Littleton stops issuing Airbnb licenses

Airbnb screen nf

Potential customers search an Airbnb screen for lodging places.

The City Council of Littleton passed an emergency moratorium on short-term rentals this week, instituting a 90-day ban on new business, sales and use tax licenses.

Littleton’s city council voted 6-0 to prevent Airbnb hosts and other vacation renters from obtaining new licenses and other permits until mid-October. The measure is effective immediately.

The new law comes in response to rising complaints from neighborhoods where residents say short-term rentals “generate excess noise, traffic and trash” from short-term occupants, according to the ordinance submitted Tuesday night.

Littleton has 46,000 residents and a median home value of $430,000, according to Zillow.

The ordinance also said that Littleton’s existing zoning code “does not adequately address the issues involving short-term rentals,” while a moratorium would give the city government a chance to address that.

According to Airdna – a research company that tracks Airbnb — there are approximately 260 active listings within Littleton with an average daily rate of $163.

Denver, by comparison, has 4,684 active listings that average $155 per night. Golden has 223 listings at an average of $182 a night.

In an email, city attorney Steve Kemp said Littleton is looking at regulations adopted by Golden and Denver for short-term rentals.

In 2017, Denver instituted a law – meant to appease both neighborhood groups and affordable housing advocates – that required a business license and levied city taxes, including a 10.75 percent lodging tax. Airbnb landlords are supposed to publish their lodging credential on their listing website.

Kemp also said Littleton would consider reworking certain land use definitions, creating a system for differentiating between “principle” and “conditional” uses, and modifying the existing tax structures for short-term rental properties.

Airbnb screen nf

Potential customers search an Airbnb screen for lodging places.

The City Council of Littleton passed an emergency moratorium on short-term rentals this week, instituting a 90-day ban on new business, sales and use tax licenses.

Littleton’s city council voted 6-0 to prevent Airbnb hosts and other vacation renters from obtaining new licenses and other permits until mid-October. The measure is effective immediately.

The new law comes in response to rising complaints from neighborhoods where residents say short-term rentals “generate excess noise, traffic and trash” from short-term occupants, according to the ordinance submitted Tuesday night.

Littleton has 46,000 residents and a median home value of $430,000, according to Zillow.

The ordinance also said that Littleton’s existing zoning code “does not adequately address the issues involving short-term rentals,” while a moratorium would give the city government a chance to address that.

According to Airdna – a research company that tracks Airbnb — there are approximately 260 active listings within Littleton with an average daily rate of $163.

Denver, by comparison, has 4,684 active listings that average $155 per night. Golden has 223 listings at an average of $182 a night.

In an email, city attorney Steve Kemp said Littleton is looking at regulations adopted by Golden and Denver for short-term rentals.

In 2017, Denver instituted a law – meant to appease both neighborhood groups and affordable housing advocates – that required a business license and levied city taxes, including a 10.75 percent lodging tax. Airbnb landlords are supposed to publish their lodging credential on their listing website.

Kemp also said Littleton would consider reworking certain land use definitions, creating a system for differentiating between “principle” and “conditional” uses, and modifying the existing tax structures for short-term rental properties.

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