SmartRegs Guide

The City of Boulder requires that a rental license be approved for a property before it can be used as a rental. A property cannot be advertised as a rental in any manner until the license is issued, and the application and approval process can take several weeks at a minimum.

• Rental Housing Licensing Guide

Approval depends on the results of required inspections that determine whether a property complies with standards for health/safety, mechanical systems, and energy efficiency.

SmartRegs is the energy efficiency component of the inspection and approval process, and this guide can help you through the SmartRegs compliance process as you attempt to obtain a rental license for one or more properties.

The City of Boulder requires that a rental license be approved for a property before it can be used as a rental. As a realtor, it is important to understand how this works in case your client is buying or selling a property that is to be used as a rental property in the future.

Rental license approval depends on the results of inspections that determine whether a property complies with standards for health/safety, mechanical systems, and energy efficiency.

SmartRegs is the energy efficiency component of the inspection and approval process, and the Steps to Compliance guide below can teach you about the SmartRegs compliance process.

The energy and water bills for your residence are affected by the efficiency of the building and the equipment/appliances inside. SmartRegs requires rental properties to comply with specific efficiency standards.

However, the habits of you and any housemates also greatly affect the amount of energy and water used in the residence.

Move onto Conservation for Tenants to learn about the ways tenants can shape their habits to conserve energy and water. This option also allows you to help your landlord earn 1 point toward SmartRegs compliance. Simply take the SmartRegs Tenant Quiz once you are ready.

You can also access additional resources related to energy efficiency and renewable energy through Boulder County's EnergySmart service.

As a contractor it is important to understand the purpose of SmartRegs and motivations of customers looking to achieve SmartRegs compliance for their rental properties.

A SmartRegs inspection will determine the number of points needed for a rental property to reach compliance. Earning the specific number of required points will typically be your customer's main priority. There may be times when a customer is not interested in pursuing some of your recommendations if those recommendations do not earn more points for the property.

TIP: Make sure that invoices clearly describe the work that was completed to improve the property's score. These details will make it easier for the customer to coordinate with the SmartRegs inspector and update the score.

If you wish to learn more about how SmartRegs works you can access the handbook by clicking that option below.