Blue River Imposes Emergency Moratorium On New Short-Term Rental Licenses
The Town of Blue River has imposed a moratorium on Short-term rental licenses. See below for imformation from the Town regarding the new policy. Further down, you will find information regarding existing STR’s.
Emergency Moratorium on New or Lapsed Short-Term Rental License Approval
As of May 19, 2026, the Town of Blue River is in a moratorium on short-term rental licenses. No more licenses will be available through the end of 2026 or until the moratorium is lifted. The moratorium extends to any new license requests, as well as to any rentals currently operating without a license or with a lapsed license. This moratorium will not impact any short-term rentals that are currently licensed, operating in compliance with the Town of Blue River requirements, and are submitting lodging tax reports and tax remittance on a timely basis. Short-Term Rentals in non-compliance are subject to fines, removal of online listings, and potential revocation or suspension of licensure. Please see below for the ordinance language:
ORDINANCE NO. 2026-03
AN ORDINANCE OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE TOWN OF BLUE RIVER, COLORADO, ESTABLISHING A TEMPORARY SUSPENSION AND DELAY (A/K/A A MORATORIUM) ON THE ACCEPTANCE OF APPLICATIONS FOR, AND THE ISSUANCE OF, NEW LICENSES AND RENEWAL OF LICENSES FOR SHORT-TERM RENTAL OF PROPERTY AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY
WHEREAS, the Town of Blue River, Colorado (“Town”) is a statutory municipality incorporated and organized pursuant to the provisions of Section 31-2-101, et seq., C.R.S.; and
WHEREAS, the Town is authorized to exercise police powers and to enact laws that promote the health, safety, and welfare of its citizens and to plan and regulate the use of land within its jurisdiction; and
WHEREAS, Colorado Revised Statues § 31–15–103 grants municipalities the power to adopt ordinances “necessary and proper to provide for the safety, preserve the health, promote the prosperity, and improve the morals, order, comfort, and convenience” of the municipality and its inhabitants; and
WHEREAS, Colorado Revised Statues §§ 31–15–401 and 31-15-501 grants municipalities police powers and the power to regulate the use of land and businesses within the community; and
WHEREAS, the Town adopted a regulatory program for the issuance of one-year licenses for the operation of short-term rental of property as found and defined at Article 1 of Chapter 6 of the Municipal Code (the “Short-Term Rental Ordinance”); and
WHEREAS, the Town updated its Short-Term Rental Ordinance in 2025 to address ongoing licensing and operational issues; and
WHEREAS, license holders’ compliance with the Short-Term Rental Ordinance has proven to be inconsistent, some license holders have ignored regulatory requirements, and some license holders have created conflicts with neighboring properties and neighborhoods generally through non-compliance and lack of focused enforcement by the Town; and
WHEREAS, further updating of the Short-Term Rental Ordinance is deemed necessary by the Board of Trustees; and
WHEREAS, to ensure that new licenses are subject to updated regulations for the remainder of 2026, a temporary suspension or moratorium on the acceptance of applications and the issuance of licenses is deemed necessary by the Town to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the Town and its residences.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE TOWN BOARD FOR THE TOWN OF BLUE RIVER, COLORADO, AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Incorporation of Recitals. The foregoing recitals are affirmed and incorporated by this reference as legislative findings of the Board of Trustees.
Section 2. Temporary Suspension and Delay Enacted. The Town of Blue River Board of Trustees hereby legislatively imposes a temporary suspension and delay (a/k/a a moratorium) on the following:
A. Acceptance of applications seeking a new license or the renewal of an existing license to authorize the short-term rental of property within the Town; and
B. Issuance of a new license or the renewal of an existing license to authorize the short-term rental of property within the Town.
Section 3. Duration of Temporary Suspension and Delay. The temporary suspension and delay shall automatically terminate at 12:00 midnight on December 31, 2026, unless terminated earlier by the Board of Trustees or extended in its duration by the enactment of another ordinance. This Ordinance and the temporary suspension and delay imposed hereby shall be self-executing without further action by the Town or the Board of Trustees.
Section 4. Purpose of Temporary Suspension and Delay . The purpose of this Ordinance and the temporary suspension and delay of development is to enable the Town to study, review, evaluate, and consider the updating and amendment of the Town’s Short-Term Rental Ordinance (Article 1 of Chapter 6 of the Municipal Code) to ensure that the Town best protects and advances the goals of preserving and protecting the health and safety of the Town’s residents from impacts caused by short-term rental of property and establishing an administrative and effective means of enforcement of the Short-Term Rental Ordinance.
