Short-Term Rentals
Summit County Short-Term Rental Rules, by Town
In Summit County, the short-term-rental rules are often the single biggest variable in what a property is worth to own. Every jurisdiction sets its own caps, waitlists, and fees, and most are at or over cap. This is the plain-English map of where you can still rent, where you cannot, and what to verify before you count on the income.
The Short Answer
Can You Short-Term Rent in Summit County?
Usually yes, but where and whether you can get a license is now the real question. Almost every basin and most town zones have hit their cap, so the license, not the house, is often the scarce asset. In the tightest areas the wait runs a decade or more, and in Breckenridge and most towns the license does not transfer when a home sells, so a buyer starts over.
That makes one question decisive before you buy for rental income: does this exact parcel carry, or still qualify for, a license. It is knowable, it is parcel-specific, and it belongs in the underwriting from day one. The map below is where to start; I confirm the current status for a specific address as part of any purchase.
At a Glance
Summit County STR Rules by Jurisdiction
A working summary as of 2026. Caps and waitlists move through the year, so treat this as the starting point and confirm the current figures with the jurisdiction and at contract.
| Jurisdiction | Cap | Status | Waitlist | Annual Fee | Transfers on Sale |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Breckenridge (Resort & Zone 1) The two zones where you can still get a license without waiting. | Capped by zone | Licenses available | No waitlist | ~$756 / bedroom / yr + BOLT | No |
| Breckenridge (Zone 2 & Zone 3) Downtown core and single-family residential. Existing licenses are grandfathered but do not transfer on sale. | At cap | Full | 4 to 15+ years | ~$756 / bedroom / yr + BOLT | No |
| Unincorporated Summit County Neighborhood Overlay Zones. Type II is capped; a Type I exception needs a Qualified Occupant. | Capped by basin | Over cap in every basin | Active waitlists | County schedule | No |
| Frisco One of the shorter waitlists in the county as of early 2026. | 25% of housing stock (~900) | Cap reached | ~12 to 14 months | Town schedule | No |
| Silverthorne Two overlay areas with very different caps. Eligibility is parcel-specific. | Area 1: 10% / Area 2: 50% | Area-dependent | Area-dependent | Town schedule | No |
| Dillon (town) The most permissive town in the county. Nearby unincorporated parcels are capped, so confirm the parcel. | No cap | Open | No waitlist | Town schedule | Confirm |
| Blue River New-license and renewal moratorium in effect through at least Dec 31, 2026 pending an ordinance rewrite. | Historically no cap | Moratorium | Paused | ~$300 / yr | No |
| Keystone (new town) Resort Overlay Zone. The newly incorporated town has not capped licenses, for now. | No cap | Open | No waitlist | ~$285 / yr | No |
BOLT = Breckenridge Business & Occupational License Tax. Figures reflect early-to-mid 2026 and are directional; verify current caps, availability, and fees with each jurisdiction.
Breckenridge
How Do Breckenridge's STR Zones Work?
Breckenridge splits the town into four license zones, and which one a home sits in decides almost everything. The Resort Zone and Zone 1 (tourism) still have licenses available with no waitlist. Zone 2 (the downtown core) and Zone 3 (single-family residential) are at cap, with waitlists that currently run from several years in Zone 2 to well over a decade in Zone 3.
Existing Zone 3 licenses are grandfathered, which sounds reassuring until you learn they do not transfer on sale. When a licensed home changes hands, the license is surrendered and the buyer applies fresh at the back of the line. So a home marketed as a proven rental may convey with no transferable right to rent it at all.
Because eligibility comes down to the exact parcel and zone, the zone map is the first thing to check. I break down which areas fall in which zone, and what that means for a buyer, in this companion guide: Breckenridge Short-Term Rental Zones, by area.
Unincorporated County
What Are the Rules Outside the Towns?
Property that sits outside the incorporated towns falls under Summit County's Neighborhood Overlay Zones, applied by basin: Upper Blue, Ten Mile, Snake River, Lower Blue, and others. The standard investor license, called Type II, is capped in each basin, and as of 2026 every basin is at or over its cap with an active waitlist.
There is a second category, Type I, but it is an exception rather than a workaround: it generally requires a Qualified Occupant, meaning it is tied to a primary-residence style use and does not fit a pure second home or investment. For a buyer, the practical takeaway is that an unincorporated parcel without an existing Type II license is very unlikely to become a new short-term rental in the near term. Confirm the basin and the license status parcel by parcel.
Frisco
Can You Short-Term Rent in Frisco?
Frisco caps short-term rentals at roughly 25 percent of its housing stock, about 900 licenses, and that cap has been reached. New applicants join a waitlist that has run in the range of twelve to fourteen months, which makes it one of the shorter waits in the county but a wait nonetheless. As with the towns around it, plan on the license not conveying with a sale, and verify the current queue before you count on rental income.
Silverthorne
What About Silverthorne?
