As town and county governments regulate short-term rentals, some Summit County Realtors worry about what the future has in store.
In November, the Breckenridge Town Council’s ordinance that established a cap of 2,200 non-exempt short-term rental licenses went into effect. The move effectively placed a moratorium on the addition of short-term rental properties in the town because that cap was already exceeded.
Summit County government shortly followed suit by implementing new short-term rental regulations for areas that in unincorporated areas of the county. The county’s regulations placed rentals in one of two zones: resort or neighborhood. Properties in the neighborhood zones are unable to rent for more than 135 nights per year.
County and town officials passed the regulations as an attempt to prevent long-term rental properties from turning into short-term rentals and taking away housing from the county’s workforce. But some Realtors worry the regulations are rife with unintended consequences.
Steve Fisher, board president of the Summit Association of Realtors, said it’s too early to tell how exactly the new rules will impact sales. However, he has heard from Realtors who are struggling to sell in Breckenridge.
“Until there are some actual answers from Town Council and some definitive data they can show that supports the short-term rental caps will achieve what they see as goals, I think we’ll see an impasse for a while,” Fisher said.
Courtesy of the Summit Daily News.
