Can You Still Get a Short-Term Rental License in Buena Vista? (2026 Rules)
Short answer: as of late July 2026, you can't pull a new short-term rental license — a temporary moratorium paused new applications and is set to expire in September 2026 (it can lift sooner, or be extended). Existing licensed rentals keep operating. Here's exactly how the rules work, and what your options are right now.
We manage short-term rentals here and we've sat through the licensing process ourselves, so this is the practical version — what the rules actually say, sourced straight from the Town, and what it means if you're trying to rent out a home in Buena Vista today.
The moratorium: a pause, not a ban
In January 2026 the Town of Buena Vista adopted Emergency Ordinance No. 01, a temporary moratorium that pauses the acceptance and approval of new short-term rental license applications. As of late July 2026 it's still in effect and is set to expire in September 2026. Trustees can lift it sooner, and they can also extend it — the stated intent is to have a replacement policy ready before it runs out. They've been explicit that the goal is to pause and revise the policy, not to ban short-term rentals. If you already hold a license, you keep operating.
Update — what happened at the July 14, 2026 meeting
This is the part that matters if you're waiting on a license, because the replacement policy now has a shape. A seven-member Short-Term Rental Committee met five times over the spring and handed the board nonbinding recommendations in June. On July 14, 2026 trustees worked section by section through an initial ordinance drafted by town staff and legal counsel. They did not vote, and they did not settle the numbers. Town Administrator Brian Berger called the draft early, and staff were asked to come back with a narrower version.
Here's what the draft would change, and what's still open:
- Caps would move from townwide categories to your zoning district. The current 6% / 3% split by owner type would be replaced with a percentage cap per zone — lowest in R-1, higher in R-2, higher still in R-3, mixed-use, and the Old Town Overlay. Trustees broadly liked splitting caps by zone. They did not agree on the percentages, or on whether condos, townhomes and duplexes should get extra protection as attainable housing.
- The waitlist would go away. Under the draft, once a zone hits its cap the town simply stops accepting applications rather than queuing them. Trustees flagged the obvious problem — a line at town hall the moment a license frees up — and asked staff to find a way to hold someone's place without reprocessing applications. If you've been counting on the waitlist, this one is worth watching.
- An on-site-resident exemption is on the table. A rental with a full-time resident living on the property — owner or an authorized long-term tenant — could be exempt from the cap entirely, with primary residence proven by voter or vehicle registration, utility records, a lease, or similar. Renting a room or an ADU to cover your own housing costs is the case this is meant to protect.
- Existing licenses would be grandfathered, but not forever. Licenses in good standing in an over-cap zone could keep renewing as nonconforming and would count against the cap. No new licenses would issue in that zone until attrition brought it under. The draft also restates that a license is tied to both the owner and the dwelling, doesn't transfer at sale, and creates no vested right past its annual term.
- Deed-restricted affordable and workforce housing would stay ineligible for licenses and would be pulled out of the housing totals used to compute caps.
- Costs may rise slightly. There was support for hiring a third-party administrator to handle applications, renewals, complaints and unlicensed-listing sweeps. Chaffee County pays roughly $17,500 a year for something similar; spread across BV license holders that's an estimated $60–$75 on top of the annual fee.
- Still unresolved: a possible one-license-per-person limit, whether short-term rentals belong in the Highway Commercial district, and a requirement that online listings display their town license number.
On the scale of the thing: planning staff estimated 195 STR licenses across 1,636 residential lots in the zones they studied — about 11.9%, ranging from 7% in R-1 Old Town to 28.2% in MU-2, with South Main excluded. The town has roughly 246 licenses overall. Planning Director Marika Kopp cautioned that those counts are based on residential parcels with structures rather than verified dwelling units, because building a true inventory would mean working through decades of inconsistent records. Trustees chose to proceed on the best available numbers rather than wait.
