cap; instead occupancy is regulated through the primary-residence requirement, the home-share-only model, and Title 14/15 building and zoning standards. State law also matters here: Colorado HB24-1007 bars cities from capping occupancy based on familial relationships, so Lakewood cannot count occupants by family status, and HB23-1287 clarifies parallel STR authority for counties. Applicants must submit proof of primary residence (Colorado driver's license, voter registration, vehicle registration, recent tax return, or recent utility bill) to qualify.