Denver Rental Licensing & STR Rules for House Hackers

The licence

Denver's residential rental licence: the basics

Denver requires a residential rental licence for properties rented long-term — including the units inside a house hack: the duplex half you do not live in, the legal ADU, and rented rooms in some configurations. The process runs through the city's licensing portal (start at denvergov.org): an application, a third-party inspection against a safety checklist, fees per unit, and renewal on a multi-year cycle. Timelines and fees change; the structure does not — unlicensed renting risks fines and orders that tenants and lenders both notice.

Inspectors focus on life-safety: working smoke and carbon-monoxide alarms, safe electrical panels, proper egress, handrails, GFCI protection near water, and heat that actually heats. Older Denver multi-units — the very stock house hackers buy — often need a pre-licence fix list. Jeffrey's rule: price the licence fixes into your offer, not your first month's rent.

Short-term stays

Denver STR rules: the primary-residence line

Renting any part of a Denver property for under 30 days is a short-term rental, and Denver restricts STR licences to your primary residence — which is why house hackers can legally Airbnb a basement suite in the home they live in, and why a non-owner-occupied investment property cannot run the same play. You need the STR licence, the lodging-tax setup, and compliance with any HOA ban layered on top. Break the primary-residence rule and the city can revoke the licence and fine the operation.

The 30-day line creates the mid-term lane: traveling nurses, relocating families and contract professionals booking 30+ day stays fall outside STR rules — but a mid-term unit is still a rental, so licensing, leases and tax treatment follow the long-term rulebook. The mid-term rentals guide covers that strategy; the short-term rentals guide covers the platform economics.

Before your first tenant

The house hacker's compliance checklist

1. Confirm zoning and unit legality (no permit trail for the second unit = no rent in your math). 2. Apply for the rental licence and schedule the inspection early — calendars fill. 3. Fix the safety list pre-inspection: alarms, egress, rails, panel, GFCIs. 4. STR only in your primary residence, with its own licence and tax registration. 5. Written leases for every unit and room; occupancy within Denver's household limits. 6. Tell your insurer the truth about the rental use. 7. Calendar the renewals — licences, leases and inspections all expire on schedules that punish forgetfulness. Rules evolve, so verify the current details on the city site when you apply; the strategy around them lives in the complete Denver house hacking guide.