Short-term rental rules in the Town of Breckenridge, Colorado

Which rules does this page cover?

This page covers short-term rentals inside the Town of Breckenridge. The town defines a short-term rental property as a home, or any room in it, available for lease for less than 30 consecutive days.

If your property is outside the town, other rules apply. The town's FAQ says to check whether a property is in the town on the Summit County Assessor's website. For land outside the towns, see our page on Summit County short-term rental rules.

Everything here comes from the Town of Breckenridge's website and its Town Code. We read them on 8 October 2026. The Town Code's website says the code is current through Ordinance 8, Series 2026, passed 25 August 2026. Every source is listed at the bottom. Rules change, so confirm with the town before you act.

The town also says individual homeowner associations may have their own requirements, restrictions and covenants for short-term rentals.

Do I need a licence to rent short term in Breckenridge?

The town says a valid short-term rental licence is required for each short-term rental property. It says the licence is required no matter how the property is marketed. Its examples include a management company, websites, newspaper ads and word of mouth.

The town's FAQ says owners are required to get an accommodation unit licence before advertising their property for rent.

The Town Code says that before operating, a licensee must be eligible for, apply for and receive a business and occupational licence. It also says the licensee must have paid all taxes and fees required under title 4 of the code and met the chapter's other requirements.

The town's accommodations tax page says all businesses, property managers and homeowners collecting the accommodations tax are required to have an Accommodation Unit License and a Colorado Sales Tax License.

Which zone is my property in, and is there a cap?

The Town Code sets up four areas, called zones. They are a tourism zone (Zone 1), a downtown core zone (Zone 2), a resort property zone, and Zone 3, which is every area that is not in the other three. The town's licence page links to a searchable map where you can look up your zone by address.

The code caps Zone 1 at no more than 1,680 licences, Zone 2 at no more than 130 and Zone 3 at no more than 390. The resort property zone is made up of the units in that zone when the rules took effect, plus any licences the town grants later to properties that meet its resort criteria.

The table shows what the town's licence availability page, headed July 2026, says in its text. The same page also has a table, shown as an image, that does not match its text for Zone 1 and Zone 3. The image also gives an allowed number and available licences for the Resort Properties Zone, which the text does not. The text's own Zone 1 figures do not add up. The page says all its lists are static and do not update in real time. Ask the town which figures are current at str@townofbreckenridge.com.

Why does Zone 3 have more licences than its cap?

The town says the caps did not affect existing short-term rental licences in any zone. Its page on the caps says licences are only given up when a property sells, because they cannot be transferred, or when an owner does not renew.

The Town Code lists more ways a licence ends. It says a licence is valid until it is abandoned, voluntarily surrendered, not renewed, revoked by the finance director, or the property's title is transferred. The code says the director may issue a new licence after some transfers, such as to a family member for nothing or to the owner's own trust. The two pages differ, so check with the town.

The town's page on the caps says it covers how the rules were made in 2021 and 2022. On it, the town said that as properties sell or owners do not renew, it expected the number of licences in Zones 2 and 3 to fall, with the goal of reaching the caps. The town's current availability page lists Zone 2 at its cap of 130.

How does the waitlist work?

The Town Code says that as new licences become available in a zone, the owner at the top of that zone's list is contacted. That owner then has 14 business days to send a completed application. If they do not, the town contacts the next owner on the list.

The code says only current property owners can ask to join the waitlist. If the property sells, its place on the list is void, and the code says the new buyer has to make a new request after buying.

If you have just bought a unit, the town's FAQ says there are available licences in only certain areas in town.

What does a licence cost?

The town's FAQ says an owner pays two yearly charges: the accommodation unit licence and the accommodation unit regulatory fee. The town's licence page calls the licence fee the business and occupational license tax (BOLT). The licence fee depends on the number of bedrooms, as the table shows.

The FAQ says the regulatory fee is $756.00 per bedroom or studio, with no limit on the number of bedrooms charged. The Town Code says the town council sets this fee each year in its budget, at no more than $756.00 per studio or bedroom. If the council does not set it, the code says the previous year's fee carries on.

The FAQ works an example for a four-bedroom house. It gives annual fees of $3199, and lists $175 for the licence and $3780 for the regulatory fee, but those two parts do not add up to that total. The town's licence page has a cost table, shown as an image, that also gives $3199 as the four-bedroom total, but with a smaller regulatory fee part that matches $756 per bedroom. The two pages differ on the regulatory fee part, so ask the town to confirm your own amount.

The FAQ says the regulatory fee is not charged when the unit is the licence holder's primary residence and is rented out for no more than 21 days a year. It asks owners to email the town to apply for that exemption.

The town says the regulatory fee is kept separate from its general fund. It says the money pays for housing programs, for dealing with the effects of short-term rentals on neighborhoods, and for running the program.

