Investment Property Loans in Aurora, CO

In most Aurora residential zones only the host's primary residence may be rented for stays under 30 days, and a whole home can be rented that way for no more than 180 days a year.

For investors: Underwrite an Aurora purchase on 30-day-plus leases. Homes you own but do not live in are barred as short-term rentals in most residential zones, though the city says it may revisit that, and inspectors can demand a notarized affidavit, voter record or utility bills proving residence.

Source: City of Aurora Tax and Licensing Division, Aurora Short-Term Rentals FAQ, Oct 2025

Every Aurora host, even one renting only a few nights a year, needs a General Business/Lodger's Tax License: $45 for the first two years, then $27 per two-year renewal, with the number shown in listings.

For investors: Only one booking group may stay at a time, so a primary-residence host cannot rent a basement room and the upstairs to different parties on the same night. Separate rooms work when one group books them, and no in-person inspection is required.

Source: City of Aurora Tax and Licensing Division, Aurora Short-Term Rentals FAQ, Oct 2025

Stays under 30 days in Aurora carry the city's 8% lodger's tax; with state, RTD, cultural and county shares the total runs 12.25% in Arapahoe, 12.75% in Adams and 13% in Douglas County.

For investors: When a platform does not remit, returns are due the 20th of the month after each assigned period. Stays of 30 days or more are exempt only for a natural person who actually occupies the unit, so a company signing a corporate lease cannot claim it.

Source: City of Aurora, Lodger's Tax, Oct 2026

Aurora's Multifamily Systematic Housing Inspection Program inspects apartment properties on a schedule, mailing at least 30 days' notice, then sets the next inspection one to five years out based on condition.

For investors: Owners must warn tenants 24 hours ahead and open every scheduled unit; postponing within five business days costs a $581 reschedule fee in 2026. Few or no violations can stretch the cycle to five years, while a jump in tenant complaints can pull it back.

Source: City of Aurora Neighborhood Support Division, Multifamily Systematic Housing Inspection Program booklet (updated October 2025), Oct 2025

Aurora's first systematic inspection costs nothing, but 2026 reinspection fees run $41.25 per unit on the first return visit, $165 on the second, $330 on the third and $822 on the fourth.

For investors: Imminent hazards such as dead smoke detectors, exposed wiring or no heat need a 24-hour fix, and critical deficiencies get 30 days. After the fourth reinspection the officer issues a municipal court summons, and unpaid costs can become a lien collected with county property tax.

Source: City of Aurora Neighborhood Support Division, Multifamily Systematic Housing Inspection Program booklet, Appendix B, Oct 2025

In June 2026 Aurora's council weighed a resolution asking the city manager to develop a rental registration and landlord license program covering both single-family homes and multifamily properties.

For investors: Aurora has no license for rented houses today, unlike Denver next door. Coverage describes yearly registration with owner or local manager contact details, and no official page yet confirms the vote, so watch council agendas before assuming registration stays free over a long hold.

Source: Sentinel Colorado, Aurora lawmakers consider rental registration and licensing program (news report), Jun 2026

Aurora's own levy for taxes paid in 2026 is 7.087 mills, after a temporary 1.518-mill cut that refunds 2025 property tax revenue collected above the TABOR limit.

For investors: The city has used a refund cut on every levy since 2021 and says it will likely keep doing so, but each cut is temporary by design. When stress-testing a long hold, model the city's share near its 8.605-mill base rather than this year's figure.

Source: City of Aurora, 2025 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, Exhibit A-10 and transmittal letter, Oct 2026

Address drives the bill in Aurora: city, county and school levies alone total 107.749 mills with Adams County and Aurora Public Schools, 97.229 with Arapahoe and Aurora schools, and 78.154 with Arapahoe and Cherry Creek.

For investors: Two similar houses a few miles apart can differ by nearly 30 mills before metro district and special district levies, which the city table leaves out. Pull the county treasurer's bill for the exact parcel when sizing escrow, since Adams, Arapahoe and Douglas each bill separately.

Source: City of Aurora, 2025 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, Exhibit A-10 (2025 levy year), Oct 2026

Aurora currently allows only detached ADUs, and only in the Original Aurora districts OA-R1, OA-R2 and OA-RMU, each needing a conditional use permit approved at a Planning and Zoning Commission hearing.

For investors: A draft amendment would allow internal, attached and detached ADUs on every single-family detached lot through a building permit, with adoption targeted between December 2026 and March 2027. Until then, a basement or attached apartment is not a legal ADU anywhere in Aurora.

Source: City of Aurora, Engage Aurora: Zoning Code Update for Accessory Dwelling Units, Aug 2026

Aurora code 138-191 bans cool-season turf in single-family front and side yards on development and redevelopment, limits backyard turf to the lesser of 45% or 500 square feet, and bars swapping water-wise landscaping for it.

For investors: Newer Aurora rentals come with xeriscape fronts where Kentucky bluegrass and fescue are barred, the swap ban applies regardless of building permit date, and the section allows no variances. Budget rock, mulch and drip repairs into turnover plans instead of sod.

Source: City of Aurora Water, Turf Conservation Ordinance final text dated September 12, 2022 (City Code section 138-191), Sep 2022

Aurora's last significant flood came in September 2013; Aurora Water partners with the Mile High Flood District on drainage projects, and many city parks are built to hold floodwater when storm drains are overwhelmed.

For investors: A rental backing onto a park may sit beside a designed detention area, so check the city's interactive flood risk map before buying. Floodplain building needs extra Building Division permits, and Aurora's CRS Class 7 rating cuts premiums 15% on policies inside mapped high-risk zones.

Source: City of Aurora Office of Emergency Management, Flood Resources, Oct 2026

Aurora's 2025 financial report ranks Children's Hospital Colorado first among city employers with 8,000 workers; Raytheon (3,000), The Medical Center of Aurora (2,075) and Gaylord Rockies (1,500) also make the top five.

For investors: Children's Hospital sits on the Anschutz Medical Campus, which the same report says employs 25,000 people and serves 4,500 health sciences students. Units with an easy commute to the campus draw from a deep pool of shift workers, trainees and students.

Source: City of Aurora, 2025 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, Exhibit A-19 Top Ten Principal Employers, Oct 2026