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/STAY · LOCAL RULES · DENVER, CO

Denver short-term rental rules

In Denver you can only rent short-term in your primary residence, the place you usually come back to, and you need a city license. The city requires a guest brochure in the home and the license on display.

Checked on Nov 12 2026 against the official pages below

The three things to know

PERMIT

A city short-term rental license: $50 application + $100 license, renewed every year (up to 60 days early). Primary residence only, owners or long-term renters with the landlord's written OK. Open a lodger's tax account first, carry $1 million liability insurance (or the platform's), and have a smoke alarm, CO alarm and extinguisher.

DOOR NOTICE

A brochure in the home with your contact, a local responsible party who stays in Denver for the whole stay, emergency contacts, and the neighborhood rules: parking, noise and amplified sound, trash schedule, water restrictions and fire evacuation routes. The license (or a clear picture of it) is always displayed.

TAX

10.75% Denver lodger's tax plus 4% state and special district tax: 14.75%, says the city. Platforms that take payment collect it, but you still file the city return and deduct what they paid.

Print the door notice

Denver asks for a brochure in the home (DRMC sec. 33-50). This prints a one-page version with every item the code lists, plus a spot for your license number. Keep it with your license on display.

Type what you know. Anything left empty prints as a line to write on, so it works as a blank form too. What you type stays on this phone.

DENVER SHORT-TERM RENTAL

Guest brochure

Provided as required by Denver Revised Municipal Code sec. 33-50.

    Denver Revised Municipal Code sec. 33-50. Page made free at headedin.com/stay/rules/denver/

    Prints one or two letter pages. Keep it in the home with your license (or a clear picture of it) on display.

    What the rules say

    Who can get a license
    "the place where a person's habitation is fixed for the term of the license and is the person's usual place of return. A person can have only one primary residence."City of Denver, short-term rentals
    • Stays of less than 30 days in a row. Only your primary residence qualifies; a second home would need a lodging license instead.
    • Owners and long-term renters can apply; renters need the landlord's written permission.
    • Fees: $50 application, $100 license. Renew every year, up to 60 days before it expires; you can keep renting while a complete renewal is pending.
    • To apply: a Colorado ID and two proofs of residence, a lodger's tax account, $1 million liability insurance (yours or the platform's), notice to your insurer and HOA, and a smoke alarm, CO alarm and fire extinguisher.
    • Since Feb 1 2021, platforms can't take bookings for unlicensed rentals.
    The brochure and the license
    "Each short-term rental shall provide a brochure on the licensed premises that includes the licensee's contact information, a local responsible party's contact information, and any necessary emergency contact information."DRMC sec. 33-50

    The local responsible party is "an individual located in the City and County of Denver during the entire length of the short-term rental period who has access to the licensed premises and is authorized to make decisions." The brochure also covers parking restrictions, noise and amplified sound, the trash schedule, water restrictions, fire evacuation routes, and anything else the city requires. The city has a brochure template too.

    The city: "This license (or a clear picture of it) must always be displayed." Outside, zoning allows only one flat wall or window sign of 100 square inches or less.

    Ads, bookings and changes
    • Ads: "unlawful to advertise a short-term rental without the license number displayed." On Airbnb it goes in the registration number field.
    • One booking at a time; no events, parties or weddings.
    • Changes: update contact information within 72 hours; a new manager or local responsible party within 30 days.
    Taxes
    • Denver lodger's tax, 10.75%, on the full charge including required fees, plus the $48-a-year occupational privilege tax.
    • State and special district tax, 4%: "total tax rate charged in the city is 14.75%" (city tax guide 97, April 2026).
    • Platforms that take payment collect it; you still file the city return, reporting total sales and deducting what platforms paid.

    House rules go in your listing

    For bookings made from Nov 20 2026, Airbnb wants every house rule in the listing itself; signs in the house can only repeat them. This notice only carries what Denver requires, so it adds no new rules. Put quiet hours, parking and the rest in your listing first.

    Official sources, read Nov 12 2026

    Plain-words summary, not legal advice. Rules and fees change, and the official page always wins. Checked Nov 12 2026.

    Help us get it right

    Host in Denver? If a rule, fee or form here has changed, or we missed something, tell us. We check every note against the official source before we change a page, and we put the new checked date on it.

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