Our own read, for whatever it's worth: caps drawn by zone are a more honest instrument than a blanket freeze, and the on-site-resident exemption is the right instinct — it protects the owner renting a room over the investor assembling a portfolio. The town's underlying worry about long-term housing is real and we don't dismiss it. The piece we'd watch closely is dropping the waitlist, because a first-to-the-door system tends to reward whoever can afford to be watching. None of this is adopted yet. Nothing below changes until the board passes a numbered ordinance.
The caps underneath the moratorium
Even once applications reopen, Buena Vista limits licenses by category, as a percentage of the town's residential housing units. This is the part that surprises most people:
| Who's licensing the property | Cap |
|---|---|
| Your own primary residence (all or part) | No cap |
| Property in the East Main (MU-MS) or South Main PUD zones | No cap (MU-MS needs a special use permit) |
| Out-of-county owner, or any entity (LLC, trust) | 6% of residential units |
| In-county, non-primary, non-entity | 3% of residential units |
When a capped category is full, new applicants go on a first-come waitlist (the town date- and time-stamps applications). The unit count that sets the percentages is recalculated each year.
The rules that trip people up
- Licenses don't transfer with a sale. When a property changes hands, the existing license is voided and the new owner must apply on their own. You can't buy a licensed rental and inherit the license — and during the moratorium, the new owner can't get a new one yet. If you're buying with rental income in mind, confirm this before you close.
- One license per address, each with a unique address and a valid certificate of occupancy. Homes still under construction can't apply until the certificate is issued.
- Fire inspection must be passed within 60 days of conditional approval.
- Fees: $250 for a new license, $150 to renew.
- Sales tax: advertise only on Airbnb, VRBO, or Evolve and you generally don't need a separate sales tax license; list anywhere else and you must collect and remit it with a Colorado sales tax license.
- Definition: a short-term rental is the structure (or two or fewer habitable spaces) rented for 30 consecutive days or less.
Town limits vs. unincorporated county — which permit do you need?
Here's the part that catches owners off guard: "Buena Vista" isn't one set of rules. Every short-term rental needs its own permit from whichever jurisdiction the property physically sits in — and the Town and the County run separate systems with separate caps. Each property carries its own permit; if you own more than one, each one needs its own.
- Inside the Town of Buena Vista limits: you need a Town STR license — the moratorium and percentage caps above are what apply.
- In unincorporated Chaffee County (where a lot of homes near town actually are): you need a Chaffee County STR permit, governed by the County's own Land Use Code — a different process, with its own limits.
The County's rules, per the Chaffee County Land Use Code:
| Chaffee County (unincorporated) | Rule |
|---|---|
| Permits available | Capped at 310 per year |
| Per property | One permit per property (the primary residence or an ADU — not both) |
| Transfers with a sale? | No — the permit doesn't transfer to a new owner |
| Waitlist order | First-come, first-served by date of complete application — no residency preference |
| Occupancy | Set by the County at licensing — based on unit size, bedrooms, water adequacy, and septic capacity |
| Local agent required | Must name a county-based agent (a management firm or full-time resident), available 24/7, who can respond to an on-site emergency within one hour |
That local-agent rule is worth a second look: an out-of-county owner can't legally operate without a Chaffee-County-based contact who can be on site fast — the owner can serve as their own agent only if they live here, otherwise they need a local manager. And occupancy isn't something the owner gets to set: the County fixes your maximum guest count at licensing, weighing unit size, bedroom count, water adequacy and septic capacity — so a home on septic often lands below what its bedrooms alone would suggest. It's a County permit condition, not a house rule anyone invented. Get the jurisdiction wrong and you can do everything else right and still be out of compliance.
Short-term rental rules in Chaffee County and its towns change from time to time, and the finer points of who's eligible for a permit can shift between updates. Before purchasing or converting a property, check the current local guidelines with the relevant jurisdiction — Chaffee County, the Town of Buena Vista, or the City of Salida — or just ask us and we'll point you to the right office. Rules summarized on this page were last verified July 2026.
