Short-Term Rental Rules in the Colorado High Country (2026)
Colorado's ski-country rentals are regulated town by town and county by county: Breckenridge caps licenses by zone inside town limits, while unincorporated Summit County — covering much of the slope-side inventory — runs its own license types and caps, so the same investment thesis can be legal in one drainage and waitlisted in the next.
Compare the Colorado High Country jurisdictions
| Permit | Status | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Breckenridge, CO | Accommodation Unit License (with prerequisite Business and Occupational License, 'BOLT') | $756 | annual | Restricted |
| Summit County, CO | Short-Term Rental (STR) License (Resort License; Type I License; Type II License) | $360 | annual | Restricted |
Short-term rentals (any rental under 30 consecutive days) are legal in Breckenridge but require a town Accommodation Unit License plus a Business and Occupational License (BOLT), with an annual regulatory fee of $756 per studio/bedroom that the Colorado Court of Appeals upheld in March 2026. The biggest restriction is the town's hard license caps across four zones — new licenses are currently unavailable in the Downtown Core (Zone 2) and Residential (Zone 3) zones, licenses are non-transferable and die when a property sells, and there is no owner-occupancy requirement. Always confirm current requirements with the city before operating.
Full Breckenridgerules, taxes & sources →Short-term rentals (stays under 30 days) are legal in unincorporated Summit County but require an annual STR license before advertising or operating, with fees of $240-$360/year depending on license type ($295 in the Resort Overlay Zone). The biggest restriction applies in the Neighborhood Overlay Zone, where non-resort STRs are limited to 35 bookings per year and the number of standard Type II licenses is capped per basin (550 Lower Blue, 590 Upper Blue, 130 Snake River, 20 Ten Mile), so new applicants in three basins must join a waitlist; only workforce primary-residence Type I licenses and Resort Zone licenses are exempt from the caps. Always confirm current requirements with the city before operating.
Full Summit Countyrules, taxes & sources →Informational only — not legal advice. Boundaries matter in this market: confirm which jurisdiction a specific parcel falls in before relying on any rule here, and verify current requirements with that jurisdiction.