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Can you rent by the room in Denver, CO?

Generally allowed. Denver deliberately RAISED its cap to five in 2021 - one of the only cities moving in the landlord's direction.

Occupancy cap

FIVE. The 2021 Group Living Text Amendment (Council Bill 20-0888) rewrote the Denver Zoning Code so it "now allows up to five adults to live together in households where not all residents are related, UP FROM a maximum of two unrelated adults in detached houses and four in duplexes, condos and apartments." The April 2021 bridge amendment to DRMC sec. 59-2 extended the same rule to the roughly 20% of the city still under Former Chapter 59, so it is now citywide.

Is it a permitted use

Five unrelated adults by right, anywhere in the city. Beyond five you move into the Group Living use category, which Denver splits into Residential Care (shelters, community corrections, care facilities) and Congregate Living (group arrangements with no care provided) - each with its own approval path.

Registration or licensing

Denver requires a Residential Rental Property Licence for every rental unit in the city, with a periodic inspection. That is a real, enforced requirement - budget for it.

State pre-emption

Colorado repealed its statewide ban on local rent control in 2024, so local rent regulation is now legally possible in Denver even though none is currently in force.

What a room rents for in Denver

A shared room in Denver runs about $262/week across the 73 ZIP codes we cover here. Private-room rates, per-ZIP figures and the local enforcement record are on the analyzer.

How to read this

Renting a house by the room is usually governed by three things: how many unrelated adults may share one dwelling, whether the arrangement is a permitted use or a boarding house, and whether the state has pre-empted the local rule. This page summarises the ordinance and cites it. It is research, not legal advice — a local land-use attorney decides whether a specific property complies.

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