Short-term rentals in Estes Park, explained properly.

Under Sec. 5.20.110(b)(1)(b), if on February 1 of any year 10 or fewer requests remain on the waitlist, the Town Clerk conducts a lottery with at least two weeks' notice. One entry is allowed per dwelling unit (a unit with multiple entries is disqualified), no more than two prospective licensees may be listed per entry, and the fee is $50 per entry. Winning requests are added to the end of the waitlist in the order drawn, up to a total of 30 applications, and entries from properties entered consistently in earlier lotteries by the same entrants get an added chance for each failed consecutive past entry. After February 1 (or after the lottery), if there are fewer licenses in residential zones than the cap, the Clerk notifies the requests highest on the waitlist and they must deliver an application within 14 days of the notice. Properties licensed as bed and breakfast inns on May 23, 2023 had until January 31, 2026 to apply for a vacation home license without the cap, waitlist or lottery. The Town's page conflicts in part: it says Ordinance 16-21 (October 26, 2021) placed a moratorium on the waitlist so applications for residential zoned vacation homes are not being accepted, while the same page describes a waitlist lottery application that closed March 20 (year not stated), with a $50 fee. Both statements are on the Town's page and the Code text above includes later amendments (the history runs to Ordinance 18-25, November 12, 2025), so the current-year status of the lottery and waitlist is unsettled and is flagged for review.

Sec. 5.20.110(a)(8) says that to be issued a license a vacation home must first pass a compliance inspection for compliance with the Municipal Code and the Development Code, which also checks against illegal duplexes or accessory dwelling units. Sec. 5.20.110(a)(9) requires a life safety inspection or other required building inspection and a certificate of occupancy allowing the use (Sec. 14.12.080, section R332 of the International Residential Code as amended). If no certificate of occupancy has been issued when the registration packet is issued, the applicant must request the life safety inspection building permit within 30 days of the packet, complete the initial life safety inspection within 30 days of the permit, and pass the final inspection and obtain the certificate within 90 days of the initial inspection; missing a deadline voids the application. Under Sec. 5.20.110(a)(5) all requirements of the registration packet must be completed and submitted within 90 days of the packet's issue (the life safety inspection follows its own deadlines), or the packet and the application are void. A refiled application for the same home within two years of a lapse carries a reapplication fee equal to the license fee without the linkage fee. Before an initial or transferred license is issued the owner or local representative must mail the neighbor notice described in the neighbor notification rule. The Town's page says applications take at least 14 days to process after both signatures, and that the Code Enforcement Officer conducts the initial compliance inspection.

Sec. 5.20.110(d)(3) says a vacation home license must be renewed on an annual basis, does not convey a right to continue operating in future years, and expires automatically if not properly renewed. Sec. 5.20.060(1) makes full payment due on or before January 31 of each calendar year (see the fee rule for the late penalty). Residential-zone licenses active on December 31 have priority for renewal over new residential-zone applications only if the renewal is complete, all required inspections are passed and fees are paid by January 31; priority is not given where an uncured violation is ongoing in the Town Clerk's determination, and then the renewal is void and the license expires. Where the licensee is not the property owner, each licensee must show each year that they keep an ownership interest. The Code states that all of these provisions, including priority for renewal, transferability and the residential cap, are subject to future changes in state or local regulations.

Sec. 5.20.110(e)(13) says vacation homes and bed and breakfast inns shall not be allowed on residential lots of record containing an accessory dwelling unit as defined and regulated by the Estes Park Development Code. Employee housing units, attainable housing units and workforce housing units as defined in the Development Code cannot be designated as vacation homes (Sec. 5.20.110(e)(12)). Only one vacation home is allowed per residential dwelling unit, and the number allowed on an individual lot of record may be limited by the Municipal Code, the Development Code and other regulations (Sec. 5.20.110(e)(3)). The compliance inspection checks against illegal duplexes or accessory dwelling units on the premises.

Sec. 5.20.120(b) charges a vacation home workforce housing regulatory linkage fee as part of the annual fee for a vacation home business license, beginning with the 2023 license year at $1,390 per license. The Town Clerk adjusts the fee annually for inflation using the All Items CPI-U, U.S. City Average, with the June 2022 index as the baseline and each successive June index used to update it, and posts the new amount on the Town's website before accepting payment for the following license year and no later than January 1 of the license year. The Town's page states the 2026 amount as $1,500 and says the fee is due with the annual renewal fee by January 31 and is adjusted for inflation in October. The licensee may pass the expected per-rental-night cost of the fee to customers as a surcharge on the bill (Sec. 5.20.120(d)). An applicant for a vacation home license in the outlying commercial (CO) zoning district may be exempt from the fee for the upcoming license year if the Town Clerk certifies that the property became a vacation home when the Development Code permitted vacation homes in CO but prohibited household living there and has not been used for household living; no refund is given for a fee already paid. The dated source for the $1,500 amount is the Town's page, which gives the year 2026 and not a date, and the amount for the 2027 license year had not been posted when we read it, so this rule is flagged for review.

