Understand: Teller County’s New STR Ordinance Impacts Your Rental Property

Table of Contents

• What Teller County's STR Ordinance Actually Says
• How the STR Ordinance Changes the Investment Calculation
• Prospective Buyers: What to Verify Before Closing
• Current Owners: Steps to Get Into Compliance
• How This Fits the Broader Teller County Market
• Wrapping Up: What Ordinance 23 Means for Your Next Move

Teller County passed Ordinance 23 in September 2026, and if you own a short-term rental anywhere in the unincorporated county, that date matters more than any market trend I could quote you. After years of watching neighboring counties roll out STR regulations one by one, Teller County became, by most accounts, the last county in Colorado to adopt formal short-term rental rules. That distinction is now behind us. What sits in front of every STR owner and prospective investor is a compliance deadline and a set of requirements that deserve a careful read.

This post breaks down what the ordinance covers, what it means for your property, and how to think about the investment math going forward. I work in this market every week, and the questions I am fielding from owners and buyers right now all point to the same gap: people know the ordinance passed, but they are not clear on what it actually requires.

What Teller County’s STR Ordinance Actually Says

The Teller County Commissioners adopted Ordinance 23 to bring short-term rentals under a formal permitting framework. Before this, operating an STR in unincorporated Teller County existed in a regulatory gray zone. That gray zone is closed. The Gazette’s coverage of the commissioners’ vote provides solid background on the political context and the timeline leading up to passage.

The ordinance applies to properties in unincorporated Teller County. If your property sits inside Woodland Park city limits, the city’s own STR rules govern you, not Ordinance 23. That distinction trips up a lot of buyers who assume county and city rules are interchangeable. They are not.

Core Requirements Under Ordinance 23

Based on the framework commissioners approved, STR operators in unincorporated Teller County must address several categories of compliance. The specifics of each requirement are worth confirming directly with the Teller County Planning Department, since implementation details can shift after a vote. That said, the ordinance establishes requirements across these areas:

• Annual permit: Every STR must hold a current county-issued permit. Operating without one exposes the owner to fines and potential forced closure.
• Life-safety standards: Properties must meet minimum safety requirements, typically including working smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors, fire extinguishers, and posted emergency information.
• Occupancy limits: The ordinance sets caps on the number of guests allowed per property, generally tied to bedroom count and septic capacity.
• Local contact requirement: Owners must designate a local contact person who can respond to complaints or emergencies within a defined window, often two hours.
• Neighbor notification: Some provisions require notifying adjacent property owners that an STR permit has been issued at a given address.
• Tax compliance: Operators must collect and remit applicable lodging taxes. This was already a state requirement, but the ordinance ties permit renewal to demonstrated compliance.

The septic capacity piece deserves particular attention out here. A large portion of Teller County properties run on private septic systems, and occupancy limits tied to system capacity are not arbitrary. A system designed for a three-bedroom residential household was not engineered for weekend parties of 14. Inspectors know this, and the county will use it.

How the STR Ordinance Changes the Investment Calculation

Short-term rentals in Teller County have attracted buyers for years because the mountain setting commands strong nightly rates, particularly for properties near Cripple Creek, Florissant, and the Pikes Peak corridor. That demand is real and has not evaporated. What has changed is the cost and complexity of operating legally.

Compliance Costs Are Now a Line Item

Permit fees, required inspections, and any physical upgrades needed to meet life-safety standards are now fixed costs of doing business. If you are underwriting a potential STR acquisition, these belong in your pro forma before you make an offer, not as an afterthought during due diligence.

Properties that were listed and marketed as STRs before September 2026 may or may not have been operating in full compliance with state tax rules or with any local standards. Buyers should request documentation of prior tax remittance and verify that the property can meet the new county requirements without significant capital outlay.

The Local Contact Requirement Has Real Teeth

The local contact rule is the one I see owners underestimate most consistently. If you live in Denver or out of state and manage your Teller County cabin remotely, you need a local contact who can physically respond within the required window. A property manager already on the ground satisfies this requirement cleanly. A friend who might be available is not a reliable solution when a neighbor calls the county at 11 p.m. on a Saturday.

The local contact requirement is not a formality. It is the provision most likely to trigger a permit suspension if you get it wrong, and permit suspension means the property stops generating revenue immediately.

