For the first time ever, Denver has revoked a short-term rental license from a property owner on Wednesday.
The decision comes after months of complaints from neighbors and a hearing with the city in January. Garth Yettick owns “Marion Manor,” the house he had been renting out short-term through sites like Airbnb.
Neighbors complained because of rowdy parties, disruptive guests and traffic at the lavish mansion, advertised as a “$5 million dollar Country Club Estate” in Cherry Creek. They wanted the city to revoke Yettick’s license because they said he wasn’t using the home as his primary residence — one requirement to get a short-term rental license from the city.
Denver implemented its rules regulating short-term rentals in 2017. Landlords are required to have a tax ID, collect and pay taxes, and maintain a short-term business license. The city has these restrictions to protect affordable housing and to prevent landlords from owning multiple short-term rental properties.
“Denver is determined to have a regulated short-term rental market that is business friendly, but also protects the integrity and safety of our neighborhoods,” said Denver’s Excise and Licenses executive director, Ashley Kilroy, in a statement. “Today’s enforcement action to remove the license of an illegally operating short-term rental reinforces the fact that we are determined to enforce primary residence rules.”
Kilroy said the city will not hesitate to take action against landlords for legitimate complaints from the community. Yettick will not have to pay a fine, but he can no longer operate a short-term rental in the city of Denver.
Yettick could not be reached for comment Wednesday afternoon because he was traveling, his assistant said. She said the city’s decision is “really sad.”
According to the city, there are more than 2,500 active short-term rental licenses in the city. Denver’s compliance rate of short-term rental listings with a valid license is at 72 percent, an all-time high.
Airbnb data released in January shows Denver had nearly half a million Airbnb guests in 2018. Hosts of those rentals earned almost $75 million last year. Statewide, home hosts earned $309 million and had nearly 2 million guests.