Section 5. Staff Direction . During the effective term of this Ordinance, the Town administrative staff shall diligently:
A. Provide a copy of this Ordinance to any owners of property within the Town that express to the Town staff an intertest in a short-term rental license; and
B. Work to revise the Short-Term Rental Ordinance to address deficiencies in licensee compliance and the operation of short-term rentals without licenses, and to regulate short-term rentals in a manner that will prevent or mitigate impacts associated with the rental activity on neighboring properties and on the neighborhood generally; and
C. Work to revise the Short-Term Rental Ordinance to improve the Town’s ability to effectively enforce the revised Town’s Short-Term Rental regulations; and
D. Consult with the Board of Trustees on other limitations or restrictions on the number of short-term rentals within subdivisions and/or within the Town.
Given the limited resources of the Town, it is expected that the work to be performed by the Town’s administrative staff will require approximately seven (7) months to complete. The administrative staff shall periodically update the Board of Trustees regarding the progress of the work and an expected completion date, when known.
Section 6. Severability. Should any one or more sections or provisions of this Ordinance be judicially determined invalid or unenforceable, such judgment shall not affect, impair, or invalidate the remaining provisions of this Ordinance, the intention being that the various sections and provisions are severable.
Section 7. Safety Clause. The Board of Trustees finds, determines, and declares that this Ordinance is promulgated pursuant to the Town’s authority and under the general police power of the Town of Blue River, that it is necessary for the preservation of health and safety and for the protection of public convenience and welfare. The Town Board of Trustees further determines that this Ordinance bears a rational relation to the proper legislative objective sought to be obtained.
Section 8. Emergency Declaration and Effective Date. The Board of Trustees hereby legislatively declares that the passage of this Ordinance is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety. Specifically, the passage of this Ordinance as an Emergency Ordinance is necessary to ensure that new applications or renewal applications are not submitted and licenses not issued which licenses would not be subject to the updated regulations to be created as directed by this Ordinance. Upon passage by a supermajority of the members of the Board of Trustees in office as required by state law, this Ordinance shall become effective immediately upon adoption.
INTRODUCED, READ, PASSED, INITIALLY ADOPTED, AND ORDERED PUBLISHED BY TITLE ONLY at a regular meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Town of Blue River, Colorado, held on the 19th day of May, 2026.
Important Reminders Regarding Short-Term Rentals
The Town of Blue River requires that anyone wishing to rent their home on a short-term rental basis to currently hold an active license. The Town has several regulations concerning short-term rentals. Below is a list of regulations.
ADVERTISING REGULATIONS
ALL short-term rentals must post their Blue River License on ALL ads. This includes on platforms with lodging companies, Airbnb and VRBO. Failure to place the number on the ads will be considered a code violation.
1. Registration is required for short-term rentals in Blue River. All short-term rental licenses expire 12/31 each year regardless of when the initial registration is placed.
2. Taxes: A total of 12.275% must be collected for any short-term rental stay. 8.875% is to be remitted to the State of Colorado. If you rent through Airbnb or VRBO, please ensure your listing is set as Blue River to ensure payment is made correctly. The remaining 3.4% is to be remitted to the Town of Blue River.
3. Airbnb and VRBO will NOT pay the 3.4% on your behalf to the Town. If Airbnb says they are paying all these taxes to Blue River, they are going to the Town of Breckenridge. The Town of Blue River does not have an agreement with them for tax remittal.
4. ALL Licenses expire 12/31 each year regardless of when they were pulled.
Eligibility for renewals:
1. Must have rented at least 10 days with all taxes and required tax reports submitted.
2. If you have 3 or more code violations recorded, you will not be eligible to renew and will not be eligible for a license for 1 year.
Submitting Taxes:
A note that the licensee/homeowner is responsible for ensuring all taxes are remitted properly. Tax remittal deadlines: January; April; July; October.
Please note when remitting taxes, you MUST submit a tax report that includes number of days rented. Without this information, you will be considered delinquent and may not be eligible to renew for the following year. All Blue River licensed short-term rentals must rent a minimum of 10 days a year or face not being eligible to renew.
Please remit your tax report along with your payment. You may use the portal or the online web form. If you are working with a property management company, please share this information with them and check if they are remitting on your behalf before submitting a report and payment.
Taxes are required to be remitted quarterly.
January-March April 20th
April-June July 20th
July-September October 20th
October-December January 20th