Occupancy Caps and Revenue Projections

If your revenue model assumed sleeping 12 guests in a four-bedroom cabin on a septic system rated for a family of six, the ordinance forces a recalculation. Reduced occupancy caps directly reduce the nightly rate ceiling you can charge on platforms like Airbnb and VRBO, because guests comparison-shop on price per person. Tighter caps mean tighter margins on large-group bookings, which have historically been the highest-revenue nights for mountain properties.

This does not make Teller County STRs unworkable as investments. It means the underwriting needs to reflect reality rather than a pre-regulation ceiling.

Prospective Buyers: What to Verify Before Closing

If you are considering purchasing a property in unincorporated Teller County with the intent to operate it as an STR, the due diligence list has grown. Here is what I walk buyers through now:

1. Confirm the property is in unincorporated Teller County, not inside a municipality with its own separate ordinance.
2. Request the septic inspection report and confirm the system’s rated capacity. This directly determines your permitted occupancy.
3. Ask the seller for proof of prior STR permits or tax filings if the property was already operating as a short-term rental.
4. Budget for any life-safety upgrades identified during the permit application inspection before you close, not after.
5. Identify your local contact solution before the permit application, not as a last-minute detail.
6. Verify HOA rules if the property sits in a subdivision. Some HOAs in Teller County already restrict or prohibit STRs independent of the county ordinance.

That last point catches buyers off guard more often than any other. The county ordinance sets a floor, but an HOA can impose a stricter ceiling. I have seen buyers fall in love with a property, run the STR numbers, and then discover the HOA has banned short-term rentals entirely. Read the CC&Rs before you get emotionally attached to the income projection.

Current Owners: Steps to Get Into Compliance

If you are already operating an STR in unincorporated Teller County, the clock is running. Waiting to see how enforcement shakes out is a reasonable human impulse, but it is not a sound financial strategy. Counties that adopt STR ordinances typically begin enforcement within the first permit cycle, and the penalties for operating without a permit generally exceed the cost of getting one.

The practical steps look like this:

• Contact the Teller County Planning Department to confirm the current application window and fee schedule.
• Schedule any required inspections early. Inspectors get backed up once a deadline approaches.
• Address life-safety deficiencies before the inspection, not during it.
• Confirm your local contact arrangement in writing and make sure that person understands the response-time obligation.
• Audit your lodging tax filings to ensure you are current before permit renewal ties compliance to your record.

If your property is already managed by a professional property manager, ask them directly whether they are tracking Ordinance 23 requirements on your behalf. Not all managers have updated their service scope to include permit compliance. That is a conversation worth having now.

How This Fits the Broader Teller County Market

Teller County covers a wide range of property types and price points. The communities along Ute Pass, from Cascade through Green Mountain Falls up to Woodland Park, operate differently than the larger acreage parcels out toward Divide and Florissant. You can browse those differences across the communities I cover to get a clearer sense of how geography shapes both lifestyle and investment profile.

The STR ordinance applies specifically to unincorporated county land, which means Divide and Florissant properties are squarely in scope. These are also the areas where well-and-septic systems are most common, making the occupancy-cap provisions directly relevant to the properties that have historically attracted the most STR interest from buyers chasing acreage and privacy.

Woodland Park, as a home-rule municipality, operates under its own STR framework. The two sets of rules are not identical, and a property just outside city limits plays by different rules than one just inside. Street by street, this matters.

Wrapping Up: What Ordinance 23 Means for Your Next Move

The STR ordinance Teller County passed in September 2026 is not a reason to abandon the market. It is a reason to approach it with more precision. Properties that can be permitted cleanly, that have adequate septic capacity, and that are managed with a legitimate local contact structure will continue to generate income. Properties that were operating on informal assumptions will need to adjust.

For buyers, the ordinance adds a layer of due diligence that belongs in every offer strategy for a property intended as an STR. For current owners, the path forward is straightforward: get the permit, document the compliance, and stop operating in a gray zone that no longer exists.

I handle both sides of this equation through property management services that include local contact coverage and compliance tracking for STR owners in Teller County. If you are working through the permit process or evaluating a potential acquisition, I am available to talk through the specifics. You can also find additional market context on the American Eagle Properties blog as the regulatory picture continues to develop.

The ordinance is passed. The question now is whether your property is positioned to operate under it profitably.

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