STR license loophole?

[Liliana Gala]

Im located in Colorado's front range and a total rookie! I'm interested in doing an STR out of an RV on my primary residence. There are about a dozen or so other STRs just like this in about an hours radius of myself. I even reached out to hosts on Airbnb, and one said to call the city planner to get my STR permit. But when I spoke to the city planner, she said rvs are not allowed to be used as STR. I know my city doesn't enforce STR tax to be paid (crazy!!), but they're planning to enforce regulations more strictly in 2026.

Does anyone know if there is a general grandfather rule with STRs? …Or can I assume these hosts are running their business improperly? 

Thanks in advance!

[Andrew Steffens]

This is definitely not a general question that I could generally answer based on experience I had in FL.  It sounds like you will need specific experience in you area and/or consulting with an attorney to be fully sure

[Sarah Kensinger]

If you can't get a permit wouldn't that mean you can't have a STR? The only way a STR is grandfathered in, is if the property was already permitted and set up before the regulations went into effect.

[Garrett Brown]

Hey Liliana! Welcome to the forums!
If you have talked to the city planner and they said you can't do STRs, I would assume a lot of people are just risking it. I would never advise this, though, as the risks are high to be fined and/or shut down totally. 
Grandfather rules rarely apply or work for STRs in most locations and apply to existing STRs there.

[Alex F.]

Look at the zoning.  I'm not sure about Colorado, but there is a city where we have 1 (soon 2) STRs where STRs are not allowed in residential zones, but are allowed in commercial/mixed zones.   Sales in these areas are not common and when they do happen they are competitive.....

[Koren Lavi]

@Liliana Gala

I certainly wouldn't advise this, but there are DEFINITELY hosts in certain counties that run AirBNBs without permit. AirBNB is trying to crack down on this by requiring permits for certain areas (I had to show proof of permit for City of Denver for AirBNB to allow my listing to go live). But there are certain counties that have made getting a non-primary residence STR such a hassle (*cough* JeffCo *cough cough*), that hosts avoid going thru the process altogether. From what I've been told, the reason these hosts do this is because the counties don't enforce the STR requirement. Too much risk for me personally, but people definitely do this.

I do find it odd that you are restricted on a primary residence. I’ve researched quite a bit of Colorado counties, and almost always the issue is with getting a non primary residence/“vacation home” permit.