Colorado Springs, CO short-term rental permit

What Colorado Springs asks of you

• Operating a short-term rental without a valid permit is unlawful.^[5]

• The permit belongs to the owner, not the property. It expires when the home is sold or transferred, though a third party may manage it.^[6]

• Each lawful dwelling unit on a property can hold one rental, up to four per property. In a multi-family building held in common ownership, each owner is limited to two.^[5]

• The city says it sets no cap on the number of permits. It keeps no waiting list for non-owner-occupied permits either.^[3]

• Applicants prove primary residence with two documents, such as a driver's license or a voter registration. Mail does not count.^[3]

• Under Ordinance 25-45, a property with an accessory dwelling unit cannot get a permit as of June 30, 2025. Pairs legally permitted before that date may continue as nonconforming uses.^[3]

• An active-duty owner stationed in El Paso County can have the owner-occupancy requirement waived for up to one year during a temporary posting elsewhere.^[3]

• Overnight occupancy stops at two occupants per bedroom plus two, never more than 15 in one unit.^[5]

• While a tenant is staying, the owner or a designated local contact must answer complaints within one hour. A new contact goes on file within three days.^[5]

• The private driveway fills first. Extra cars may use the street where parking is permitted, never front yards, parkways or rear yards.^[5]

• Weekly residential trash collection is mandatory.^[5]

• The owner carries at least $500,000 in property liability insurance. That proof is waived when every booking runs through platforms extending the same coverage.^[5]

• Weddings and other large gatherings are banned. The owner may not prepare or serve meals for guests.^[5]

• The approved permit, with local contact details and emergency safety information, is posted inside next to the front door.^[4]

• The city-issued permit number appears in all rental marketing.^[5]

• About 30 days before expiration, the city emails a reminder with renewal instructions.^[4]

• The zoning code lists a city sales tax license among the standards every permit must meet.^[5]

• The permit checklist says no city sales tax license is needed for a home posted only on Airbnb or VRBO. It adds that the city has agreements with no other hosting platform.^[4]

• Any taxes owed to the city must be paid before the permit is issued.^[3]

• A first-time offender who ignores an order to abate pays reinspection fees of $100, then $250. From the third visit on, each one costs $500.^[7]

• Owners classed as repeat offenders cannot hold a permit. Neither can anyone whose permit was revoked in the past two years.^[5]

What Colorado asks wherever you host

These rules apply at this address whatever the city decides.

• When guests book through a platform, it collects Colorado sales tax on the full amount charged. The platform also handles any county lodging tax and local marketing district tax.^[1]

• Lodging taxes a city sets stay outside the state's system, since the Department of Revenue administers none of them. Home-rule cities that run their own sales tax sit outside it too, so start with your city.^[1]

• Hosts who take direct bookings need a Colorado sales tax license and collect the 2.9% state rate themselves. The license is $16, prorated, with a $50 deposit returned once your state tax tops $50.^[2]