The Longmont City Council recently adopted regulations governing short-term rentals, including requirements for an annual permit and City inspections to ensure that rentals comply with building occupancy and life safety requirements and don’t create a nuisance for the surrounding neighborhood.

A short-term rental, such as those through Airbnb, HomeAway, VRBO, FlipKey, etc., is a rental for fewer than 30 days of an entire dwelling or of individual rooms in an owner-occupied dwelling.

All short-term rentals in Longmont require a short-term rental permit and a sales and use tax license. Existing short-term rentals are not grandfathered, and unlicensed short-term rentals will be subject to code enforcement.

These types of rentals are allowed as short-term rentals, subject to specific requirements and restrictions noted on the City website:

• Owner’s primary dwelling
• Owner’s accessory dwelling unit (ADU)

A second or investment dwelling of a Longmont resident Short-term rentals have these occupancy limits and requirements:

• Occupancy of an entire dwelling is limited to no more than two people per bedroom, plus two additional people.
• Each bedroom rented must be a legal conforming bedroom.
• Dwellings with more than five bedrooms rented for short-term rentals require a fire suppression (sprinkler) system.

There also is a limit on the number of short-term rentals allowed in most single-family neighborhoods. In the R-RU and R-SF zoning districts, no more than one short-term rental is permitted per street segment of a block unless each additional short-term rental receives conditional use approval.

Find more information about short-term rental requirements, frequently asked questions, and contact information at bit.ly/LongmontShortTermRentals.

You can submit an application online or in person at the Development Services Center at 385 Kimbark Street.