Short-Term Rentals in Colorado (2026)

Arvada requires both an STR permit and a city business license under Land Development Code 3-1-5-3 (Ord. 4917, eff. May…

Short-term rentals are illegal in Boulder without a city-issued license. Section 10-3-19(a) bars anyone from operating…

Every short-term rental in Colorado Springs must hold a valid short-term rental permit issued by the City before any…

Aurora, Colorado requires short-term rental hosts to hold both a general business license and a lodger's license, post…

No one may rent out a Fort Collins dwelling for stays under 30 days without a City license. City Code § 15-642 requires…

Fountain, Colorado makes it unlawful to operate a short term rental unit without a permit issued by the zoning…

Unincorporated Jefferson County requires a county-issued Short-Term Rental License before anyone may operate or even…

Apply online through Boulder County Community Planning & Permitting. The application must include proof of insurance…

Castle Rock has no dedicated short-term rental permit. The Town does not regulate Airbnb/VRBO as a land use, but every…

Beyond the license itself, Centennial requires short-term rental applicants to file a recorded deed proving ownership…

Denver requires anyone offering a short-term rental to first obtain a license from the Department of Excise and…

A Douglas County Short-Term Rental license lasts one calendar year, or ends immediately when the property is sold…

Short-term rentals are a permitted zoning use across nearly every Greeley district, but operators still need the city's…

A Lakewood STR license application must include owner contact information, a premises description, a signed affidavit…

After Planning Division approval and a Building Division Certificate of Occupancy, Larimer County issues a short-term…

The City of Littleton requires a license before any dwelling unit is rented as a short-term primary rental. City Code…

Longmont's short-term rental application requires a Colorado ID, a signed annual affidavit, LLC-member disclosure, and…

In unincorporated Mesa County, every vacation rental, whether a whole home or a single rented room, must go through…

There is no county STR registry in unincorporated Weld County, but every host must register with the Colorado…

Any person offering a short-term rental in Westminster must first obtain a City license under W.M.C. 5-24-3. The…

As of early 2026, unincorporated Arapahoe County does not have an STR licensing or registration requirement. STRs are…

Short-term tenants in Colorado Springs must follow all City noise ordinances, and City Code § 7.3.301.C.5.d flatly…

A Lakewood short-term rental that racks up two excessive-noise citations, or a single noise conviction, gives the…

The proposed Arapahoe County STR regulations require that amplified music and noise from short-term rentals not exceed…

Boulder has no separate short-term-rental noise ordinance; a loud STR party falls under B.R.C. § 5-3-11, Nuisance Party…

Ordinance 2023-02 sets no separate decibel standard, but each rental must provide guests county Good Neighbor…

The STR ordinance does not set a decibel limit itself. Instead, each rental must post written good-neighbor guidelines…

A Fort Collins short term rental license is conditioned on following the City's Nuisances chapter, and that chapter…

Section 46 requires every short-term rental to comply with the Jefferson County Noise Abatement Policy. A 24-hour Local…

Every Larimer County short-term rental is subject to the Larimer County Noise Ordinance. Environmental Health enforces…

Littleton requires every short-term rental host to post a Good Neighbor Handout inside the unit that spells out…

Longmont does not set a separate noise limit for short-term rentals; instead it makes the citywide unreasonable-noise…

Colorado requires short-term rental operators to collect 2.9 percent state sales tax plus any local lodging taxes, with…

Unincorporated Adams County allows a short-term rental only under a Short-Term Rental License from the Community &…

Operating a short-term rental in Manitou Springs requires both a Short-Term Rental Permit from the Planning Department…

Short-term rentals in unincorporated Arapahoe County are subject to the 3.9% Colorado state accommodations tax. There…

Aurora short-term rental hosts pay an 8% lodger's tax on the nightly rental charge, collected at the time of sale and…

Boulder imposes a 7.5 percent excise tax on the price paid for short-term rental lodging under Section 3-15-2. Renters…

License fees are $350 (short-term) or $500 (vacation) for a two-year term. Operators must remit all applicable state…

Castle Rock imposes a 6% lodging tax on all sales of lodging, effective January 1, 2022, in addition to the Town's 4.2%…

Centennial short-term rental hosts must hold a valid City sales tax license and pay all sales taxes and fees owed to…

