Delta County, CO
Short-Term Rentals in Delta County, Colorado
North Fork Valley tourism -- wineries, orchards, farm stays -- makes short-term rental income a real draw in Delta County, but the rules are not countywide. Paonia runs a specific, capped licensing system; Hotchkiss has no town-specific ordinance at all. Which one applies depends entirely on which side of a town line your parcel sits on.
This page covers what's specific to Delta County. For the general explanation, see the national guide.
Paonia: a real cap, a real deadline, and zone-specific rules
The Town of Paonia's Board of Trustees passed an ordinance regulating short-term rentals (STRs) that caps the number of active in-town STR licenses at 30 at any given time -- reduced down from a prior cap of 40. The ordinance set April 1, 2025 as the final date for existing operators to be granted a license under the new rules, with a May 1, 2025 operating start date, and it expanded where special-use hearings for STR licenses can occur beyond the R1 residential zone to include R2 and R3 zones as well. It also added a requirement that each licensed STR designate a local contact person.
If you're buying property inside Paonia town limits specifically to operate as a short-term rental, the license cap is the threshold question: with only 30 slots available, an unlicensed property doesn't automatically get one just because a previous owner or listing agent describes it as rental-ready. Confirm directly with the Town of Paonia whether a license is currently available, whether the specific property already holds one that would transfer, or whether you'd be applying into a capped, potentially full program.
Hotchkiss and unincorporated Delta County: a real gap in local rules
Short-term rentals are permitted in the Town of Hotchkiss, but the town has not adopted a specific short-term rental ordinance of its own -- operators there work within Hotchkiss's general zoning regulations plus state tax and county lodging-tax requirements, rather than a dedicated STR licensing scheme like Paonia's. That's a real difference for anyone comparing a Hotchkiss property against a Paonia one for rental potential: no license cap to worry about, but also less of a defined local process to lean on if a use question comes up.
For property outside both towns, in unincorporated Delta County itself, a specific short-term rental licensing requirement in the county's own Land Use Code was not independently confirmed during this review -- the county's Land Use Code (first adopted in 2021 and revised since, most recently in 2024) governs land use broadly, but its specific STR provisions, if any, should be confirmed directly with the Planning and Community Development Department rather than assumed from either the Paonia or Hotchkiss examples.
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- Paonia to limit short-term rentals to 30, imposes code to regulate the industry — Delta County Independent (accessed 2026-09)
- Paonia Passes Short-Term Rental Ordinance in Unanimous Vote — High Country Spotlight (accessed 2026-09)
- Hotchkiss, Colorado Short Term Rental Regulations Guide for Airbnb hosts — STR Profit Map (general regulatory summary) (accessed 2026-09)
- Land Use Regulations — Delta County, Colorado Government (accessed 2026-09)
Last reviewed 2026-09