AirBnB Regulation Information?

Question

I am newer to real estate investing and this page. I have decided to concentrate on AirBnB. I am having a hard time finding STR regulations for areas. Is there certain websites, or people you can call in an area that can give me more information on this? Any help would be appreciated!

James Carlson · Answer

@Clay Rouse

We follow the short-term rental/Airbnb laws in Colorado closely. (We have a database on our site of numerous Airbnb laws.) If you're looking for an STR investment in the Denver area, there aren't many cities that allow non-owner occupied ones. Arvada allows them. So does Wheat Ridge. Adams County is about to (just northwest of Denver). And Northglenn, about 20 minutes north of Denver, does too.

Most mountain towns allow them in some form. And be aware if you're looking in the foothills, most homes -- while listed in a particular city -- are actually in the unincorporated area of the county and are subject to the county rules.

If you're not looking in the Denver metro, call the planning department of whatever city you're interested in. Ask for the planner of the day (like an on-call planner), and they should know. Ask specific questions:

-- Do you allow rentals of less than 30 days? If so, only in the primary residence or in non-primary residence?

-- Are there density restrictions like only one non-owner occupied STR per 500'. (That's the rule in Colorado Springs, for instance.)

-- Are there limits on the nights you can rent? (In Arvada, for instance, you can only rent a home as an STR for 240 nights per year).

-- And always ask for the ordinance that undergirds whatever answers they give you.

Good luck!

Bruce Woodruff · Answer

You need to go to each separate city/county that you are interested in and look at their website. They all have a tab for 'vacation rentals'. FYI - AirBnB is only one company doing this....no one refers to these officially as AirBnBs, they are called STRs or Vacation Rentals

Clay Rouse · Answer

I was looking for around the New Orleans area. Slidell, Mandeville around that area. I think I found some info on the regulations. The way I understood it, the property cant be zoned residential it has to be mixed use or commercial. Not entirely sure how that works or if its possible to find places good for vacation rentals zoned that way.  And thank you for the info!

Courtney Fricke · Answer

Hey Clay, I run the local REIA in those areas. They have been recent changes in some of those areas. Warren gave a great tip to google Mandeville with short term rental ordinance. Mandeville is the one with recent changes if I recall. Reach out if I can help in any way. Best of luck!

Warren Buan · Answer

Hey Clay,

Like what @James Alderman, you can just google the city or county for STR ordinances/laws. You definitely want to pay attention to the areas zoned specifically for STR, and of course do your due diligence for potential regulations in the area you're looking into. You obviously don't want to purchase an investment property if you're going to have to deal with a ban or change in regulation for STRs. Happy hunting and good luck!

Bruce Woodruff · Answer

Keep looking, you can do better.....plenty of areas where you can get a regular old house and STR it...

James Alderman · Answer

Hello Clay,

You'll find that many smaller towns may not have any regulations for Airbnb/STRs. My town of 30,000 doesn't have any ordinances.

If it is a vacation destination, it most certainly will have ordinances calling for licensure, a local registered agent, etc. Just google search "short term rentals (your city)" to find out. Regulations can be good and bad. Bad for the obvious reasons of barrier to entry, but it can be good for us because the competition may be scared away if you're willing to jump through the hoops.

What market are you looking at?

AirBnB Regulation Information?

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