Short-term rentals in Fraser, explained properly.

Sec. 6-8-30(b) says the property owner or designated property manager must keep a current business license or short-term rental operating license under Chapter 6 of the Fraser Municipal Code, and sets the business license fee at $40 a year. The Town's page says a property management company holds one business license for all the rentals it manages (license year June 1 to May 31, $40), while a homeowner who manages the rental personally holds a short-term rental operating license ($40, renewed with the expiry of the short-term rental permit). The licence must be posted at the home or the management company. Chapter 6's other licence provisions were not read.

Sec. 6-8-30(g) says the permit is issued to the specific owner of the property and may not be transferred or assigned to another individual, person, entity or address, but may be managed by a third party on behalf of the owner. The Town's page repeats the rule.

Sec. 6-8-30(a)(6), added by Ordinance 516, requires the certificate for all registrations and renewals after February 28, 2025. The Town's page says the inspection is administered by the fire district, not the Town, as an online self-inspection through the district's Community Connect page; the certificate is uploaded to the Town's platform and the Town will not approve a registration without it. The certificate cannot be transferred or assigned to another person, entity or address. The fire district's inspection fee was not read from a district source and is not stated here.

Sec. 6-8-30(i) requires the owner or property management company to be available 24 hours a day to handle property problems or problems from the rental within one and a half hours. The contact information must be posted in a prominent, visible place in the rental. Changes must be entered through the Town's registration platform, using the existing login, within seven calendar days of the change. Failure to provide the contact information is a ground for revoking the registration.

Sec. 6-8-30(m) sets the limit for all units except studios at two persons per bedroom, plus four additional persons, and the limit for a studio at four persons in total. Bedrooms are counted the same way as for the permit fee: the property assessor's count plus each additional sleeping area with a bed, not counting pull-out or slide-out sofas; a studio counts as one bedroom.

Sec. 6-8-30(l) requires smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors, installed and operable under the current Town building regulations; fire extinguishers on every floor that are visible or clearly marked; and egress doors and windows kept operable and cleared of snow, debris or other obstruction. Sec. 6-8-30(k) also requires the unit address to be clearly marked and visible from the roadway.

The application must include a parking plan (Sec. 6-8-30(a)(4)) and a site plan showing adequate parking (Sec. 6-8-30(n)). Parking in private driveways is used first, with overflow on the street if permitted, and occupants must follow all Town parking regulations. Failure to provide adequate on-site parking is a ground for revoking the registration.

Sec. 6-8-30(q) says the short-term rental registration permit number shall be posted on the rental advertisement platform and/or listing. Separately, proof of current registration must be posted in a conspicuous place inside the rental. The Town's page repeats the listing requirement.

Under Sec. 6-8-30(j), after a permit is issued, emergency services personnel may request to enter and inspect the rental to check compliance. Entry is permitted only between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., after at least seven business days' written notice to the property manager, who must coordinate access. Inspections are conducted at random or when a public safety concern has been reported. Failure to comply with the notice to inspect within seven business days is a ground for revoking the registration.

Under Sec. 6-8-30(p), a person advertising or renting in violation of the article gets a first-violation warning by certified mail and has ten business days to correct it (for example by removing the advertisement, stopping the rental, complying, or obtaining a permit). After that period, or on any further violation, administrative penalties apply in ten-business-day increments within a rolling 12-month period: $500 for the second violation and $1,000 for the third. On the fourth violation the permit may be revoked or suspended for one year, and the violation is subject to the general penalty in Section 1-4-10 of the Fraser Municipal Code, which was not read.

Sec. 6-8-30(o) lets the Town Manager revoke a registration administratively for any failure to comply with the section, including failure to pay water or wastewater fees, to provide adequate on-site parking, to comply with the Town Code, to provide the 24-hour contact, to pay applicable taxes, to keep a current registration, or to respond to the notice to inspect within seven business days. Losing a registration does not waive taxes or fees due. Under Sec. 6-8-40 a revocation order or penalty may be appealed to the Board of Trustees by written notice to the Town Manager within ten days of the order.

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).

Colorado counties may add a county lodging tax, regional transportation authorities a visitor benefit tax, and local marketing districts a marketing tax on rooms subject to state sales tax. County lodging and visitor benefit taxes are filed quarterly with the Department of Revenue on form DR 1485; the Department's DR 1003 publication lists the rates.