Palmer Lake, Colorado

Palmer Lake requires a Short-Term Rental permit or license for any dwelling rented for lodging for 1 to 29 consecutive days; rentals of 30 or more days are treated as long-term and fall outside STR rules. The program is defined by Ordinance 12 of 2021 as amended by Ordinance 4 of 2022 and Ordinance 12 of 2023, codified at Title 5, Chapter 5.10 of the Municipal Code. The application fee is $75, which includes a nonrefundable $25 processing fee charged regardless of approval, denial, or withdrawal, and the town asks for a minimum of about 10 days to process. The annual license runs May 1 through April 30 and must be renewed within 30 days prior to expiration, by April 30, with a renewal fee. Applicants must designate up to two local emergency contacts with property access and authority to act in an emergency. There is no published owner-occupancy or primary-residence requirement, and there is no town-wide cap on the total number of permits or on nights per year; however, the town issues no more than one license per parcel, with additional licenses on the same parcel available only through the conditional use permit process. On taxes, the town does not collect sales tax directly: Colorado administers a combined 7.13% sales tax (2.90% state, 1.23% El Paso County, 3.00% town) on STR stays, and the town also uses a separate Lodging Fee Remittance Form; hosts who list through Airbnb or Vrbo typically have taxes collected and remitted by the platform, while independent hosts must register and remit themselves. Enforcement is classified as moderate.