x
Breaking News
More () »

Summit County puts pause on new short-term rentals in unincorporated areas

The county will not accept new Airbnb or VRBO applications for unincorporated areas for the next 90 days.

SUMMIT COUNTY, Colo. — Summit County is putting new short-term rentals on pause. Starting Friday, the county will not accept new Airbnb or VRBO applications for unincorporated areas.

County commissioners are hoping the moratorium will help with their housing crisis. Affordable places to live are hard to come by in the county, and local leaders say that's driving worker shortages. So they're not taking new short-term rental applications for the next 90 days.

Commissioners said they'll use this time to study if they should add caps in certain neighborhoods.

"We're receiving close to 100 new STR license applications every week in the unincorporated areas," Summit County commissioner Elisabeth Lawrence said. "We hear those stories every single day from our workforce saying, 'Look, I had a place to live and overnight I'm being kicked out because it's turning to an Airbnb or VRBO." 

There are exceptions for people who are already under contract to buy a property they planned to put up for rent, or are in the middle of construction on such a property. 

Separately, the town of Breckenridge is considering a cap on short-term rentals: no more than 2,200. The town council will vote on that at the end of the month. 

RELATED: Pandemic made living in mountains more expensive, and part-timers stayed longer

RELATED: Summit and Park county hotels become workforce housing

> Top stories from 9NEWS curated daily just for you! Sign up for the 9NEWSLETTER right now to get can’t-miss stories, Next and Broncos content, weather and more delivered right to your inbox.  

SUGGESTED VIDEOSLatest from 9NEWS


Before You Leave, Check This Out