STRWATCH.AI 40/50 MARKETS · UPDATED 2026-07-18 · ALL CITIES
STRWATCH.AI / CO / Breckenridge

Is a short-term rental legal in Breckenridge, CO?

HEAVILY REGULATED

Short-term rentals (any accommodation unit rented for under 30 consecutive days) are legal in Breckenridge only with a Town-issued Accommodation Unit License, and new licenses are capped by one of four geographic zones adopted by Ordinance No.

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Verified2026-07-18against official sources

Rules apply to any 'accommodation unit' (condo, townhome, house, trailer, or studio) rented for less than 30 consecutive days (Town Code 4-6-1). Both whole-home and hosted/room rentals fall under the same license and are equally subject to the zone caps and waitlists described in requirements[]; the code does not distinguish hosted from unhosted operation. Primary residence is not required to operate an STR generally, but a primary-residence unit rented 21 days or fewer per year is exempt from the $756/bedroom annual regulatory fee (Town Code 4-6-3(B)(1); Admin. Rules Art. IV(C)). No town-wide fixed maximum guest count exists; instead, occupancy limit is set by formula: 2 persons per bedroom plus 4 additional persons for all units except studios, and 4 persons total for studios (Town Code 4-6-10(G)); this per-unit limit must be posted in every advertisement (4-6-11(B)(2)).

What you need to operate

Accommodation Unit (Short-Term Rental) License $75/year (studio) to $175/year (4+ bedrooms), tiered by bedroom count (Business & Occupational License Tax component)
Town of Breckenridge Finance Department
Renewal: Annual; license year runs to December 31 and must be renewed by December 31 (Admin. Rules Art. IV(B)(2)); valid until abandoned, surrendered, not renewed, revoked, or the property title transfers
Required for every unit rented under 30 days regardless of marketing channel (management company, Airbnb/Vrbo, word of mouth, etc.); must be obtained before advertising. Applicant must first hold a Town business & occupational license (BOLT) under Title 4, Ch. 1, designate a responsible agent (and optionally an alternate) in writing, and disclose all advertising methods/locations and any rental agent's contact info (Town Code 4-6-2). License is non-transferable and is voided on sale of the property (Town Code 4-6-8); new owners must reapply and are subject to the zone cap/waitlist unless they held a building permit issued on or before September 14, 2021 and apply within 20 days of receiving a certificate of occupancy (Town Code 4-6-5(C)). Property management companies/rental agents that rent units for profit must separately hold their own Town business license. Bedroom count for fee purposes is set by the Summit County Assessor database unless the Town inspects and applies the bedroom criteria in Town Code 4-6-4 (min. 70 sq ft, 5 ft ceiling, egress window, smoke/CO detector within 15 ft, built-in closet).
official source
Annual Accommodation Unit Regulatory Fee Up to $756 per bedroom or studio per year, no limit on number of bedrooms charged (fixed annually by Town Council as part of the budget process, not to exceed $756; verified at $756/bedroom for the current period via the Town's STR licensing and FAQ pages)
Town of Breckenridge Finance Department
Renewal: Annual, due at the same time as the license application/renewal
Established by Ordinance No. 28, Series 2022 (originally $400/bedroom for 2022 per Town Code 4-6-3(B)(1); capped at up to $756/bedroom starting the Town's 2023 fiscal year per 4-6-3(B)(2), reaffirmed annually by Council budget resolution). Kept in a separate fund (not the general fund) and used for workforce housing programs and to defray secondary-impact and enforcement costs (Town Code 4-6-3(D)). Exempt if the unit is the license holder's primary residence and rented 21 days or fewer per year; owner must document primary residence (2 of: driver's license, voter registration, vehicle registration) at application and annually thereafter (Admin. Rules Art. IV(C)). Example given by the Town: a 4-bedroom house owes $175 (license) + $3,024 (4 x $756 regulatory fee) = $3,199/year total.
official source
Responsible Agent designation Cost not verified
Town of Breckenridge Finance Department
Renewal: Updated in writing within 30 days of any change; rental-agent changes must be reported as soon as practicable
Every license must designate a responsible agent (may be the owner, a rental agent, or another individual) who must be reachable 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and respond to any Town-filed complaint about the unit's operation or condition within 60 minutes of notice (Town Code 4-6-9(B); 4-6-2(A)(3)). A responsible agent who is compensated for the role must separately hold a Town business license; an uncompensated personal contact does not (per Town FAQ).
official source
Advertising compliance (license number + occupancy limit disclosure) Cost not verified
Town of Breckenridge Finance Department
Every advertisement must prominently display 'Breckenridge Business License No. [number]' and 'Maximum overnight occupancy [number]'; ads may only run through a method approved by or disclosed to the finance director. A violation gets written notice and 15 days to cure before further enforcement (Town Code 4-6-11).
official source

