Rental Housing Licensing: Long-Term

Rental licenses are not required under the following circumstances. These exemptions do not apply to short-term rentals.

If your property meets this criteria, submit a Rental License Exemption Affidavit - Owner/Relative Occupied.

• A dwelling unit occupied by the owner (or members of the owner's family who are at least 21 yrs of age) who rents to no more than two people unrelated to the owner's family

If your property meets all of these criteria, submit a Rental License Exemption Affidavit - Temporary Rental

• The dwelling unit is the owner's principal residence
• The dwelling unit is temporarily rented for no longer than 12 consecutive months in any 24-month period
• The dwelling unit was occupied by the owner immediately prior to its rental
• The owner is temporarily living outside of Boulder County
• The owner intends to reoccupy the dwelling

Yes. Rental licenses are required for all properties offered for rent and, in addition to inspection for licensing, city staff may inspect the ADU for other approval criteria.

Only property owners who do not reside in Boulder County are required to have a local agent. The local agent is designated by the owner, provides a contact person for the property, and must be able to respond to the property within 60 minutes.

Yes, however, please consider that tenants frequently change and it is the owner's responsibility to keep the city informed of a new agent.

Submit the Rental Licensing Change of Information or Agent form with your changes.

Yes. The Reduced Term Rental License code allows the term of a rental license to be reduced to 12 months when there is a violation of the land use or to 24 months for violations of the Housing Code.

Single-family homes seeking a rental license certify compliance through a rental inspection. Multi-unit dwellings are required to submit a Lighting Certification to receive a four-year term license. Multi-unit dwellings will receive a one-year reduced term license if certification is not received at application, which will be extended to a full four-year term if certification is submitted within the one-year term.

The SmartRegs ordinances require all rental housing to meet a basic energy efficiency standard.

A Rental Inspection is needed for:

• A rental property that has never been licensed before;
• A rental property whose previous license has expired; and
• A transfer of ownership.

Rental inspection compliance verification forms must be completed and signed by a licensed inspector.

Inspections are done by private inspection companies. Re-inspections may be required if there are items to be repaired. If the property is in compliance, the inspector will inform you at the inspection site and will provide a signed inspection compliance verification form.

Charges for the inspection depend on the policies of the licensed rental housing inspector that you have contracted with. Prices vary - please compare prices between companies.

The Rental Inspection consists of four parts:

• General Life Safety Requirements;
• Plumbing Facilities and Fixture Requirements;
• Mechanical and Electrical Requirements; and
• Fire Safety Requirements.

If you are unable to complete the required inspections by your expiration/due date, please contact us at RHL@bouldercolorado.gov with an extension request and provide details of your situation.

Yes, inspections are considered current if they were performed within the last 12 months and are submitted within 90 days past license expiration.

A contractor licensed in the City of Boulder can assist you with determining the cost and extent of the repair work.

The city is not a party to the contract so is not involved in setting the fee. It is up to the property owner to hire a licensed inspector and negotiate a price for the service.

Visit the Contractor Licensing page to learn more.