Summit County, Colorado, passes new short-term rental law

Summit County, Colorado, has adopted new rules for short-term rentals in unincorporated areas of the county after more than a year of meetings and public input.

The new regulations require every short-term rental unit to have its own permit, and the permit number must be included in all online advertisements. Permits must be renewed every year.

Short-term rental hosts must also designate an agent responsible for responding to problems with the rental — within an hour — for code violations that include occupancy, parking, garbage, and noise

The new law also limits occupancy for short-term rentals to one person per 200 square feet, or a certain number of people per bedroom, whichever is greater. For properties that meet modern fire codes, the occupancy maximum is four people per bedroom, plus two extra people per property. For properties that don’t meet the modern code, the limit is two people per bedroom, plus two extra people per rental.

Properties that want to have more than 20 short-term rental guests at one time must apply for a conditional use permit. Short-term rental properties must also provide at least one parking space for guests and include the number of parking spaces available in ads.

The new rules go into effect immediately, but will not be enforced until June 30, 2019.  Short-term rental operators must apply for a permit by June 1. The county has hired a monitoring company to keep track of complaints about short-term rentals and check listings for compliance.

Short-term rentals in unincorporated parts of the county are subject to state and county sales tax and mass transit tax, which means short-term rental operators must collect these taxes and remit them to the state. Airbnb collects some short-term rental taxes for its bookings in Colorado, including Colorado state sales tax, city/county sales tax, county lodging tax, and local marketing district tax.

Other online booking platforms such as VRBO and HomeAway do not collect any taxes for their hosts in Summit County, so operators who use these platforms are responsible for collecting all taxes due on short-term rentals and filing them with the right agency.

All operators, including Airbnb hosts, are responsible for registering for required Colorado state tax licenses. Automated solutions such as MyLodgeTax can help Summit County short-term rental operators make sure they comply with all lodging tax obligations.

Earlier this fall, Breckenridge, which is located within Summit County, updated its regulations for short-term rentals, including adding a 24-hour hotline for people to call with complaints. The new rules also require short-term rental operators to designate a “responsible agent” to respond to complaints. Vail also passed tighter new regulations for short-term rental operators this year.