The full picture

Short-term rentals (any accommodation unit rented for under 30 consecutive days) are legal in Breckenridge only with a Town-issued Accommodation Unit License, and new licenses are capped by one of four geographic zones adopted by Ordinance No. 28, Series 2022 (effective September 27, 2022): Zone 1/Tourism (cap 1,680), Zone 2/downtown core (cap 130), Zone 3/residential (cap 390), and an uncapped Resort Property Zone for qualifying multi-unit resort properties with on-site amenities. As of the Town's December 2025 published count, Zone 2 (130 of 130 licenses issued) and Zone 3 (1,058 licenses active against a 390 cap, via grandfathering) have no new licenses available and require joining a waitlist; Zone 1 had 467 licenses reported available against its 1,680 cap. A license costs $75-$175/year (by bedroom count) plus a separate annual regulatory fee of up to $756 per bedroom/studio with no cap on bedroom count (e.g., a 4-bedroom unit owes $175 + $3,024 = $3,199/year as of 2026), waived only if the unit is the license holder's primary residence and is rented 21 days or fewer per year. Hosts must designate a responsible agent available 24/7 who must respond to complaints within 60 minutes, display the license number and posted maximum occupancy in every ad, and keep the unit non-transferable on sale (a new owner must reapply, subject to zone availability). Guests staying under 30 days owe a combined 12.275% state+county+town lodging tax (Airbnb collects/remits since October 1, 2019 and Vrbo since January 1, 2020; hosts who book directly must self-remit). Violating the ordinance can draw an administrative fine of up to $1,000 per day until cured, in addition to license denial, suspension or revocation.

Taxes on guests & hosts

TaxRateApplies toPlatform collectsOfficial source
Combined Accommodations/Lodging Tax (stays under 30 days) 12.275% Hotel/motel/condo/short-term-rental lodging charges for stays under 30 days within the Town of Breckenridge; combines Colorado state sales tax 2.900%, Summit County sales tax 2.000%, Mass Transportation System tax 0.750%, Multi-Jurisdictional Housing Authority tax 0.725%, Town of Breckenridge general sales tax 2.500%, and Town of Breckenridge Accommodations Tax 3.400% Yes source
Town of Breckenridge Accommodations Tax (local lodging-specific component) 3.400% The Town-imposed portion of the combined lodging tax, charged on lodging stays under 30 days in addition to the Town's 2.500% general sales tax; funds are split between the Town's Marketing Fund (1.40 of the 3.40 points) and Excise Fund (2.00 of the 3.40 points) Yes source

Enforcement

PenaltiesThe finance director may impose an administrative fine of up to $1,000.00 per day until a violation is cured, in addition to any citation for infractions or other general Code penalties (Town Code 4-6-13(A)). Written notice is mailed and the fine is due within 14 days. Advertising violations first receive a written notice with 15 days to cure (4-6-11(C)). The finance director may also deny, suspend, or revoke a license for Code violations, with disciplinary hearings under Town Code 4-6-14/4-6-15 and appeal rights to the town manager or a designated hearing officer (4-6-13(B)).
Platform liabilityAirbnb (since October 1, 2019) and Vrbo (since January 1, 2020) have agreements with the Town to collect and remit Breckenridge sales and accommodations tax on bookings made through their platforms on behalf of license holders; a valid Town license is still required to rent regardless. No specific platform strict-liability or per-booking penalty provision (comparable to some other Colorado cities) was found in Town Code Chapter 4-6 during this review — see needs_review.
NotesComplaints are handled through a 24/7 Town complaint line (970-423-5334) and are not accepted anonymously; the complainant must give name, contact information, and location so the Town can notify the responsible agent (Admin. Rules Art. IV(G)). Town inspectors have a right of warrantless entry for health/safety enforcement (with notice, except emergencies) and may obtain a municipal-court inspection warrant if entry is refused (Town Code 4-6-9(A)).

