A short-term rental in unincorporated Pitkin County needs a county license

If you are thinking about renting a home or condo to visitors for short stays in Pitkin County, the first question is where the property sits. The rules are not the same everywhere in the valley.

In the unincorporated parts of the county — the land outside the city and towns — Pitkin County requires a license to operate a short-term rental. The county code sets out who needs one, how to apply, and the conditions that come with it. A short-term rental usually means renting for short periods, such as fewer than 30 days at a time, but the exact definition lives in the code.

Inside the city of Aspen, the Town of Snowmass Village, and the Town of Basalt, the county’s license is not the document that governs you. Each of those places writes its own short-term rental rules, and they can differ from the county and from each other.

This is a place where it is easy to assume the rules from a neighbor’s experience, or from another resort town, apply to you. They may not. Caps, zones, fees, and renewal terms can all change over time, so a current source matters more than a remembered one.

Before listing a property, confirm which jurisdiction it is in, then read that jurisdiction’s own rules. For unincorporated land, start with Pitkin County’s Short Term Rentals page and county code.