Can I rent out my Boulder home during Sundance?

Boulder normally keeps a tight rein on short term rentals. For Sundance the City made a narrow exception, and the details matter.

Who qualifies

Any type of home inside Boulder city limits can qualify, as long as it meets the City's basic health, safety and occupancy requirements and your HOA or lease allows it. Homes outside city limits do not qualify, even with a Boulder mailing address. In April 2026, City Council voted to let tenants sublease their homes for the festival with written permission from the owner; that license is one year and costs $75.

What the license allows

Rentals are limited to the festival period, January 21 to 31, 2027, plus up to 10 days before and 9 days after, for a maximum of 29 days. Licensed homes can list for free on Sundance's own lodging portal, lodging.sundance.org, which sends guests to sites like Airbnb and VRBO to book.

Taxes

Boulder's short term rental tax is 7.5 percent, usually collected by the platform or property manager. Federal law lets you rent a home you live in for up to 14 days a year without reporting the rent as income; past 14 days, it is taxable. Ask your accountant which side of that line your dates fall on.

Three calls to make first

Your HOA, if you have one. Your insurance agent, because a standard homeowner's policy may not cover paying guests. And a cleaner, because the good ones will be booked early. None of this is complicated. All of it takes time.