Updated 10/12/2026
After an 10 month moratorium on new Short Term Rental applications, the Town of Buena Vista passed an updated and lengthy set of STR regulations aimed at slowing the number of STRs owned by out-of-county residents and/or businesses.
New Rules — Ordinances 14 & 16
The Board of Trustees recently adopted Ordinance No. 14, Series of 2026, and Ordinance No. 16, Series of 2026, making significant changes to the Town’s STR regulations.
- Ordinance 14 establishes percentage-based STR license caps by zoning district.
- Ordinance 14 expressly makes deed-restricted dwelling units ineligible for STR licensing.
- Ordinance 14 creates a full-time onsite or live-in representative exemption from the zoning-district cap for qualifying properties.
- Ordinance 16 establishes a limit of no more than two STR licenses per parcel and limits a person or entity to generally no more than one STR license, subject to the exception provided in the ordinance for a dwelling and accessory dwelling unit on the same parcel.
- Ordinance 16 was adopted September 22, 2026, and becomes effective 30 days after publication.
These ordinances are summarized below in plain language. The Municipal Code and applicable Town standards control if there is any conflict.
Requirements for All Short-Term Rentals
- A valid STR license is required before a property may be advertised or operated as a short-term rental.
- Each STR requires a separate license. Accessory dwelling units (ADUs) are treated as separate dwelling units for STR licensing purposes.
- The property must have a valid Certificate of Occupancy issued by the Town of Buena Vista or Chaffee County.
- The property must be eligible for STR use under Article VII of Chapter 6.
- Deed-restricted dwelling units are not eligible for STR licensing.
- Commercial and other nonresidential structures, multi-family, co-housing developments, certain temporary dwellings, and other ineligible structures may not be licensed as STRs.
- An accessory structure must qualify as an Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) and have a Town-assigned address to be eligible for STR licensing.
- The STR must remain in compliance with the Town’s Short-Term Rental Housing Standards and Specifications whenever it is being rented.
- STR licenses are issued to the property owner and dwelling unit for which they are issued and are not transferable.
- A change in property ownership terminates the existing STR license. A new owner must apply for a new license under the requirements in effect at that time.
- Every STR must maintain continuous insurance with minimum limits of $1,000,000. Acceptable coverage may include property liability insurance, commercial liability insurance, or a homeowner’s policy endorsement covering STR use.
- The Town-issued STR license number must appear in all advertising.
- A property may not be advertised or offered for short-term rental without a valid license.
STR License Caps
Ordinance No. 14 established percentage-based caps by zoning district.
The Town Clerk calculates the maximum number of STR licenses permitted in each zoning district based on the applicable percentage of eligible residential housing stock in that district. The resulting number is rounded down to the nearest whole number.
| Zoning District | STR License Cap | Current Maximum | Currently Available |
|---|---|---|---|
| R-1 (Low Density Residential) | 1% | 8 | 0 |
| R-1 OT (Low Density Residnetial, w Old Town overlay) | 1% | 1 | 0 |
| R-1.5 (Small Lot Single Family Residential) | 3% | 0 | 0 |
| R-2 (General Density Residential) | 3% | 5 | 0 |
| R-2 OT (General Density Residential, w Old Town overlay) | 3% | 5 | 0 |
| R-3 (High Density Residential) | 3% | 7 | 0 |
| MU-1 (Mixed Use One) | 7% | 5 | 1 |
| MU-2 (Mided Use Two) | 11% | 28 | 0 |
Current license availability is subject to change. Please contact the Town Clerk’s Office before submitting a new-license application.
- The cap is calculated separately for each zoning district.
- The maximum number of licenses is based on the applicable percentage of eligible residential housing stock in the district, with the resulting number rounded down to the nearest whole number.
- Deed-restricted dwelling units are excluded from the housing stock used to calculate the cap and are not eligible for STR licensing.
Click here to view the number of licenses currently available.
STRs That Do Not Count Toward the Zoning-District Cap
A dwelling unit still requires an STR license, but the license does not count toward the applicable zoning-district cap when:
- The STR qualifies for the full-time onsite or live-in representative exemption;
- The dwelling unit is located in the MU-MS zoning district; or
- The dwelling unit is located in the South Main PUD.
Full-Time Onsite or Live-In Representative
A qualifying full-time onsite or live-in representative may allow an STR license to be exempt from the applicable zoning-district cap.
The representative must:
- Occupy a dwelling unit on the same property as the STR on an ongoing basis;
- Be responsible for the management, operation, and compliance of the STR;
- Be the property owner or a tenant authorized by the owner; and
- Provide documentation of occupancy if requested by the Town.
Temporary absences from the dwelling do not affect eligibility, provided the representative continues to occupy the dwelling on an ongoing basis.
Any change in the designated representative must be reported to the Town within 30 days.
New License Availability & Waiting Lists
A new STR license may not be issued if doing so would cause the applicable zoning-district cap to be exceeded.
When a cap has been reached, complete applications may be placed on a waiting list in the order they are determined to be complete. Placement on a waiting list does not guarantee that a license will become available.
Following the annual renewal process, the Town Clerk will determine and make publicly available the number of new licenses available in each zoning district before accepting new applications.
Renewing an Existing STR License info can be found on the Town’s website.