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

Longmont takes a hybrid 'primary-residence-plus-one' approach to STR eligibility, codified through the program rules administered by the Planning and Development Services Department. The eligibility filter has four components. First, the applicant must be a City of Longmont resident; out-of-city, out-of-county, or out-of-state owners are categorically ineligible to hold a Longmont STR license, even when they own a dwelling inside city limits. Second, the applicant must have at least 50% ownership of the dwelling, or be the authorized representative of a person who does; this prevents thin straw-owner arrangements designed to circumvent the residency rule. Third, each Longmont resident is limited to one investment dwelling operating as an STR in addition to STR activity in their own primary residence. The 'one investment dwelling' cap is a per-resident cap, not a per-property cap, and the city tracks licenses by applicant identity. Fourth, the whole investment-dwelling STR can only be rented to one group at a time (no carving it into concurrent multi-party room rentals), and any room-by-room rentals at the investment dwelling would require the owner, agent, or property manager to reside and be present during the rental - a host-presence rule that effectively further limits investment-dwelling operating models. ADU (accessory dwelling unit) usage as an STR is generally prohibited except in specific PUDs with site plan approval, removing a common vehicle through which absentee investors operate STRs in other Colorado markets. The combined effect of the eligibility rules is to keep STR inventory tied to Longmont residents and to limit absentee, corporate, and large-portfolio STR operation.