Aspen Daily News and Aspen Journalism recently examined how short-term rental permit numbers have changed across Aspen and Pitkin County since the current regulatory system took effect in 2022. Ben Wolff, general manager of Frias Properties of Aspen Snowmass, was among the local voices interviewed, drawing on his experience helping owners navigate the permit process for the hundreds of units Frias manages in the city.
Quick facts from the reporting
- Combined active STR permits in Aspen and Pitkin County have declined about 9% since 2023
- The city of Aspen currently counts 741 active STR permits, down from 790 in the program's first six months
- Pitkin County's permit count has dropped roughly 29% over the past three years, to 79 active permits
- The city's residential/multifamily (R/MF) zone, the district with the most STR permits of any capped residential zone, has a waitlist of 55 properties as of mid-May
- A November ordinance now allows STR permits to transfer in cases of the permittee's death or divorce, a change from the prior no-transfer rule
- Snowmass Village, Basalt, Aspen, and Pitkin County together hold roughly 2,500 active STR permits
Why permit numbers are shrinking
The reporting traces the decline largely to permit attrition built into the system by design. Permits in Aspen must be renewed annually and, in most cases, cannot transfer to a new owner when a property sells. City staff describe this as intentional: capped zones were set below pre-regulation permit counts specifically so the numbers would decline over time as permits lapse. Pitkin County's decline reflects a similar dynamic, plus a rule that ties eligibility to a documented rental history between 2017 and 2022, a requirement that becomes harder for newer owners to meet as time passes.
The R/MF zone waitlist
Much of the article's attention centers on Aspen's residential/multifamily zone, which carries the city's longest waitlist by a wide margin. Wolff, who manages STR units in the zone, told the paper that the length of that waitlist, compared to the far shorter lists in other capped zones, suggests the original cap may have been set too low. He noted that condo buildings in the zone have long rental histories, and that owners in those buildings are now unable to rent if a unit changes hands, even though neighboring units continue renting without issue.
City officials interviewed for the piece offered a different read: the 25% reduction applied evenly across all 14 capped residential zones in 2022, and the R/MF waitlist is long simply because more permits were active there to begin with. The city has been offering permits to waitlisted applicants roughly once a month since October, a pace officials described as accelerating.
A change owners have been asking for
One notable update covered in the piece: Aspen's city council passed changes in November allowing STR permits to transfer when a permittee dies or divorces, as long as the property passes to a next of kin with at least 10% ownership. Previously, a permit lapsed automatically in these situations, in some cases forcing families to sell properties they otherwise wanted to keep. Wolff welcomed the update, describing his working relationship with the city as "a collaborative effort" aimed at making the program function as intended.
A resource for owners
For Frias-managed properties and owners considering a permit application, this kind of regulatory detail, waitlist timing, zone caps, transfer rules, is exactly the terrain our team works through daily. If you have questions about where your property stands under the current rules, our team is glad to help.
For current permit rules and requirements, see the City of Aspen's official short-term rental page. Snowmass Village, where Frias also manages properties, operates under its own separate ordinance and was not part of the city and county data covered in this piece.
Source: Laurine Lassalle, Aspen Journalism, "Short-term rental market continues to shrink in Aspen, PitCo," Aspen Daily News, July 19, 2026
Frias Properties of Aspen Snowmass has managed vacation rentals and residential properties in Aspen and Snowmass Village since 1974. Learn more at FriasProperties.com or call 970.920.2000.