Silverthorne regulates by area, and the two areas are very different. Area 1 caps short-term rentals at about 10 percent of units in a neighborhood, while Area 2 allows up to roughly 50 percent. That spread means eligibility is highly parcel-specific, and two homes a few streets apart can face opposite answers. Confirm which area a property sits in before you assume it can be rented.
Dillon
Is Dillon the Easiest Place to Short-Term Rent?
Among the incorporated towns, yes. The Town of Dillon currently runs no cap and no waitlist, which in a county where nearly everywhere else is full is a meaningful advantage, and one worth pricing in. The one caveat is the boundary: parcels just outside town in the Snake River Basin fall under the county's capped overlay, so confirm a property is actually inside town limits.
Dillon's posture is also worth reading, not just its rules. The town has publicly described STR owners as community stakeholders rather than a problem to be managed, which tends to signal a steadier regulatory footing. I unpack why that language matters for underwriting here: Dillon calls STR owners community stakeholders.
Blue River
What's Happening With Blue River's Moratorium?
Blue River historically ran no cap and no waitlist, which made it an easy answer for years. That changed in 2026: the town enacted a moratorium on new licenses and renewals, in effect through at least December 31, 2026 while it rewrites its ordinance. Until the new rules land, treat Blue River as paused rather than open, and watch for what the rewrite sets as the new baseline. The base fee has run about $300 per year with a minimum rental-day requirement.
Keystone
Can You Short-Term Rent in Keystone?
Keystone is the wild card, in a good way for owners. As Colorado's newest incorporated town it has not yet capped short-term rentals, and its Resort Overlay Zone runs no cap and no waitlist, with a license around $285 a year. That combination, brand-new luxury base village plus open rental rules, is rare in this county. Because the town is new, its rules could evolve, so it is the one place I watch most closely. More on the new town and its base-village shift: Keystone becomes a town, and Kindred raises the base.
The Part Most Buyers Miss
Does the License Transfer When You Sell?
In Breckenridge and most Summit County jurisdictions, no. The license is surrendered when the home sells and the new owner reapplies, at the back of the waitlist if there is one. In a market this capped, that single fact reshapes how a rental-capable home should be valued and how a deal should be structured, because the buyer is often not buying a rental, they are buying a house and a lottery ticket.
The clearest way to think about it is that the license has become a separate asset, and most buyers still are not pricing it in. I make that case in full here: The STR license is the asset. And if you are weighing whether the numbers work at all, this is the underwriting framework I use: the honest math on a Colorado vacation rental.
Common Questions
Summit County STR Questions
Can you still short-term rent in Breckenridge in 2026?
Yes, but only in some zones. The Resort Zone and Zone 1 still have licenses available with no waitlist. Zone 2 (the downtown core) and Zone 3 (single-family residential) are at cap with multi-year waitlists, so a home there can be short-term rented only if it already holds a grandfathered license, and even then the license is surrendered when the home sells. Confirm the specific zone before you rely on rental income.
Which Summit County town is easiest to get an STR license in?
The Town of Dillon currently has no cap and no waitlist, which makes it the most permissive incorporated town. Keystone, newly incorporated, also has no cap yet. Everywhere else, Breckenridge Zones 2 and 3, Frisco, and unincorporated Summit County, is at or over cap with a waitlist. Rules can change quickly, so treat this as a starting point and verify at contract.
Does a Summit County STR license transfer when the home sells?
In Breckenridge and most jurisdictions, no. The license is surrendered on sale and the buyer must apply fresh, joining the back of any applicable waitlist. That is why, in a capped market, the license is best understood as a separate asset rather than something that automatically comes with the house.
What is a Neighborhood Overlay Zone in unincorporated Summit County?
It is the county's framework for regulating short-term rentals outside the incorporated towns, applied by basin (Upper Blue, Ten Mile, Snake River, Lower Blue, and others). Type II licenses, the standard investor license, are capped and currently over cap in every basin. A Type I license is an exception that generally requires a Qualified Occupant, so it does not fit a pure second-home or investment use.
How much does a Summit County short-term rental license cost?
It depends on the jurisdiction. Breckenridge charges roughly $756 per bedroom per year plus a business and occupational license tax, so a larger home runs into the thousands annually. Blue River is about $300 per year and Keystone about $285, both flat. Confirm the current fee schedule with the jurisdiction, since these are updated regularly.
What taxes apply to a short-term rental in Summit County?
A short-term rental collects state, county, and town sales tax plus applicable lodging or marketing taxes, with the exact combined rate depending on the property's jurisdiction. Airbnb and VRBO collect and remit most of these automatically, but direct bookings are the owner's responsibility. Confirm the current combined rate for your specific address before you underwrite the income.
Buying for the Rental Income? Get the License Question Answered First.
Before you write an offer on a home you plan to rent, the license status of that exact parcel should be settled, not assumed. I run that check as part of any purchase, and I keep track of which capped-area homes still carry a transferable-in-practice advantage. Tell me what you are trying to do and I will tell you where it actually works.
Choosing between towns first? Start with the Summit County town comparison or the second-home buyer's guide.