Does a licence pass to a new owner?

The town says short-term rental licences are non-transferable and non-refundable if the property is sold. The Town Code says no licence can be transferred from one person to another, or from one place to another, except in the cases it lists.

For the cases the code lists, it says the director may issue a new licence to the new owner. They include a transfer to a family member with nothing paid, a transfer to the owner's own trust, and a transfer because of a death. These are some of the cases, not all of them. Read the code's section on nontransferable licences for the full list.

The code also says a new owner may ask for a temporary licence for no longer than six months. That lets them honor reservations that already existed on the day the title changed.

How many guests can stay, and what else does the code ask for?

The Town Code says the occupancy limit for every unit except a studio is 2 people per bedroom plus 4 more. For a studio, it is 4 people in all.

The code says the licensee or the responsible agent has to make sure of these things, among others:

• The unit always has a working smoke detector, carbon monoxide detector and fire extinguisher.
• Guests park only on the property's site or in a town-designated parking area off the site.
• Guests do not sleep in vehicles.
• No unreasonable noise comes from the unit or its property.

What has to be in my ads, including my own website?

The Town Code's definition of an advertisement includes internet listings, email, social media and other electronic means, whatever the medium.

The code says an advertisement has to prominently display the town's business and occupational licence number, written as "Breckenridge Business License No." followed by the number. It also has to show the occupancy limit, written as "Maximum overnight occupancy" followed by the number. The town's FAQ says the licence number can go in a listing's licence or permit field, or in the listing details.

The code says a unit can only be advertised in a way the finance director has approved or has been told about in writing. It also says the application has to list every method or place where the unit is advertised. The code also says licensees must tell the finance director in writing within 30 days of any change to the information on the application, and as soon as practicable in writing of any change of rental agent. Ask the town how to add your own booking website to that list.

If an ad breaks these rules, the code says the owner gets written notice and 15 days to fix it.

Who has to answer complaints?

The Town Code says the licensee names a responsible agent in writing when they apply, and may name a second one. The town's FAQ says this agent can be a management company, a rental agent or an individual.

The FAQ says the responsible agent must be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and must respond to a complaint within 60 minutes of being told about it. It says the first response can be by phone, another electronic message or in person. It also says a proper response may require the agent to visit the unit if that is needed to try in good faith to fix the problem.

The FAQ says a paid agent working in the town needs a Town Business License. A personal contact of the owner who is not paid does not.

Which taxes does the town list for short-term rentals?

The town says homeowners who rent short term are required to collect and remit local and state taxes. Its accommodations tax page says owners who lease their Breckenridge homes for less than 30 days collect sales tax and the Public Accommodation Tax on all lodging sales.

The table copies every row of the town's breakdown of tax on lodging of less than 30 days inside the town.

The town says the 3.4% Public Accommodation Tax is paid straight to the town, together with the 2.5% town sales tax. It says both are reported together through Xpress Bill Pay or MuniRevs, and that MuniRevs is only available to short-term rental licence holders. For sales tax, the town's rates page says 2.50% is paid straight to the town and the rest goes to the State of Colorado. The town says it is a home rule jurisdiction.

The town says it makes each filer a monthly or quarterly filer. It says returns and the tax collected are due on the 20th of the month after the period they were collected. It says late returns get a penalty of 10% of the sales tax, with a minimum of $15, plus 1% interest for each month the payment is late.

What if I take bookings directly?

The town's short-term rental tax page answers this. It says a licence holder who rents only through Vrbo, Airbnb or a professional management company with a current town business licence does not have to fill out the periodic tax return forms.

It says licence holders who rent a property themselves and collect money directly from guests are responsible for collecting and remitting sales and accommodation taxes. It says those go to the town through MuniRevs and to the State of Colorado through the state's sales tax website.

The town says Airbnb and Vrbo have a special agreement with it to collect and remit taxes for licence holders. The town says a valid licence is still required. Its FAQ says Airbnb began on bookings made on and after 1 October 2019, and Vrbo on bookings made on and after 1 January 2020.

The town's page does not say how to report if you take both platform and direct bookings. Ask the town before your first direct booking.

What happens if the rules are broken?

The Town Code says the finance director may set an administrative fine of up to $1,000.00 a day until the violation is fixed. The code says the fine is due within 14 days of the notice. The code says a licensee may appeal fines and licence denials to the town manager or a hearing officer.

Where can I read more?

Start with the town's short-term rental licence page and the Town Code's accommodation unit chapter. For taxes, read the town's accommodations tax page.

Our research on the Airbnb host-only fee in Breckenridge looks at listings in the town. If you are thinking about your own booking website, our pricing page lists what a Vadera site costs.