Eagle County occupies approximately 1,700 square miles of dramatic central Rocky Mountain terrain along the I-70 corridor, roughly 100 miles west of Denver. With a permanent population of approximately 55,000 and a visitor economy that annually hosts millions of skiers, summer tourists, and conference attendees, the county is home to two of the most recognizable ski resorts in the world: Vail Mountain and Beaver Creek. The gap between Eagle County’s public identity — luxury ski destination, home to celebrity estates, billion-dollar resort infrastructure — and its housing reality is as dramatic as the mountains themselves. The county seat is Eagle (~7,400), a working community at the county’s western end. Other major communities include Vail (~4,300), Avon (~7,400), Edwards (unincorporated, ~10,900), Gypsum (~7,200), and Basalt (~4,500, shared with Pitkin County). The 30.4% Hispanic population is largely concentrated in Gypsum, Eagle, and Edwards — the workforce communities where the resort economy’s service and construction workers actually live, because they cannot afford to live in Vail.
The county’s housing crisis is structural and severe: the median property value in Eagle County is $839,500 (2024), Vail’s median is $1.4 million, and 22.4% of the county’s population lives with severe housing problems. The workforce that runs every restaurant, lift, hotel, and construction site in the Vail Valley competes for housing stock depleted by second homes, vacation rentals, and investor purchases. All landlord-tenant matters in Eagle County are governed by Colorado Revised Statutes (CRS) Title 38, Article 12, including the major 2024 reforms (HB 24-1098 just-cause eviction, SB 24-094 habitability), and all Colorado statewide landlord-tenant protections. Colorado has no statewide rent control. Short-term rental (STR) licensing is required within the Town of Vail, Town of Avon, Town of Eagle, Town of Gypsum, and Town of Basalt, and a county STR licensing ordinance for unincorporated Eagle County was under active development as of 2025.
SB 24-094: 72hr begin remedial action; 24hr life-safety
Late Fee Grace Period
7 days; max $50 or 5% past-due rent
Security Deposit Return
30 days; 60 days if agreed; triple damages wrongful withholding
Court
Eagle County Combined Court — Eagle
HB 25-1249
Security deposit cap: 1 month’s rent (effective Jan 1, 2026)
Eagle County Landlord Rules & Colorado Law
Key provisions of CRS Title 38 and Eagle County-specific requirements for landlords in Vail Valley
Category
Details
Short-Term Rental (STR) Licensing
STR licensing is already required within the incorporated municipalities: the Town of Vail, Town of Avon, Town of Eagle, Town of Gypsum, and Town of Basalt each have their own STR licensing programs with varying fee structures, safety requirements, and cap provisions. Landlords operating STRs in any of these municipalities must obtain a current local license before advertising or operating. For unincorporated Eagle County (Edwards, Dotsero, Wolcott, and other areas outside incorporated towns), a county-level STR licensing ordinance was under active development by the Eagle County Board of County Commissioners as of 2025, with implementation targeted for the 2025–2026 ski season. Landlords in unincorporated Eagle County operating STRs must verify current county requirements before operating. STRs are exempt from the just-cause eviction protections of HB 24-1098 — a meaningful operational advantage for short-term rental landlords.
Just-Cause Eviction (HB 24-1098)
Effective April 19, 2024, Colorado requires landlords to have cause to evict or non-renew residential tenants who have occupied a unit for 12 or more months. No-fault non-renewals require 90 days’ written notice. Valid no-fault causes include: landlord/family member occupancy, sale of property, substantial renovations, conversion, or withdrawal from market. For-cause grounds include nonpayment of rent, material lease violations, criminal activity, and nuisance. Exemptions: owner-occupied SFH/duplex/triplex, sub-12-month tenancies, STRs, employer housing. In Eagle County’s tight market, this law has significant practical implications — a landlord who wants to convert a long-term rental to an STR must comply with the 90-day no-fault non-renewal process for any qualifying tenancy.
Habitability (SB 24-094)
Effective May 3, 2024. Landlords must begin remedial action within 72 hours of written notice of an uninhabitable condition, and within 24 hours for life-safety issues. Eagle County’s mountain climate creates specific habitability concerns: heating system failures in winter are life-safety issues requiring 24-hour response. Snow and ice on access paths, frozen pipes, and roof integrity are also seasonal concerns. Landlords must maintain HVAC systems year-round and have emergency contractor relationships in place before each winter season. The $20,000 per-violation penalty for habitability violations makes pre-season maintenance non-negotiable.
Workforce Housing vs. Luxury Market
Eagle County is effectively two rental markets coexisting in geographic proximity. The upper market — Vail Village, Beaver Creek, Lionshead, high-end condos and chalets — serves wealthy second-home owners, seasonal executives, and short-term visitors, with rental rates that can reach $10,000+/month for premium ski-season properties. The workforce market — Gypsum, Eagle, Edwards, Avon, and pockets of Minturn — serves the resort economy’s service workers: lift operators, ski instructors, kitchen staff, hotel housekeeping, construction workers, and the trades. These workers are predominantly Hispanic (30.4% of the county population) and face some of the most extreme rent-to-income pressures in Colorado. A service worker earning $18–$22/hour in Eagle County is competing for apartments in Gypsum or Eagle — a 45-minute commute from Vail — because no affordable inventory exists closer to the mountain. Landlords in the workforce housing corridor (Gypsum/Eagle/Edwards) face near-zero vacancy and can command strong rents while serving an essential workforce population. Landlords in the Vail/Avon luxury corridor face different dynamics: seasonal demand spikes, high-income transient tenants, and STR competition for long-term rental stock.
