Summit County, Colorado, bans new short-term rental licenses for 90 days
- Sep 28, 2021 | Jennifer Sokolowsky
The Summit Board of County Commissioners approved a 90-day moratorium on new short-term rental licenses that began September 17. The moratorium only applies to new applications within the unincorporated county. Existing licenses are unaffected.
A few areas are exempt from the moratorium. These include some subdivisions at the base of Peak 8 in Breckenridge, including SkiWatch and Four O’Clock, and properties in Copper Mountain and Keystone. Buyers who are under contract to purchase properties may also receive an exemption if they can show they intend to rent their properties out for short terms and sign an affidavit.
Summit County hosts must convert all permits issued before July 1 to licenses before September 30. If a permit has an expiration date of September 30, owners are required to pay a fee to keep their license active for the next year. These conversions are also exempt from the moratorium.
The moratorium will “allow staff time to develop and propose amended short-term rental regulations through the code amendment process,” according to the county.
Summit County passed short-term regulations in 2018. Among other rules, vacation rental hosts must:
- Register with the city annually
- Designate an agent responsible for responding to problems with the rental within an hour
- Follow safety, occupancy, and parking rules
Unincorporated Summit County doesn’t have a limit on the number of short-term rental licenses that can be issued. However, Breckenridge, which is located in the county, recently passed a measure on first reading that will cap the number of nonexempt short-term rental licenses in the town at 2,200.
Under the proposed Breckenridge law, properties are considered exempt if they have a phone, on-site front desk, security service 24 hours a day and on-site, and the front desk and security are staffed by different people. The council will give the measure a second reading September 28, and if approved, it will go into effect 35 days later.
Short-term rental hosts in unincorporated Summit County must collect state sales tax from guests. Before they can collect these taxes, hosts must register for a tax license with the state. Airbnb and Vrbo automatically collect state tax for their Summit County hosts. However, even if a rental platform collects taxes for hosts, the host is still required to register for state tax licenses and file regular lodging tax returns.
MyLodgeTax can automate and simplify short-term rental tax compliance, including registration and filing with state and local tax authorities. For more on short-term rental taxes in Colorado, see our state Vacation Rental Tax Guide. If you have tax questions related to vacation rental properties, drop us a line and we’ll get back to you with answers.
