Starting Airbnb Business in Denver CO

[Alex Bockey]

I'm trying to start an Airbnb in my hometown of Denver, CO. My plan is to rent from a landlord rather than save money to buy a place myself. This is because, due to my research, I should be able to start making income off of this method much faster.

My problem right now is finding a landlord who is willing to rent to me under the agreement that I will be using the place for Airbnb. I've stepped up my aggressiveness, with a certain number of places to view every week and a stronger and more confident speech for the landlords. However, I still have had no luck getting someone to agree. I have no history with Airbnb, and my credit is still in recovery (I have fixed all former debts, but my credit score has yet to catch up).

Does anyone have any advice? More importantly, is there anyone (especially in the Denver area) with experience doing this sort of thing that can offer advice?

[James Carlson]

@Matt M. Thanks for the mention. Sorry for the delay. I've been hanging with family and am about to board a plan to Bogota. 

@Alex Bockey Let me preface all of this by saying that what you can get away with right now and what is actually allowed under the law are not the same. 

Most definitely what you describe is not allowed with Airbnb in Denver, at least according to conversations with the excise and license department worker who oversees short-term rentals in Denver. Also, just reading through the 10 complaints the city attorney's office has filed shows that it doesn't allow what you're talking about 

I know a lot of people are doing what you're doing, and while I don't disagree with @Luke Carl that its better for the image of other hosts if you do it right, I'm not judging at all. My wife and I did the same thing years ago in Denver. My understanding of  what you want to do is get landlord's permission, obtain a license, and pay the taxes, right? That's all good. 

The problem is it's still not your primary residence. The city is not actively enforcing the PR rule, but rather relying on neighbor complaints. If a neighbor reports you to the city, saying that you do not actually live there as your primary residence, then the fact that you have a note from your landlord giving you permission will not matter to the city attorney. All the Denver city attorney cares about is what the law says, and a primary residence under the law is "a usual place of return for housing as documented by ..." and then they list a bunch of documents such as drivers license, voter registration, vehicle registration, etc. The city has made clear that they can ask for any further documents they want to satisfy the requirement. In some cases, they're asking for tax returns. They've also made clear you can only have 1 primary residence.

There have been 10 cases so far about the primary residence rule. Nearly all of the hosts have agreed to pay a fine and relinquish their STR license. In these instances, the city attorney relied on the neighbors' affidavit statement and then pushed the hosts for documentation. 

I applaud the creative thinking and don't mean to discourage you one way or the other. Just know what you're getting into.