LAFAYETTE, Colo. — As America's largest independent film festival prepares for its historic debut in Boulder, the city of Lafayette is making it easier for residents to open their homes as short-term rentals.
Lafayette City Council approved a new short-term rental license specifically for festivals, like Sundance, allowing residents to rent out their properties during city-approved events. The festival license is a pilot program set to end June 1, 2027, unless extended or made permanent. The new permit costs $100, half as much as the city's traditional short-term rental license, and homeowners can self-certify their property instead of undergoing a city inspection.
"I think Lafayette is perfectly positioned to be one of the main destinations for Sundance," Lafayette Mayor Saul Tapia Vega said. "What we want to do is make sure that we open that up to the world and allow people to be here. So that was the idea behind the festival license."
Lafayette's standard short-term rental license allows year-round rentals of a primary residence or accessory dwelling unit, but cannot be used for a second home. The new festival license allows any person or organization to rent a main dwelling or ADU during city-approved events. Dual rental of both a main dwelling and an ADU on the same lot is allowed.
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The city said maximum occupancy requirements, safety standards, proof of insurance, signage and parking rules and trash receptacles remain the same for both license types.
Lafayette is not the only city looking to benefit from the Sundance crowds. Louisville, which normally bans short-term rentals, is making an exception for the festival. Superior created a special festival rental license, expanding it to non-residents who can also rent out their properties during big events. In Erie, voters will decide in November whether to add a 3.5% lodging tax on hotel stays and short-term rentals before the festival arrives.
Bri Ugalde, a real estate agent in Denver, said many of Colorado's short-term rental rules are designed to keep investors from buying up neighborhoods.
"In the Denver metro area, it is pretty hard to get a short term rental permit and license," Ugalde said. "They want to make sure that we have enough housing for for the people that need it, and it's not more so for vacation homes."
The Sundance Film Festival runs from Jan. 21, 2027 to Jan. 31, 2027 in Boulder. Ticket packages for the general public go on sale on Thursday, Oct. 15 while single film tickets go on sale Friday, Jan. 8.
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