Buying Land for Short-Term Rental Income in Park County

Unincorporated Park County's Short-Term Rental Permit (STRP)

No one may offer a dwelling, or a portion of one, for lodging under 30 days in unincorporated Park County without first obtaining a Short-Term Rental Permit (STRP) from the Planning and Zoning Department. The rules and restrictions run through County Ordinance 20-03 (which established the licensing requirement) and Ordinance 21-01 (which set the current fee structure, effective March 28, 2021). The published costs are real and specific: a $605 fee to register a new STRP and a $215 annual renewal fee. Operators are also required to make a property representative available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, able to respond to a complaint about the property's condition or operation within one hour -- not a minor administrative detail if you're planning to run the rental remotely or through a property manager.

Renewal isn't open-ended: the annual renewal window runs from November 1 through December 15 each year, and an application received after December 15 is denied outright, requiring a brand-new initial application (at the full $605 fee) to resume operating past December 31. If you're buying a property specifically to continue an existing STRP business, confirm the current permit's renewal status and timing before closing -- a lapsed permit isn't a simple paperwork fix.

Building or remodeling for STR use triggers separate permits

If your plan involves building a new structure or remodeling/renovating an existing one specifically for short-term rental use, that triggers Park County's ordinary Building/Zoning Permit process on top of the STRP itself, plus a small wastewater (septic) system permit if the property isn't on a public sewer connection -- covered generally on the county hub. Budget for all three processes together, not just the STRP application, if new construction or a substantial remodel is part of your plan.

A real case where the county said no: the Wapiti denial

Approval isn't automatic just because a property meets the paperwork requirements. Park County commissioners unanimously denied a Wapiti homeowner's request to continue operating an existing short-term rental after neighbors turned out in force to oppose it at a commission meeting. The commissioner who made the motion to deny cited the use as not being in harmony with the neighborhood, and the property -- still listed on platforms like Airbnb at the time -- was described as having disrupted neighbors. This is a concrete, documented example of the county exercising real discretion over an STRP rather than treating it as a rubber-stamp registration, and it's a reminder that a quiet residential area (Wapiti included) can generate real opposition to a nightly-rental use even where the underlying zoning doesn't flatly prohibit it.

Cody itself runs a separate, different ordinance

If the property you're considering sits inside Cody's city limits rather than unincorporated Park County, none of the STRP process above applies -- Cody adopted its own short-term rental rules, first for residential zones in 2017 and then for commercial zones in 2018, requiring registration and a business license (a $50 application fee, renewed annually) through the City Clerk's office rather than county Planning and Zoning. Cody had roughly 134 registered short-term rentals as of 2023, a 36% increase from 2019, and its residential-zone rules generally restrict bookings to a single group renting the entire unit. Don't assume county rules or fees apply to an in-town Cody property, or vice versa -- confirm which jurisdiction actually governs the parcel first.

What this means before you buy

If short-term rental income is part of your reason for buying in Park County, confirm three things before you're under contract: whether the parcel is inside Cody's city limits (Cody's rules) or unincorporated county (the STRP process above); whether an existing STRP on the property is current and was renewed inside the November 1-December 15 window rather than lapsed; and, if neighbors have previously objected to a rental use nearby, whether that history makes a new or continued STRP realistically achievable. Budget the $605 initial fee (or $215 annual renewal) and the 24/7 one-hour response requirement into your operating plan, and if new construction or a remodel is involved, plan for the building/zoning and septic permits on top of the STRP itself.