Boulder, CO Short-Term Rentals: Primary-Residence-Only Rule (2026)

Short-term rentals in Boulder are prohibited without a city manager-issued license under BRC 10-3-19(a), and the license is tied to occupancy, not just ownership. Section 10-3-19(c)(1) requires a natural-person applicant to submit a true copy of a Colorado driver's license or state ID showing the rental address, plus a sworn statement that the unit is the applicant's principal residence; a trust applicant must show the same for a beneficiary under (c)(2). Section 10-3-19(j) states the operative rule directly: the dwelling unit rented as a short-term rental shall be the licensee's principal residence.

That requirement is not a one-time check: under 10-3-19(p), any licensee who filed a sworn statement under (c)(1) or (2) must, within thirty days of each anniversary of the license's issuance, submit a fresh sworn statement affirming the unit remains the applicant's (or trust beneficiary's) principal residence and pay the renewal fee set by Section 4-20-18. Owners are capped at one short-term rental license each under 10-3-19(m), and a unit already carrying a long-term rental license or exemption affidavit cannot double as a short-term rental under 10-3-19(n).

A narrow carve-out exists for 'festival lodging' licenses under 10-3-19(q), exempt from the principal-residence rule in (j) but limited to 29 days a year tied to a city-approved special festival event. Detached ADUs used for short-term rental face an added cap of 120 days a year under 10-3-19(o), and Boulder has not accepted new short-term rental applications for ADU/principal-dwelling configurations since February 1, 2019.