Colorado Springs taxes short-term rental income two ways: a 2% lodgers tax under City Code § 2.9.105 on any lodging…

Denver charges the same 10.75% lodger's tax on short-term rentals that it charges hotels, and every licensed short-term…

Douglas County charges a $500 application review fee the first year, $270 to renew, plus a $130 license fee each year…

Short term rental hosts in Fort Collins must hold sales, use, and lodging tax licenses before they can get a rental…

Fountain taxes short-term lodging the same as any other retail sale: the city's sales and use tax, 3.4 percent since…

Every STR License application carries a nonrefundable processing fee set by the Board of County Commissioners, due once…

Littleton requires every short-term rental host to hold a license under Title 3, Chapter 23, paying an application fee…

Longmont taxes short-term rentals under its 2% lodgers tax, because 'lodging services' covers rooms rented for…

A Mesa County vacation rental does not get a break from the obligations other lodging businesses carry. The Land…

Westminster charges a 7 percent accommodations tax on every short-term rental stay under W.M.C. 4-4-2, and STR…

Proposed Arapahoe County STR regulations require operators to provide a parking plan to renters. A minimum of one…

Applicants must submit a parking plan and provide satisfactory on-site parking. Short-term rentals need two on-site…

Short Term Rental guests in Colorado Springs must park in the private driveway first, with overflow only on the street…

All guest vehicles and trailers at a Douglas County rental must fit on the property's permitted, approved driveway…

Every short term rental license in Fort Collins is conditioned on compliance with the Land Use Code's parking standard…

Section 46 requires every STR to provide a minimum of one off-street parking space per bedroom. The application must…

Lakewood does not set a numeric on-site parking count for short-term rentals. Instead, every STR license application…

Larimer County bars anyone from staying overnight in a motor vehicle, RV, camper, travel trailer, tent or other outdoor…

Littleton requires every licensed short-term rental to provide at least two off-street parking spaces, whether in a…

Mesa County ties off-street parking directly to the size of a vacation rental. The Land Development Code requires one…

Longmont does not require extra off-street parking for a licensed short-term rental unless the city imposes it as a…

Centennial caps short-term rental occupancy at two renters per bedroom, with a hard maximum of 8 renters per property…

Proposed Arapahoe County STR regulations cap occupancy at 2 guests per bedroom plus 2 additional guests, with a hard…

Boulder ties short-term rental occupancy to the same limit that governs any other rental unit. Section 10-3-19(i) caps…

Occupancy is capped at eight individuals, or the occupancy limit of the approved on-site wastewater (septic) system…

Colorado Springs caps maximum overnight occupancy of a short-term rental at two occupants per bedroom plus two…

For a Douglas County rental on central sewer, overnight occupancy cannot exceed two guests per bedroom. On a septic…

Fort Collins does not cap the number of guests an STR can host by ordinance; instead it regulates building occupancy…

Fountain, Colorado limits a property to one short term rental unit per lawful dwelling unit, up to four units total…

Occupancy is limited to two people per bedroom, or fewer if the on-site wastewater system is more restrictive. No STR…

A standard Larimer County short-term rental accommodates 10 or fewer guests who are part of one party. Hosted STRs run…

Littleton caps short-term rental occupancy at two adults per bedroom and eight people total for the entire premises…

Longmont caps overnight occupancy in a licensed short-term rental at two guests per legal conforming bedroom, plus two…

Short-term rentals in Manitou Springs cannot exceed the occupancy load set by the City's adopted building code, and…

Mesa County does not set one fixed guest-count ceiling for vacation rentals. Instead, the Land Development Code has the…

Westminster caps how many people can occupy a short-term rental by applying the City's general dwelling occupancy…

Denver's zoning code explicitly exempts short-term rentals from any maximum number of guests per night, one of the few…

Yes. Applicants must show a certificate of insurance with adequate liability and property limits insuring at least…

Centennial's STR ordinance requires hosts to maintain general liability insurance for the rental property. The…

Colorado Springs requires every Short Term Rental owner to carry at least $500,000 in property liability insurance…

Denver requires every licensed short-term rental to carry fire, hazard, and liability insurance meeting coverage limits…

Douglas County's ordinance does not require short-term rental owners to carry a specific liability insurance policy. It…

Fort Collins will not license a short term rental until the owner proves liability insurance covering renter injuries…