What we could not verify (9)

  • Fetch-method caveat: townofbreckenridge.com blocks automated fetches with an Akamai bot wall (HTTP 403) for both the WebFetch tool and direct curl with a browser user agent. All townofbreckenridge.com pages cited above (main STR page, apply/waitlist page, FAQ, history page, license-availability page, tax-rates page) were instead verified via dated Wayback Machine captures of the exact official URLs: main STR page (2026-05-17), apply/waitlist page (2026-05-17), FAQ (2025-11-09), history page (2026-05-17), license-availability/waitlist page (2026-02-10, showing a 'December 2025' snapshot), tax-rates page (2025-12-06). The breckenridge.town.codes municipal code portal (hosted by General Code) was fetched live and directly, without a Wayback fallback, and states it is current through Ordinance No. 6, Series 2026 (passed April 28, 2026).
  • Current license counts and per-zone availability (Resort Zone 1,719; Zone 1 1,225 of 1,680 with 467 reported available; Zone 2 130 of 130, no availability; Zone 3 1,058 active against a 390 cap via grandfathering, no availability) reflect a 'December 2025' snapshot on the Town's license-availability page, which the Town states it updates only every 3 months; these figures may have changed by the 2026-07-18 as-of date and should be re-checked against the live page or by emailing [email protected].
  • The Resort Property Zone has no legislatively fixed numeric license cap; Town Code 4-6-5(B)(1) instead caps it at 'the number of units available in the resort property zone as of the effective date of the ordinance ... and any additional licenses granted administratively' when a property is later determined to qualify as a resort property. The Town's own 'Historical Development' page states caps are also summarized in a table/map graphic that did not render as extractable text in this session's fetch, so the exact 2022 baseline unit count for the Resort Zone was not independently confirmed beyond the December 2025 total of 1,719 licenses.
  • The annual regulatory fee is stated by the Town's FAQ and main STR page as currently $756/bedroom-or-studio, but the codified Town Code 4-6-3(B)(2) only sets a ceiling ('not to exceed seven hundred fifty six dollars ($756.00)'), with the actual annual figure fixed each year by Town Council as part of its budget process. This session did not locate the specific 2026 budget resolution reaffirming $756 as the operative (vs. a lower) figure for the current year; the two Town-facing pages corroborate $756 as currently in effect but a primary budget-resolution citation was not obtained.
  • The FAQ page states the regulatory fee 'commences January 1, 2021,' which conflicts with the codified Town Code 4-6-3(B)(1), stating the fee began with licenses issued on or after January 1, 2022 (at $400/bedroom for 2022, rising to a ceiling of $756/bedroom from 2023 onward). The codified text (current through Ordinance No. 6, Series 2026) was treated as authoritative for the fee's start/structure; the FAQ's '2021' date appears to be an unrevised holdover from the original November 2021 ordinance (Ord. 29, Series 2021) that predates the September 2022 zone/cap rewrite (Ord. 28, Series 2022).
  • A specific voter-approved 'short-term rental excise tax' (distinct from the existing 3.400% Town Accommodations Tax) was not found for Breckenridge; a 2020 Town Council proposal for a child-care-funded STR excise tax appeared in news search results but no evidence was found confirming it was ever placed on a ballot or passed. The 'Excise Fund' referenced on the Town's tax-rates page is an existing internal fund that receives allocated shares of the County's 2.000% sales tax and part of the Town's 3.400% Accommodations Tax — it is not a separate line-item tax charged to guests or hosts. Treat any claim of a distinct Breckenridge STR excise tax as unverified.
  • No explicit platform strict-liability or per-violation penalty clause aimed at booking platforms (comparable to some other Colorado municipalities) was found within Breckenridge Town Code Chapter 4-6, sections 4-6-1 through 4-6-13 fetched this session; sections 4-6-12 (Rules and regulations), 4-6-14 through 4-6-16 (disciplinary hearing procedure and review-period reporting) were not individually fetched and could conceivably contain additional platform-facing provisions.
  • No insurance requirement for Breckenridge accommodation unit licensees was found in the sections of Town Code Chapter 4-6 reviewed; this profile assumes none exists but did not exhaustively review every subsection (e.g., 4-6-12, 4-6-14 through 4-6-16) where one could theoretically appear.
  • The federal court dismissal of a constitutional challenge to Breckenridge's STR cap ordinance (Colorado Politics, cited in sources[] as type 'news') was not independently verified against a court record or the Town's own legal-notices page; it is not asserted as fact in the main fields, only listed as background in sources[].

Sources

A markdown mirror of this page lives at /breckenridge-co.md for AI tools and researchers.

STRWatch publishes educational information about short-term rental regulation, verified against the official sources linked above as of the date shown. It is not legal advice, and rules change — a city can move between our verification passes. For decisions with money at stake, confirm with the authority linked above or a local attorney.