DENVER - The City of Denver has officially issued 25,000 residential rental licenses.
The license is a city requirement for all residential rental properties and according to city officials it includes a third-party inspection to verify minimal safe living standards.
“Before there was a license requirement for landlords in Denver, if there was a problem property, the only avenue the city had to try to get it in compliance was that people could do a complaint or the health department could go out and investigate it,” Eric Escudero, director of communications for Denver’s department of excise and licenses.
“Now, landlords have to get that inspection at the beginning before they rent something out. So really, you have double regulation to make housing safer, because you have to pass an inspection, get the license, and still, if there is in a situation where a rental housing is not safe, then there can still be a public health investigation that can hopefully change that as well.”
In 2023, the city issued just 12,825 licenses and that year only landlords with multi-unit properties were required to get a rental license. But in 2024, all landlords were required to get one, bringing the total number of licenses to 25,000.
“It's tough to say how many landlords there are in Denver. We believe we've captured most of the landlords in the city, but we know there are some who still haven't got the license. That's why we've taken strong enforcement action when we find landlords who are not getting that required inspection and getting the license to a point where we've almost issued $100,000 in fines,” Escudero said.
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But as the number of residential rental licenses increase in Denver, restaurant licenses have decreased.
“We’ve seen the amount of licenses issued for restaurants in Denver drop about 22%,” Escudero said.
Escudero said this is likely due to challenges related to the pandemic.
“Anytime we see where there is less businesses licensed in the city, maybe a downward trend, of course, it's concerning. But we know the restaurant industry is full of creative individuals, and just because the trend the last three years has been that licenses for restaurants is going down, doesn't mean that might not change in the future, as the inflationary pressures start to decrease, we don't see the continued increase in costs for consumers,” Escudero said.
Escudero said despite the decrease in licensed restaurants in Denver, the city saw a surge in licensing transactions in 2024 and set an all-time record.
In 2024, the Department of Excise and Licenses crossed 30,000 licensing transactions for the first time ever, an increase from 22,782 licenses in 2021.
According to the city, a licensing transaction does not necessarily mean a new business, but license transaction can include a business owner adding a new license such as a liquor license to a restaurant .
City data reveals the top types of licensing transactions in Denver in 2024 were security guard licenses (10,502), residential rental property (7,516), short term rental (2,976), and retail food (2,719).
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