Rentals: Things to Know

IMPORTANT: Park County has passed legislation which will require a short-term rental license. Reach out to Park County Planning & Zoning department for more information.

Successful Hosts:

Our successful hosts who don’t have as many issues w/ their renters ignoring the guidelines often have several things in common. With their welcome e-mail, they send similar information as we’ve outlined below, they also call and discuss the environment the cabin is located, and they get some sort of confirmation that the renters will abide by the guidelines.

Wells:

  • Many renters use water like it’s city water. Wells up here cannot produce enough water (GPM) that are required for large groups using many of the fixtures in the house at once.

  • It’s a good idea to tell renters to conserve water and use less than X number of fixtures.

  • John with Premier Pump Services is the local well servicing company: 719-289-6560.

Septic Tanks:

  • Renters should not put anything but water or human waste into the septic tank.

  • No food scraps, no feminine products, nothing but septic safe toilet paper, water, and waste.

  • Everything else needs to be placed in the garbage.

  • Rentals require the tank to be pumped at least once a year. If you are at your property and you smell sewage, it means the tank is full and needs to be pumped. A typical septic tank, when properly maintained and supporting one family, only needs to be pumped once every 3-5 years; rentals seem to need pumping once a year. DO NOT PROCRASTINATE ON OR SACRIFICE THIS EXPENSE. It’s a lot cheaper to pump your tank regularly than it is to clean up sewage and reimburse your renters when your toilets back up.

  • We suggest Jewels Septic for septic tank services.

Garbage:

  • It is picked up on Tuesdays only, except after 3 day holiday weekends, then it’s on Wednesdays. Big snow storms that drop 12” typically prevent pick up until the County gets all priority 1-3 roads done.

  • Renters can opt to remove their garbage when they leave and take it to the Fairplay Mountain View transfer station next to the NWFPD on 285.

  • It should not be left out as wildlife (crows in winter & bears in summer) will get into the bins if they are not properly secured. When trash is left out in the summers, it attracts bears and if bears become normalized to garbage, they will eventually be euthanized. Please, please stress to your renters to be responsible with their garbage.

  • If you need someone to go out and bring garbage to the road for pick up on Tuesdays, we offer a caretaking service.

Vehicles & Roadways:

  • Renters must have AWD or 4x4, with snow tires, or traction devices (metal chains, not heavy duty zip ties) during winter months. Signs posted on major roads into the neighborhoods all state “adequate snow tires or chains required.”

  • 2WD or FWD and “all-season” tires are inadequate for our roads in winter.

  • We are not responsible for plowing the road, that is Park County Road & Bridge (719-836-4277). Owners should call, not the renter.

  • It is illegal for us to pull renters out of the ditch; they must call a tow company. We recommend Backcountry Towing & Recovery, (720)215-1430. Please bear in mind, there are only a handful of tow companies in all of Park County, and they respond not only to private calls, but also traffic accidents, so your renters can expect a wait.

Plowing:

  • Be nice. Nicety will get you farther than being rude, impatient, or accusatory.

  • We highly suggest that renters (and contractors) be aware of the weather and if a storm is coming they need to park their cars out of the way so we may plow (possibly overnight). If vehicles are in the driveway we will honk a few times (b/w 7a & 6p) and stick around for 5 minutes. We do not get out of our vehicles and knock. If they can’t hear a car horn honking, they likely won’t hear a knock on the door. If they don’t move the cars we will clear as much as we can safely.

  • We do not return to driveways twice in one day. We plow once per 24 hour period.

  • We plow only when a 4” trigger (throughout the entirety of the driveway) is met. That means a consistent depth of at least 4” in the middle of the driveway along the length of the drive; not the deepest drifted corner. We highly suggest leaving a ruler in the cabin so renters can properly measure depth. We charge additional fees (per push) for below-trigger pushes and drifting (wind driven snow).

  • If renters are having an issue in the driveway and need it plowed outside of fallen snow, we will require pictures and/or video before we come out. Too many times we’ve come out when a renter was “stuck” only to arrive and they are gone. This will save you money as we charge additional fees for drifting and non-fallen snow pushes.

Open Fires:

  • Renters are forbidden to start any open flame fires, per your STR rental permit. It keeps our neighborhood and families safe, and it prevents forest fires.

  • I would strongly suggest only having a propane fire pit available for renters to use.