Security Deposits & HB 25-1249
Effective January 1, 2026, Colorado’s HB 25-1249 caps security deposits at one month’s rent and allows tenants to pay deposits in installments over six months. Return within 30 days (or 60 days if agreed in writing); itemized statement required for any deductions. In Eagle County’s market — where monthly rents for modest workforce units can reach $2,500–$3,500 and luxury units far more — the one-month cap limits the security cushion available to landlords. Move-in condition documentation with photographs and video is especially important. Verify current law with an attorney before setting deposit amounts — the cap was effective January 1, 2026, and applies to all new leases.
Late Fees, Rent Increases & Rent Control
Late fee grace period: 7 days after due date. Maximum late fee: $50 or 5% of past-due rent, whichever is greater. Landlords may issue only one rent increase per 12-month period under Colorado law. No statewide rent control exists; Eagle County and its municipalities have no rent stabilization. In the Vail Valley market, where rents have risen dramatically alongside property values, HB 24-1098’s just-cause protections mean landlords can still raise rents at renewal but cannot non-renew to clear tenants without the required cause and notice.
Vail Resorts & Employer Housing
Vail Resorts — the county’s largest single employer, operator of both Vail Mountain and Beaver Creek — operates a significant employer housing program, providing subsidized or company-owned housing for seasonal workers. This employer housing is exempt from HB 24-1098’s just-cause provisions. Private landlords who lease to Vail Resorts employees should be aware that many of these tenants have both fixed-season employment contracts and the employer housing alternative — meaning lease terms should align with the November–April ski season and the May–October summer season to maximize occupancy and minimize vacancy gaps.
CRS Title 38, Article 12 — statutes, procedures, and landlord rights applicable in Eagle County
⚡ Quick Overview
10
Days Notice (Nonpayment)
10
Days Notice (Violation)
30-50
Avg Total Days
$85
Filing Fee (Approx)
💰 Nonpayment of Rent
Notice Type10-Day Demand for Compliance or Possession
Notice Period10 days
Tenant Can Cure?Yes
Days to Hearing7-14 days
Days to Writ48 hours after judgment days
Total Estimated Timeline30-50 days
Total Estimated Cost$150-$500
⚠️ Watch Out
HB 24-1098 (2024) increased notice period from 3 to 10 days for nonpayment. Tenant can cure by paying full rent owed. Late fees cannot be charged during the 10-day period. Landlord must accept partial payment if offered during notice period in some cases.
Serve the required notice based on the eviction reason (nonpayment or lease violation).
Wait for the notice period to expire. If tenant cures the issue (where allowed), the process stops.
File an eviction case with the County Court. Pay the filing fee (~$85).
Tenant is served with a summons and has the opportunity to respond.
Attend the court hearing and present your case.
If you prevail, obtain a writ of possession from the court.
Law enforcement executes the writ and removes the tenant if necessary.
⚠️ Disclaimer: This page provides general information about Colorado eviction laws and does not constitute legal advice.
Eviction procedures can vary by county and may change over time. Local jurisdictions may have additional requirements or tenant protections.
For specific legal guidance, consult a qualified Colorado attorney or local legal aid organization.
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Underground Landlord
🏙️ Communities in Eagle County
Major communities along the I-70 and Roaring Fork corridors
Home to Vail Mountain and Beaver Creek — two of the world’s premier ski resorts. Median property value $839,500; Vail median $1.4M. 22.4% of residents face severe housing problems. 30.4% Hispanic, concentrated in workforce communities (Gypsum, Eagle, Edwards). STR licensing required in Vail, Avon, Eagle, Gypsum, and Basalt. County STR ordinance for unincorporated areas in development (2025). Extreme workforce housing shortage along entire I-70 corridor.
Eagle County
Two Markets — Know Yours
Eagle County is two rental markets in one county. Luxury corridor (Vail/Beaver Creek/Avon): high-income seasonal tenants, STR competition, premium rents, must have STR license. Workforce corridor (Gypsum/Eagle/Edwards): near-zero vacancy, essential service workers, 30.4% Hispanic, extreme demand, long-term leases with reliable tenants. In either market: verify STR licensing requirements before advertising any short-term rental. Confirm HB 24-1098 compliance for all long-term tenancies 12+ months. Heat system maintenance before each ski season is a 24-hour habitability obligation under SB 24-094.
A Landlord’s Guide to Renting in Eagle County, Colorado
Eagle County is one of the most economically paradoxical rental markets in Colorado — a place where billion-dollar resort infrastructure coexists with one of the state’s most severe workforce housing crises, where the service workers who run the lifts and restaurants of Vail and Beaver Creek commute 45 minutes each way from Gypsum because they cannot afford to live anywhere closer. Understanding Eagle County as a landlord requires understanding both of these realities simultaneously: the luxury vacation-rental market at the top of the mountain, and the workforce housing market in the valley communities at the bottom.
