Short-Term Rental Complaint Hotline Activated in Breckenridge and Silverthorne

In the fall of 2018, the Summit County towns of Breckenridge and Silverthorne passed ordinances to better regulate short-term rentals.  Both ordinances included provisions requiring short-term rental owners to designate a Responsible Agent, who is available 24 hours a day and 7 days a week to timely respond to complaints.

Short-Term Rental Complaint Hotline

Local towns as well the Summit County government have formed a partnership with a Utah-based company, called STR Helper.  STR Helper assists the towns with a number of aspects of administering their new short-term rental ordinances.  One particularly important piece of functionality that STR Helper provides is the creation and management of the complaint hotline that will serve Summit County.  For Breckenridge and Silverthorne, the complaint hotline is 970-368-2044, and it is now active and has already started taking complaints.  So, if someone has a complaint about a short-term rental property located in either Breckenridge or Silverthorne, they may now call to submit it.  The Summit Daily News described the complaint submission process as follows:

To file a complaint, someone only needs to call the hotline, tell the person on the other end where the rental is and give an address. The caller will be asked for a name and, if he or she wants to give one, a phone number where the caller can be reached.

The receptionist will take the complaint and give the caller a case number before trying to reach the [Responsible Agent], who will then have up to one hour to address the underlying issue that led to the complaint. That’s unless the complaint comes between the hours of 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. in Silverthorne, in which case the agent will have only 30 minutes.

Breckenridge Responsible Agent

As a review, the Breckenridge Short-Term Rental Ordinance and Administrative Regulations set forth the following general responsibilities for the Responsible Agent:

[The] responsible agent, or such person’s employee or designee, shall be available twenty four (24) hours per day, seven (7) days per week, to respond (as defined in the administrative rules and regulations) to any complaint filed with or through the Town, or a website provided by the Town for such purpose, about the operation or condition of the licensee’s accommodation unit. Such responsible agent shall respond to a complaint within sixty (60) minutes of receiving notice of such complaint. The responsible agent’s failure to respond to a complaint as required by this Section is chargeable to the Owner….

The Breckenridge Ordinance also permits the short term owner to potentially name an “Alternate Responsible Agent”.

The purpose of the Responsible Agent is “to have a person who will act as a local contact for the accommodation unit and who will promptly address the needs of guests occupying the accommodation unit, and who will also respond to any complaint concerning the use or occupancy of the accommodation unit as required by these regulations.”  A Breckenridge Responsible Agent or Alternate Responsible Agent “may initially respond to a complaint by contacting the renter of the accommodation unit, by telephone, other electronic form of communication, or in person, and requesting the renter to take such action as is required to eliminate the problem that was the subject of the complaint.” However, a Breckenridge Responsible Agent or Alternate Responsible Agent is required to respond to and attempt to address in good faith the issue that was subject of the complaint within sixty minutes of having been notified of the complaint.  And, the Administrative Regulations also state that “a proper response to a complaint may also require the responsible agent… to visit the accommodation unit if such action is necessary to attempt in good faith to eliminate the problem that was the subject of the complaint.”

Silverthorne Responsible Agent

In order to obtain a short-term rental license, the Town  of Silverthorne also requires each owner to name a Responsible Agent.  While it’s possible for the owner to name themselves, the Silverthorne Short-Term Rental Ordinance contains some of the most stringent requisites that have yet been adopted locally.  Along those lines, the Silverthorne ordinance defines a Responsible Agent as someone who is available 24 hours per day and 7 days per week to immediately respond to any issues arising from a short-term rental property.  When a complaint comes in to the call center, it is immediately redirected to the Silverthorne Responsible Agent.  The ordinance expressly provides that the Responsible Agent shall resolve the complaint issue within 60 minutes, or within 30 minutes if the problem occurs between 11:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m.  The ordinance also expressly states that the duties of a Silverthorne Responsible Agent may include visiting the site, if necessary.  Accordingly, the ordinance requires that the Responsible Agent “respond to and attempt to address in good faith the issue that was the subject of the complaint….”  If, despite good faith efforts, the complaint cannot be eliminated, the Silverthorne Responsible Agent must  immediately contact Police Dispatch, and follow any directions given by the dispatcher.  If an initial complaint is not resolved, a complainant may file a formal complaint with the Silverthorne Finance Director.  If a violation is found, possible penalties include fines and either suspension or revocation of an owner’s short-term rental license.

Responsible Agent in Dillon, Frisco and Summit County

The towns of Dillon and Frisco as well as Summit County itself have also passed similar short-term rental regulations with Responsible Agent requirements.

• Dillon’s ordinance is expected to take effect on April 1, 2019
• Frisco’s new ordinance is expected to take effect on May 1, 2019
• For unincorporated areas of Summit County, like Keystone, Wildernest and Copper Mountain, the deadline for short-term rental applications will be June 1, 2019.  Enforcement is expected to begin on June 30, 2019

In accord with the preceding timelines, Dillon, Frisco and Summit County all expect to begin participation in the short-term rental Complaint Hotline.

In the most cost-effective way possible, Summit Local Agent aims to help you comply with the new short-term rental rules, by serving as your Responsible Agent in Breckenridge, Dillon, Frisco, Silverthorne or Summit County.