Sorting out which jurisdiction you're in, which cap applies, where you land on the waitlist, and keeping the permit in good standing year to year is genuinely confusing — and it's exactly the kind of thing we handle for the owners we manage. We'll help you identify the right permit for your specific property and walk you through obtaining and maintaining it. The owner has to hold the permit — we can't file it for you — but you won't be guessing your way through it.
A cap on supply, with demand still climbing, hands real pricing power to owners who already hold a license — so if you're already in, that license is a genuinely valuable position to protect. We'll also say plainly that a system like this rewards the stamp of permission about as much as how well someone actually runs their place, and it raises the bar for the next person trying to do the same thing. To be fair, the town is balancing real trade-offs — long-term housing and neighborhood character — and they've framed this as a pause to get it right. No clean answer, just trade-offs. Our view: a responsibly run rental is a good neighbor, and good operation beats blanket restriction.
Your options right now
If you're trying to get into short-term renting in Buena Vista today, you're not necessarily out of luck:
- Primary-residence rentals aren't capped — renting all or part of the home you actually live in is the most open path.
- The downtown exemption zones (East Main / South Main PUD) aren't subject to the percentage caps.
- Get on the waitlist in your category so you're in line when space opens or the moratorium lifts.
- Watch the fall-2026 policy revision — the rules are actively being rewritten, and being positioned early matters.
- The construction-and-handyman side of what we do is always an option if a rental isn't in the cards yet.
The rules reward the people who understand them, and they change — which is exactly where a local manager who's tracking the policy earns their keep.
Not sure where your property stands?
Tell us your address and situation and we'll walk you through your licensing options honestly — what's possible now, what the waitlist looks like, and what the fall-2026 revisions could mean for you.
Ask Us About Your Property Call 719-626-8755Frequently asked questions
Can I get a new STR license in Buena Vista right now?
No — a temporary moratorium (Emergency Ordinance No. 01, Jan 2026) paused new applications and is set to expire in September 2026 — it can be lifted sooner or extended. It's a pause to revise policy, not a ban, and existing licenses keep operating. See the July 2026 update above.
How are the licenses capped?
By category, as a percentage of town housing units: primary residences and the East Main / South Main PUD zones aren't capped; out-of-county or entity-held properties are capped at 6%, in-county non-primary non-entity at 3%, with a waitlist when full.
Do I need a Town license or a Chaffee County permit?
It depends on where the property physically sits. Inside Buena Vista town limits you need a Town STR license (subject to the moratorium and caps above). In unincorporated Chaffee County you need a Chaffee County STR permit instead — a separate system capped at 310 permits a year, one per property, non-transferable at sale, with a first-come, first-served waitlist once the cap is reached and occupancy set by the county at licensing based on unit size, bedrooms, water adequacy, and septic capacity. Each property needs its own permit, and we help owners navigate the right one.
Does the license transfer when I sell?
No. The license is voided at sale and the new owner must apply for their own — which they can't do for a new one during the moratorium. Verify before buying.
What does it cost and what's required?
$250 new / $150 renewal, one license per address with a certificate of occupancy, and a fire inspection passed within 60 days of conditional approval.
Do I need a sales tax license?
If you advertise exclusively on Airbnb, VRBO, or Evolve, generally no. List anywhere else and you must collect sales tax with a Colorado sales tax license.
Related: Licensed and wondering who runs the day-to-day? See how our short-term rental management in Buena Vista works.
Sources & further reading: Licensing rules, caps, fees, and transfer/inspection requirements from the Town of Buena Vista official STR page. Chaffee County permit rules (310-license annual cap, non-transferable permits, first-come-first-served waitlist, and county-set occupancy) from Appendix L of the Chaffee County Land Use Code (Resolution 2024-79, adopted November 19, 2024; effective January 1, 2025). Moratorium adoption and current status, and the July 14, 2026 trustee review of the STR Committee's recommendations, from local reporting by Ark Valley Voice and the Chaffee County Times and the Chaffee County Times. Regulations change — always verify current requirements directly with the Town of Buena Vista before making decisions.