Short-term rentals in Salida, explained properly.

A short-term rental license is issued only to the owner(s) of the property, so the applicant's name must match the owner(s) on the deed, or the person(s) controlling the corporate owner. The applicant submits a copy of the recorded deed showing the recording data with the Chaffee County Clerk and Recorder. The City page repeats that you must own the property to apply in any zone.

Sec. 6-6-20(f) says no more than one short-term rental permit is permitted per property owner, which includes the person(s) controlling a corporate owner. The City page says only one short-term rental license is allowed per property owner.

No license issued under Article VI is transferable, and no license is valid as to any person or entity other than the one named on it (Sec. 6-6-30(e)). The City page repeats that all licenses are non-transferable.

The code defines a short-term rental unit as a privately owned residential dwelling unit, such as a single-family detached unit, duplex, condominium or townhome, rented for lodging for any period less than 30 consecutive days. Accessory dwelling units, apartment buildings, bed and breakfast inns, hotels, lodges and hostels are excluded from that definition. The Land Use Code, which may treat those uses separately, was not read.

The code leaves the initial fee, renewal fee and the penalty for operating without a license to a City Council resolution, payable annually in advance. The City's page lists the license at $1,000, with an additional $200 administrative fee for first-time applicants, and $1,000 yearly to renew. The page and the fee resolution show no effective date for these amounts, so the fees are marked for review.

New applications must be submitted to the City Clerk at least 30 days before the intended use and before advertising the property. Licenses renew annually. The Clerk may issue a new license only when the application is complete (including a copy of the sales tax license, the number of bedrooms and the local contact person), the fee and all taxes and fees owed to the City are paid, the property has completed and complied with the City's short-term rental unit inspection worksheet, and all Sec. 6-6-20 requirements are met. A renewal also needs a clean record for the past year, no outstanding health and safety violations tied to the Fire Department renewal checklist, and no Chapter 18 habitability violations. A licensee must give the City updated information within 10 days after anything in the application stops being accurate.

Each licensee submits to the City yearly, and upon renewal, an affidavit signed by the licensee and notarized, attesting under penalty of perjury to the duration and frequency of the prior year's short-term rental history, including the number of rooms and nights rented, and confirming payment of all applicable sales and occupational lodging taxes.

Every short-term rental business must have a local contact person, designated by the owner or the owner's authorized agent, available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to respond within 60 minutes to property code violations and complaints about the condition, operation or conduct of occupants, and to take remedial action. The local contact is responsible for compliance with the Code, including occupation lodging tax reports, keeping the business license current, maintenance of parkways and removal of snow and ice. A clearly visible notice must be posted in the unit as required by Sec. 16-3-30(d)(4) of the Land Use Code, which we did not read.

Short-term rental businesses must include their business license number in the title of the listing for all public advertising, including web hosting services such as Airbnb, Home Away, Trip Advisor, VRBO, Kayak and Orbitz. Advertising may not begin until the application has been submitted and the license process has started (Sec. 6-6-30(a)).

Engaging in the short-term rental business in the City without a license subjects the licensee to a fine in an amount set by City Council resolution, in addition to any other remedies at law or equity. The fine amount is in the resolution, which we did not read.

The grounds are failure to pay the Occupational Lodging Tax or any other tax, such as sales tax, or the annual license fee; a false statement of material fact in the application; failure to file a required report or furnish required information; a fact that would have warranted refusing the license; or violation of the Article, of any law or regulation pertaining to the application or the property, or of the license terms. The licensee gets 10 days' written notice stating the contemplated action and grounds and a reasonable opportunity to be heard.

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.