Short-Term Rental Licenses
Keystone regulates short-term vacation rentals (STRs) to address neighborhood impacts and life safety issues. Keystone regulations for STRs are applicable to properties within the unincorporated areas of Keystone.
If you own property within unincorporated Keystone (outside the boundary of an incorporated town) and are interested in renting it out for periods of less than 30 consecutive days, you must obtain a short-term vacation rental (STR) license and remit all applicable taxes.
In the realm of short-term rentals, a property falls into this category if it's up for lease for less than thirty consecutive days, encompassing residential dwelling units or any room within.
To embark on this journey, securing a valid short-term rental license is a must for each property.
Keep in mind that individual homeowner associations might have their set of rules and regulations concerning short-term rentals.
Whether you're spreading the word through management companies, online platforms like VRBO and Airbnb, newspaper ads, or just a casual chat, the license is a non-negotiable requirement. Don't forget to showcase the license number in all property advertisements.
If you're eyeing the sale of your property, note that short-term rental licenses are non-transferable and non-refundable.
To navigate the landscape effectively, check out the searchable GIS map of Short-term Rental Areas available HERE. This tool allows you to identify a specific property's zone by searching for its address, subdivision, or schedule number. Stay informed and enjoy the short-term rental adventure!
When assessing whether a short-term rental qualifies as the applicant's primary residence, several factors come into play. The applicant's connections and commitments to other locations for domestic, legal, billing, voting, or licensing purposes are scrutinized. Additionally, the frequency of the applicant's returns to the short-term rental versus other locations within a calendar year is considered.
Legal documents and tax assessment records are cross-referenced to verify consistency with the short-term rental address. The applicant's business engagements, employment, income sources, and other financial ties are examined to determine if the short-term rental serves as their primary residence for tax and residence purposes. The duration of the short-term rental's occupancy throughout the calendar year plays a crucial role. This, combined with factors like military deployment status and any other relevant information brought to light by the director or the applicant, aids in the determination of primary residence status. For a more nuanced understanding, consider the scenarios listed below. While not exhaustive and not to be taken as legal advice, these scenarios offer insights into whether a single residential dwelling unit qualifies as the primary residence for short-term rental purposes.
In the case of a complete and pending renewal, applicants can continue their short-term rental operations during the renewal process. All official correspondence, including requests for additional information, will be directed to the email address linked to the application.
For those who submitted a renewal application post-expiration, your hosting platform may have temporarily disabled your ability to accept new short-term rental reservations. It becomes necessary to manually adjust your booking calendar and minimum stay settings after submitting the renewal. Please note that the synchronization between city systems and hosting platforms may take up to a week, during which you can contact 311 if your listing remains disabled.
If you believe someone is short term renting a property within the Keystone town bounderies without a licnese or somone is violating Keystone Short Term Rental guidelines you should report the violation.
Report a Violation
Keystone regulates Short Term Rentals, defined as dwellings or rooms rented for less than a consecutive 30-day period.
If you own an STR property, you are required to obtain an STR license.
Learn the code of ethics for Keystone visitors staying in a short-term vacation rental.
STRs in unincorporated Keystone are subject to our short-term rental regulations.
