Arvada legalizes Airbnb for investment

Arvada legalizes Airbnb for investment

Real Estate Agent · Colorado | stan.store/JamesCarlson · Member since 2014 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes

For anyone looking for an Airbnb investment property in the Denver metro area, Arvada just became your friend. 

Almost every city along the Front Range has banned short-term rentals unless it's in your primary residence. (Heck, even property-rights-driven Colorado Springs limited STR investment properties.)

But on Aug. 3, Arvada city council voted to allow Airbnb in the city limits in both your primary residence and in non-owner occupied rentals. Basically, you can buy Airbnb investment properties in Arvada ... with a few caveats. Here's what the law says:

  • An individual can own up to 3 short-term rentals in Arvada.
  • You can only rent each property on Airbnb for 240 days per year. This certainly limits it, but it still allows for 2/3 of the year as an STR. What I'd do is Airbnb it the popular months from late spring to early fall and then plan to get a medium-term renter in there for the remaining four months.
  • Only one short-term rental per lot. So no renting each room to a separate party. And if you have a house with a basement apartment, you could not rent upstairs and downstairs separately.
  • If you own an entire duplex or bigger multi-unit, you can only short term rent one unit.
  • Takes effect Oct. 31, 2020.

Want to know more? You can read a very confusing article about it here or read the actual ordinance here (Jump to page 144.) 

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Lani ArcherPro Member
Cheyenne, WY · Member since 2016 · 15 posts · 4 votes
6y
Great information thank you and thanks for including the ordinance link as well
See this reply in the discussion

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  • Lani ArcherPro Member
    Cheyenne, WY · Member since 2016 · 15 posts · 4 votes
    6y
    Great information thank you and thanks for including the ordinance link as well
  • Real Estate Agent · Colorado | stan.store/JamesCarlson · Member since 2014 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    6y

    Just a followup on the above note. I talked to a planner in the city of Arvada. He said there were mixed feelings about the new Airbnb law. They originally wanted to do something more like Denver's Airbnb/STR law -- basically allowing it only in your primary residence. There was some pushback from city officials to open the gates to allow investors to buy Arvada and so they allowed individuals to buy up to three short-term rentals and rent them up to 240 nights a year.

    But what I heard from this planner is that this is really just a test and that he feels it's possible -- and likely -- that the city will readdress the issue in a year or less. What does this mean? There is a limited time to buy an Airbnb investment property in Arvada. He said that Arvada would act like Colorado Springs if they did in fact change their law. Any property operating under current laws would be allowed to continue as a legal non-conforming use as long as owners continued to renew their license. In a way, this would limit the competition for anyone who was in prior to any potential changes.  

  • Investor · Denver Colorado, USA · Member since 2018 · 15 posts · 16 votes
    6y

    Excellent summary @James Carlson! While I own investment property in Denver county, I've decided to acquire and operate short-term rentals in another market with less restrictions. Still Arvada's provisions are more appealing than Denver's primary residence restriction. Thanks for keeping us in the loop! 

  • Member since 2024 · 3 posts · 0 votes
    2y

    Hi James, one thing I see in the new ordinance for Arvada has a limit of no more than 5 unrelated guests.  How are people renting to 12 people for then?

  • Real Estate Agent · Colorado | stan.store/JamesCarlson · Member since 2014 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    2y
    Quote from @Michael Phillips:

    Hi James, one thing I see in the new ordinance for Arvada has a limit of no more than 5 unrelated guests.  How are people renting to 12 people for then?

    How are they STR renting to 12 people? Most likely illegally.

    In order to rent an Arvada Airbnb to 12 people, 7 of them would have to be related. Now, I'm not advocating breaking the law. I'd follow the rules.

    Also, though, it's pretty well-known that these rules -- be it in Arvada or Denver or Colorado Springs -- are not proactively enforced. Understaffed governments don't have the manpower to look for these problems.

    So the only short-term rental hosts that get in trouble are those whose neighbors complain. This is true in most Colorado cities that have a similar provision in their vacation rental regulations. 

    Best way to avoid that is to be a good host, avoid any group that hints of a party group, install noise monitors and enforce those rules aith your guests. 

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