Vail and Beaver Creek: The Resort Economy
Vail Mountain, opened in December 1962 by Pete Seibert and Earl Eaton after years of effort and a fortuitous survey of the Gore Range, is now one of the largest ski areas in North America by acreage. Beaver Creek, opened in 1980 on land originally considered for the 1976 Winter Olympics (which Colorado voters rejected in a 1972 referendum), is the more exclusive and architecturally coherent of the two resorts — a planned village with controlled access, manicured pedestrian plazas, and a clientele that skews toward the very affluent. Together, these two resorts under the Vail Resorts corporate umbrella are the county’s dominant economic engine: the largest single employer, the driver of accommodation and food services employment, and the reason that Eagle County receives millions of visitors annually despite a permanent population of only 55,000.
For landlords in the Vail Village and Beaver Creek area, this creates a rental market characterized by extraordinary short-term rental demand, premium seasonal rents, and fierce competition between STR platforms and long-term residential tenancies. A ski-season condo in Vail Village can generate $8,000–$15,000/month as a short-term rental during peak weeks in January and February — a figure that makes long-term residential tenancy financially unattractive for many owners and has contributed directly to the removal of workforce housing stock from the market.
The Workforce Housing Crisis and the Gypsum/Eagle Corridor
The flip side of the resort economy’s success is a workforce housing crisis that has been building for decades and reached acute severity in the post-pandemic period. The county’s median property value of $839,500 — more than 2.5 times the national median — means that homeownership is essentially impossible for most of the resort economy’s hourly workers. The rental market is no more forgiving: even in Gypsum and Eagle, the county’s most affordable communities, monthly rents for a modest apartment routinely exceed $2,000, and vacancy rates hover near zero. Eagle County reports that 22.4% of its permanent residents live with severe housing problems — defined as cost burden exceeding 50% of income, severe overcrowding, or lack of complete kitchen and plumbing facilities.
This crisis creates an unusual opportunity for landlords willing to invest in workforce-quality housing in the Gypsum, Eagle, and Edwards corridors. The demand is virtually inexhaustible: construction workers, hotel staff, restaurant employees, ski instructors, and the full range of resort economy service workers need year-round housing. They are employed by the county’s most stable major employers — Vail Resorts, Eagle County Schools, Vail Valley Medical Center — and they are not going anywhere. A well-maintained, fairly priced two- or three-bedroom unit in Gypsum or Eagle will have qualified applicants within days of listing and minimal vacancy between tenancies.
Colorado’s 2024 Landlord-Tenant Law Reforms in a Resort Context
Colorado’s 2024 legislative session produced two landmark reforms with particular relevance to Eagle County. HB 24-1098’s just-cause eviction requirement means that landlords in the workforce housing market cannot clear long-term tenants to convert units to STRs without providing 90 days’ notice and a qualifying no-fault cause — including sale, substantial renovation, or withdrawal from the rental market. Landlords who have historically used lease expiration to rotate workforce tenants and shift units to vacation rental platforms need to account for this procedural change. The STR exemption from HB 24-1098 applies specifically to short-term rentals that are licensed and operating as such from the outset — not to residential tenancies that a landlord wants to convert.
SB 24-094’s habitability reforms have particular urgency in a mountain climate. A heating system failure in a Gypsum rental unit in February is not merely an inconvenience — it is a life-safety emergency requiring a landlord response within 24 hours under the revised statute. Landlords in Eagle County should have their HVAC systems serviced before each winter season, maintain a contractor relationship for emergency heating repairs, and document all maintenance communications carefully. The $20,000-per-violation penalty for habitability violations is not a theoretical risk in a climate where temperatures regularly drop well below zero.
Eagle County landlord-tenant matters are governed by Colorado Revised Statutes (CRS) Title 38, Article 12. Just-cause eviction (HB 24-1098): 90-day no-fault non-renewal notice; exemptions for owner-occupied SFH/duplex/triplex, sub-12-month tenancies, STRs, and employer housing. Habitability (SB 24-094): 72-hour begin remedial action; 24-hour for life-safety. Late fees: 7-day grace; max $50 or 5% of past-due rent. Security deposits: HB 25-1249 caps at 1 month’s rent effective January 1, 2026; return within 30 days. STR licensing required in Vail, Avon, Eagle, Gypsum, Basalt; county STR ordinance for unincorporated areas in development as of 2025 — verify current requirements before operating. No rent control statewide. One rent increase per 12-month period maximum. Evictions filed in Eagle County Combined Court in Eagle. Consult a licensed Colorado attorney before taking legal action. Last updated: April 2026.
Disclaimer: This page provides general information about landlord-tenant law in Eagle County, Colorado and is not legal advice. Laws change frequently, particularly given recent Colorado legislative activity. Always verify current requirements with a licensed Colorado attorney before taking legal action. Last updated: April 2026.
