This past Friday, the Colorado House passed a bill on a preliminary vote to improve local governments’ ability to hold short-term rentals to local rules and regulations.
“Short term rentals are important to Colorado mountain communities like mine for tourism, but without local governments’ ability to properly regulate these properties, short-term rentals are impacting the livability of our communities,” said Speaker Julie McCluskie, D-Dillon, sponsor of HB23-1287.
Image Courtesy YourHub/Denver Post
“When bad actors in the short-term market create challenging situations for their neighbors, like drying up wells or overflowing septic systems, we have to do more to stick up for those who call our towns home year-round,” she added. “By creating pathways for our counties to collaborate with digital platforms, where short-term rentals are listed, we can increase transparency and create a housing environment that works for everyone in the community.”
“Living in a rural resort community, I’ve witnessed the increased popularity of short-term rentals, and short-term rentals play an important role in our local economy,” said Rep. Meghan Lukens, D-Steamboat Springs, sponsor of HB23-1287. “Our legislation allows counties to partner with digital platforms that host units, and gives counties the ability to remove a listing if the owners’ license is suspended or revoked, protecting owners, renters, and local communities from violations of local rules and regulations.”
Across Colorado, a board of county commissioners already has the authority to regulate units that are rented or used for short-term stays. HB23-1287 clarifies the definition of a short-term rental and provides counties with the authority to work with digital platforms to accurately list compliant short-term rentals.
HB23-1287 gives counties the ability to require an owner of a property, or the owner’s agent, to include a rental license or permit in any listing for a short-term rental unit on a digital platform. If a county has regulations on short-term rentals, the county would be able to require a digital platform to remove any rental listing if the owner of the listing:
- Has their local short-term rental license or permit suspended or revoked,
- Has received a notice violation, or a similar legal process, for not holding a valid local short-term rental license or permit, or
- Is not allowed to list their unit as a short-term rental due to county rules.
Recent Comments