Sec. 5.20.110(a)(2)a requires the vacation home application to designate a local resident or local property manager residing within either the Estes Valley Recreation and Park District boundary or the Estes Park School District R-3 boundary, who can be contacted by telephone and is available when the vacation home is rented regarding any violation. The representative is the owner's representative for immediate violation resolution and may be the same person as the property owner. The owner and the designated local contact both sign the application acknowledging the vacation home regulations. If the representative changes during the year, the owner must notify the Town Clerk within 15 days and make sure the new representative knows the regulations. The Town's page adds a 20 to 30 minute response time and says an owner acting as representative must give an alternative address inside the required boundaries where the owner will reside while the property is rented. The owner and local representative are both in violation if a guest violates the Code (see enforcement).

Sec. 5.20.110(e)(6)a limits a vacation home in a residential zoning district to eight (8) occupants and further to a maximum of two (2) individuals per sleeping room plus two (2) individuals per vacation home. A residential structure with four or more sleeping rooms may apply for large vacation home review (LVHR) as a nine-and-over vacation home; its occupancy is set in the LVHR terms of approval, within two individuals per sleeping room plus two per vacation home. Under Development Code Sec. 5.1.B.4 an owner may apply for LVHR only if a complete application for an eight-and-under vacation home registration was filed on or before March 31, 2017 and the home has four or more sleeping rooms; the minimum lot size is one acre unless the Planning Commission finds adequate buffering or screening. In non-residential districts occupancy is limited to two individuals per sleeping room plus two per vacation home, and the overall maximum of eight is not applied there while the home complies with all building, fire and health codes and a valid business license is in effect (Sec. 5.20.110(e)(6)c). Occupancy is not counted differently on the basis of age or status, and all vacation homes are also subject to the occupancy limits adopted under Title 14, which we did not read. Advertising must accurately state the maximum number of allowed occupants. The Town's page says the Large Vacation Home Review is available to properties that filed an application prior to March 31, 2017; the Development Code text says on or before March 31, 2017, and this page follows the Code.

Sec. 5.20.110(e)(8)a applies to vacation homes in the residential zoning districts E, E-1, R, R-1, R-2, RE and RM. The name registry is kept by the local representative and made available to the Town or another regulator on request. A vacation home may also include primary residents of the same dwelling unit occupying the premises at the same time as nightly guests; all occupancy limits apply to the combined total of guests and residents, and Code provisions about vacation home guests apply equally to residents. Bed and breakfast inns may be rented to more than one party. This rule is about the residential zoning districts only; Sec. 5.20.110(e)(8)a is the clause read.

Sec. 5.20.110(e)(4)a sets a minimum of two off-street parking spaces for a vacation home in every district other than the CD Downtown Commercial zoning district. Under (e)(4)b, in residential zoning districts the maximum number of vehicles parked off-street on the property, and not in a fully enclosed garage, cannot exceed the number of bedrooms. In non-residential zoning districts maximum parking follows the standards for "hotel, small" in Sec. 7.11(D) of the Development Code, which we did not read.

Sec. 5.20.110(e)(2) requires every vacation home to post, inside in a prominent location, a Town-provided notice with standard contents set by the Town Clerk; the posting must stay in the same place for as long as the home is used as a vacation home. The owner or local representative must tell all occupants the property boundaries. The owner or local representative must put the business license number in the first line of the property description in all print or online advertising, and advertising must accurately represent the allowed use, including the maximum number of allowed occupants. Advertising, marketing or representing a vacation home as open for business or occupancy without already holding the license is a violation, with each day a separate offense (see enforcement).

Sec. 5.20.110(a)(10) makes the owner or local representative responsible for mailing the notice, with a certificate of mailing or another method approved by staff, to owners of properties within 100 feet of the boundary of the subject property. The notice must give the property address and the 24/7 hotline phone number, and proof of mailing must be given to the Town Clerk before the initial or transferred annual license is issued.

