Is short-term rental legal in Denver, CO?
A short-term rental is a rental under 30 days. In Denver it is legal in exactly one place: your primary residence.
Rules checked October 2026
Run the Denver verdict on your facts
| What counts as a short-term rental | A short-term rental is a rental under 30 days. In Denver it is legal in exactly one place: your primary residence. |
|---|---|
| Permit / license | STR License + Business License (two licenses) — issued by Denver Department of Excise and Licenses |
| Fee | $100 per year for the STR license (business license is separate) |
| Renewal | Annual renewal of both licenses |
| Primary-residence rule | Primary residence ONLY — proven by documents (ID, voter or vehicle registration, tax return). One license, one property, and it must be where you actually live. |
| Whole-home rental | Once licensed, both hosted and whole-home stays at your primary residence are allowed, with no city night cap. |
| Night cap | — |
| Guests / occupancy | Per the license and building codes for the home |
| Minimum stay | None |
| Zoning | The primary-residence rule IS the zoning rule — non-primary homes fail everywhere in the city. |
| Density / scarcity | No density cap found in the current rules |
| Fines | $999 fine per incident; a false primary-residence affidavit carries felony exposure (city guidance cites 2–6 years and fines to $500,000); platforms face $1,000/day per violation |
| Taxes | Lodger's tax license and collection are part of the licensing stack. |
| Platform duties | Platforms must display license numbers and face $1,000/day per violation for unlicensed bookings. |
| State layer | No state preemption. Mountain towns run the country's strictest cap-and-license regimes; Denver allows primary residences only. |
What trips hosts in Denver
- Denver is the cleanest primary-residence regime in America: no cap, no tiers — one bright line, enforced with $999 fines.
- Second homes and investment condos fail at the definition, whatever the neighborhood.
The private layer still applies
These are the city's rules. Your HOA, condo board, lease or mortgage can say no on top of them — that layer is printed as a warning in the checker, never merged into the city's verdict.
Sources: Denver Revised Municipal Code § 32-70 et seq. · Denver Excise and Licenses STR rules. Rules checked October 2026.