Investment Property Loans in Colorado Springs, CO

A Colorado Springs short-term rental permit, required for stays of 29 days or less, costs $124.95 a year, needs proof of $500,000 in liability insurance, and must be renewed before expiring, with no grace period.

For investors: The fee excludes the separate city sales tax license, and any city taxes owed must be paid before a permit issues. A non-owner-occupied host who misses renewal can forfeit an established permit, and a replacement application faces today's zoning and spacing limits.

Source: City of Colorado Springs Planning Department, Short Term Rentals, Oct 2026

Non-owner-occupied short-term rental applications filed after December 26, 2019 are barred from the R-E, R-1 6, R-1 9 and single-family PDZ zones and must sit 500 feet from another one elsewhere.

For investors: Check the parcel's zoning and the short-term rental layer on SpringsView before making an offer. The city keeps no waiting list and sets no citywide cap, so an investor permit still works on a two-family or multifamily-zoned lot outside the 500-foot buffer.

Source: City of Colorado Springs Planning Department, Short Term Rentals, Oct 2026

An owner-occupied short-term rental permit in Colorado Springs requires the owner to live there at least 185 days a year, shown by two items such as a driver's license, vehicle registration or voter registration.

For investors: Mail does not count as proof. An active-duty owner whose permanent station is in El Paso County can have the residency rule waived for up to one year while on temporary duty orders elsewhere, which helps service members who host while away.

Source: City of Colorado Springs Planning Department, Short Term Rentals, Oct 2026

Colorado Springs allows one short-term listing per property in single-family zones, two in R-2 and up to four on multifamily-zoned lots, with overnight guests capped at two per bedroom plus two, never above 15.

For investors: Each listing needs its own permit and fee, so renting a backyard unit and a room in the main house means two $124.95 permits. One owner may run at most two short-term rentals in a condominium complex, and a local contact must answer emergencies within an hour.

Source: City of Colorado Springs Planning Department, Short Term Rentals, Oct 2026

Under City Code 7.5.1702 a Colorado Springs short-term rental permit belongs to a specific owner and cannot be transferred to a buyer, another entity or another address.

For investors: Buying an operating short-term rental does not buy its permit. The buyer applies from scratch, and a non-owner-occupied permit must clear the single-family zone ban and 500-foot spacing rule again, so value such a listing on long-term rent unless a new permit is clearly attainable.

Source: City of Colorado Springs Planning Department, Short Term Rentals, Oct 2026

Under ADU Ordinance 25-45, a Colorado Springs property with an accessory dwelling unit cannot hold a short-term rental permit after June 30, 2025; pairs legally permitted by that date continue as nonconforming uses.

For investors: Building a backyard cottage or basement apartment now commits the whole lot, main house included, to stays of 30 days or more. A grandfathered pair keeps its status only until the uses change or the permit expires, is withdrawn or ends, so one lapse closes it.

Source: City of Colorado Springs Planning Department, Short Term Rentals, Jun 2025

The city collected 3.554 mills in 2025 against an authorized 4.279 after temporary credits since 2022; the ACFR's representative sample for a School District 11 address inside the city totaled 55.369 mills.

For investors: District 11 schools carry 40.605 of those mills, so a home in another school district or a metro district bills differently. The city's credits are temporary, so model its share at the 4.279 authorized rate when stress-testing a long hold in Colorado Springs.

Source: City of Colorado Springs, 2025 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, Table 20 Direct and Overlapping Mill Levy Rates Within City Limits, Oct 2026

Colorado Springs' voter-approved stormwater fee, a flat monthly charge on each residential unit, stepped up to $8.00 per unit in 2023, the last phase of a 2021 increase, and runs until July 1, 2038.

For investors: Colorado Springs Utilities adds it to the monthly bill, or the city bills owners directly where no utility account exists. It does not depend on usage or occupancy, so a vacant unit between tenants still owes it, and each unit of a duplex or fourplex is charged separately.

Source: City of Colorado Springs Stormwater Enterprise, Stormwater Fee, Oct 2026

Fort Carson accounts for 11.5% of El Paso County employment in the city's 2025 report, ahead of the Peterson, Schriever and Cheyenne Mountain space installations at 5.8% and the Air Force Academy at 4.1%.

For investors: Military households relocate on orders, which keeps a steady stream of renters arriving and leaving around these bases. The Academy's share has grown from 2.2% in 2016, and UCHealth's Southern Colorado region, at 3.1%, is the largest employer outside the military.

Source: City of Colorado Springs, 2025 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, Table 14 Principal Employers, Oct 2026

Building permits, inspections and floodplain development permits for Colorado Springs come from the Pikes Peak Regional Building Department, created in 1966 by agreement between the city and El Paso County.

For investors: On a parcel in a mapped floodplain, most work, including remodels, additions, fill, extensive landscaping and fences, needs the regional office's floodplain development permit before it starts. The same office keeps the local floodplain maps and inspects approved work, so build its review into any renovation schedule.

Source: Pikes Peak Regional Building Department, About PPRBD, Oct 2026

On FEMA's October 2026 list, Colorado Springs holds Community Rating System Class 5, in effect since October 1, 2017 and worth 25% off flood premiums, while unincorporated El Paso County sits at Class 7.

For investors: A rental just outside city limits in unincorporated El Paso County earns only the 15% county discount on National Flood Insurance Program policies. The regional building department's floodplain office maintains the local maps and can confirm whether a parcel lies in a mapped hazard area.

Source: FEMA, CRS Eligible Communities list (effective October 1, 2026), Oct 2026

Colorado Springs requires Class A roofing citywide, and its fire department put a new edition of the Appendix K Wildland Urban Interface requirements into effect on June 30, 2026.

For investors: A reroof on any Colorado Springs rental must use Class A rated products, and homes in the interface zone face added construction rules under Appendix K. The fire department offers free onsite consultations on structure hardening, defensible space and hazardous vegetation before you buy or renovate.

Source: Colorado Springs Fire Department Wildfire Mitigation Section, Codes and Ordinances, Oct 2026