Sec. 5.20.110(e)(18) prohibits use of solid fuel burning appliances located outside the fully contained portion of the residential structure on vacation home and bed and breakfast inn properties, absent the presence and oversight of the property owner or designated local representative. The appliances include, but are not limited to, fire pits, outdoor fireplaces, portable outdoor fireplaces, portable fire pits and briquette or pellet burning grills or similar devices. Use of gas burning outdoor devices is not affected by this paragraph but may be regulated by other state and local laws, such as the Town's ordinances and the adopted fire code. The Town's page refers to Ordinance 10-22 on outdoor fires at vacation home rentals and bed and breakfast inn properties and gives a non-emergency dispatch number for solid fuel fire reports.

Sec. 5.20.110(e)(5) says kitchen facilities must be consistent with single-family residential use and that no kitchen facilities or cooking are allowed in guest rooms, sleeping rooms or bedrooms. Other limits in Sec. 5.20.110(e): home occupations as defined by the Development Code are not to be operated on the site of a vacation home and vacation homes are not to offer ancillary services to guests, apart from what Sec. 5.20.110 describes (e)(15); in the CD Downtown Commercial zoning district a vacation home may not be on the ground floor of a building fronting Elkhorn Avenue ((e)(14)). Vacation homes are subject to the exterior lighting requirements of Sec. 7.9 of the Development Code, the wildlife protection requirements of Chapter 7.20, and the sign code of Chapter 17.66 (sign permits as required); those provisions were not read.

Sec. 5.20.110(f)(5) sets the fines. A second violation counts if it occurs within two years of the initial violation, and a third if it occurs within two years of the second; a fourth or subsequent violation within two years of the most recent prior violation, operating a vacation home without the applicable license, and advertising or representing a vacation home as open without already holding the license are each fined the maximum amount permissible under Chapter 1.20 of the Municipal Code, which we did not read, so the dollar maximum is not stated here. It is a violation for an owner, representative, guest or occupant to be convicted of disturbing the peace (Sec. 9.08.010) at the vacation home, to fail to collect and remit required state sales tax, to fail to comply with any provision of Sec. 5.20.110, or to fail to acquire and pay for a business license; the owner and the local representative are in violation if any guest or occupant violates the Code or causes a nuisance on the premises. These are strict liability offenses. Each day a continuing violation continues, and each day of advertising without a license, is a separate offense. Owners, licensees and local representatives are jointly and severally liable. Residents and visitors can report concerns to the Town's 24/7 hotline.

Sec. 5.20.110(f)(6) lets the Town Clerk warn after a verified violation, suspend the license for one year after a subsequent violation within two years of the warning, and revoke the license after a further violation during the suspension or within two years after reinstatement. Notices of suspension and revocation are sent by ordinary U.S. mail and are appealable; the property cannot be operated as a vacation home during a suspension, and after a final revocation no person may apply for a license for the property for two years. Under (f)(7), a property that has operated, or been advertised as open, without the applicable license, in the Town Clerk's written determination, is ineligible to receive a license, enter a vacation home lottery or remain or be placed on the waitlist for five years. An owner or representative may request an administrative hearing by written notice to the Town Clerk within 14 calendar days of the notice; the Town Administrator or designee is the hearing officer and the decision is final.

Colorado charges its 2.9% state sales tax on the entire amount charged for rooms and accommodations. A stay may also owe local sales taxes that the Colorado Department of Revenue collects for counties and special districts, and any sales tax of a home-rule city that collects its own tax (see below).

State sales tax does not apply to a room or accommodations rented to a person who is a permanent resident of it and has a written agreement to occupy it for at least 30 consecutive days. Shorter stays are taxed.

The Colorado Department of Revenue says anyone who offers rooms or accommodations for rent must get a Colorado sales tax license and collect sales tax on taxable rentals. A seller who makes sales only through a marketplace may be exempt from licensing, collection and filing if the marketplace collects all state and state-administered local sales taxes for them. The license costs $16 (prorated) plus a $50 deposit, a separate license is needed for each business location, and licenses expire on December 31 of odd-numbered years.

For rooms rented through a marketplace (including online platforms), the marketplace facilitator must collect and remit the state sales tax and the local sales taxes the state collects, plus any county lodging tax and local marketing district tax. City taxes in home-rule cities are separate (see below).

The Colorado Department of Revenue does not administer any lodging tax imposed by a city or town, and it does not collect sales tax for home-rule cities that collect their own. Those taxes are licensed, filed and paid with the city.