🎯 STRisker: Bulletin - Clear Creek County, CO
Clear Creek Tightens the Reins: County Cracks Down on Questionable STR ‘Primary Residences
Clear Creek County Cracks Down on Questionable “Primary Residence” STRs
Clear Creek County is putting its foot down on short-term rentals (STRs) that blur the line between “local living” and “investment play.” During an Oct. 21 presentation to the Board of County Commissioners, Planning and Building Services staff laid out a new set of administrative procedures meant to tighten verification for primary-residence STR licenses — a move sparked by community complaints about nonresident owners skirting the rules.
Under the proposed changes, the county will take a complaint-based approach. When someone reports a suspected nonresident STR, staff must contact the property owner within ten business days, requesting proof that they actually live there — things like grocery or gas receipts, local credit card transactions, or anything showing real-life presence in Clear Creek County. After reviewing the evidence, the county can either uphold the license, deny it, or revoke it altogether. Property owners will still have the right to appeal through the normal county process.
What’s new is how long violators will have to wait before they can reapply. Staff recommended a minimum one-year wait for any denied or revoked license, with removed licenses offered to applicants already on the county’s waiting list. The same standards will also apply to local management companies or “responsible agents.” Fines and court referrals remain on the table for anyone operating an unlicensed rental.
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The purpose is clear: defend local housing for residents and prevent investor takeovers of limited housing stock. Clear Creek caps standard STR licenses at 4.5% of dwellings, but primary-residence rentals are given a bit more leeway — and that generosity, staff noted, is being tested. Some applicants are “claiming residency on paper,” running de facto investment properties instead.
Commissioners praised the tighter verification plan but pressed staff for clarity — how will voter registration be checked? What exactly counts as “local” evidence? And is the ten-day window a rule or just a goal? Staff said it’s a target, not a deadline, and pledged to improve transparency with a public newsletter or social media notice explaining the changes.
In short, the county wants to keep STR opportunities fair for true locals — not shell LLCs or absentee investors. The new rules, expected to take effect prospectively, show Clear Creek’s effort to balance its tourism economy with community housing stability.
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