Yes. Section 46 requires every STR to carry fire, hazard, and liability insurance, either through separate STR…

Lakewood requires every short-term rental license applicant to submit proof of liability insurance covering the…

Larimer County's STR ordinance sets no fixed liability-insurance dollar minimum, but the owner must agree to hold the…

Littleton short-term rental hosts must carry liability insurance covering the rental use, with a City Code floor of…

Arvada caps STR occupancy at 240 days per calendar year per permitted property under LDC 3-1-5-3 (Ord. 4917). Stays…

Aurora, Colorado caps short-term rentals of an entire home at 180 days per year under Sec. 26-219(d) of the City Code…

An accessory dwelling unit rented as a short-term rental in Boulder is capped at 120 nights a year. Section…

There is no cap on short-term rental licenses, but a host may be absent only up to 45 nights per year. Whole-home…

Douglas County sets no maximum number of nights a licensed short-term rental may operate each year. However, a home…

Jefferson County Section 46 does not impose an annual limit on the number of nights an STR may be rented. Instead of a…

Larimer County sets no per-night annual cap on how many nights a licensed STR may rent. Instead, it caps the total…

Weld County and Greeley set no annual cap on the number of nights a property can be rented short-term. Colorado defines…

Boulder does not require the host to be on-site, but every short-term rental application must list two contacts who can…

Every licensed rental must have a Local Manager available whenever the premises is occupied who can respond to a renter…

Colorado Springs requires every Short Term Rental to have an owner or designated local contact reachable the entire…

Douglas County does not require the host to sleep onsite, but every rental must name a Local Responsible Agent (which…

Fort Collins requires every licensed short term rental to have a responsible person on call. City Code § 15-644(a)(7)…

Jeffco does not require the host to be present during stays. Instead, Section 46 requires a designated Local…

A standard Larimer County STR does not require the host on-site, but a hosted STR must have a full-time resident or…

Littleton does not require an on-site host, but every short-term rental license must name a person able to reach the…

Longmont requires the property owner to actually live in a short-term rental before individual rooms can be rented out…

Mesa County does not require the owner to live on site, but it does require a local representative. The Land…

Aurora, Colorado limits short-term rentals to the operator's primary residence, and booking platforms can't be paid for…

Boulder only licenses a short-term rental in the unit the licensee actually lives in. BRC 10-3-19(j) requires the…

Denver bans short-term rentals of any home that isn't the host's primary residence: investment properties and second…

Lakewood issues short-term rental licenses only for Dwelling Units that are the owner's Primary Residence, closing off…

Longmont only licenses a short-term rental if it is the applicant's primary residence or a single second/investment…

Short-Term Rentals must be the owner's or tenant's primary residence, occupied more than six months per year, though…

Douglas County does not require a short-term rental to be the owner's primary residence, so non-owner-occupied and…

A short term primary rental license in Fort Collins can only go to the owner of a dwelling that is actually that…

Jeffco does not require STRs to be a primary residence. It licenses two types: Primary Residence STRs and Investment…

A Littleton short-term primary-rental license only issues for the applicant's own primary residence. City Code Section…

Aurora, Colorado requires a business and lodger's license for short-term rentals and caps whole-home rentals at 180…

Denver caps short-term rentals to a host's primary residence: you can rent out your own home or a room in it, but not a…

Boulder enforces short-term rental violations through an escalating civil penalty schedule: $150 for a first violation…

An owner classified as a repeat or chronic repeat offender under City Code § 7.5.907, or whose Short Term Rental Permit…

Fort Collins does not use a strikes system for short term rentals; a single revocation locks the dwelling out for a…

Lakewood denies new STR licenses to owners whose license was revoked or suspended in the prior five years, and revokes…

Mesa County runs a complaint-based strike system for vacation rentals. Three or more verified nuisance, health or…

Longmont revokes a short-term rental license after a documented pattern of nuisance, defined as three or more notices…

Denver makes it unlawful for booking service providers like Airbnb or Vrbo to accept payment for an unlicensed…

Aurora, Colorado makes booking service providers like Airbnb and Vrbo liable if they collect payment for an unlicensed…

Inside a Boulder lodging business assessment area, a hosting platform that collects payment from a short-term rental…

Lakewood requires any short-term rental facilitator or hosting platform a licensee uses to hold its own city business…