Colorado · Rent Increases

Rent Increases in Colorado: What Are My Rights?

This is not legal advice. We explain what the law says. We cannot tell you what to do in your situation. For that, talk to a lawyer. Find free legal and rent help in Colorado.

Colorado law limits how often your landlord can raise your rent and, in some cases, how much notice you must get first. It covers the notice and timing rules and the state's ban on local rent control. It also covers your protection if a rent increase is used to punish you.

How much notice you get

  1. If you and your landlord never signed a written lease, Colorado law sets a notice rule for rent increases. Your landlord must give you at least 60 days written notice before raising your rent. This rule applies even where another law might normally allow less notice.

    Source:
    1. § 38-12-701(2)(a), Colorado Office of Legislative Legal Services. Law.

  2. If you have no written lease, your landlord cannot try to make you move out mainly to raise your rent. This is not allowed when doing that would skip the 60-day notice rule for a rent increase.

    Source:
    1. § 38-12-701(2)(b), Colorado Office of Legislative Legal Services. Law.

  3. Count the days from when you got the written notice. If you have no written lease and got less than 60 days notice, the increase does not yet follow Colorado's rule.

    Source:
    1. § 38-12-701(2)(a), Colorado Office of Legislative Legal Services. Law.

Check the new rent

  1. Your landlord can raise your rent only once in any 12-month period you live there. This is true whether or not you have a written lease. It does not matter how long you have rented there. It also does not matter if your rental has a fixed end date, is month-to-month, or has no end date at all.

    Source:
    1. § 38-12-702(1), Colorado Office of Legislative Legal Services. Law.

  2. No city or county in Colorado is allowed to pass a law limiting how much your landlord can raise your rent. State law bans local rent control on private housing.

    Source:
    1. § 38-12-301(1), Colorado Office of Legislative Legal Services. Law.

  3. A city, county or property owner can still agree in writing to limit rent increases for an affordable housing deal. This kind of agreement does not break Colorado's ban on local rent control.

    Source:
    1. § 38-12-301(2)(a), Colorado Office of Legislative Legal Services. Law.

  4. Before you do anything else, look at your rent increase notice and talk to your landlord about it. Ask why the rent is going up and if your landlord will lower it.

    Source:
    1. Our editorial rules.

  5. Keep a copy of any rent increase notice your landlord gives you. Write down the date you got it. This can help you check if your landlord followed Colorado's notice and timing rules.

    Source:
    1. Our editorial rules.

If the increase is not allowed

  1. Colorado law bans your landlord from raising your rent to punish you for using certain rights. One protected right is making a good faith complaint about a problem that materially (seriously) harms your life, health, or safety. Another is joining or forming a group of renters. A third is using in good faith any other right this state's renter law gives you. You do not have to prove this was your landlord's only reason, just that it helped cause the decision.

    Source:
    1. § 38-12-509(1), Colorado Office of Legislative Legal Services. Law.

  2. If your landlord raises your rent to punish you for using certain legal rights, Colorado law lets you end your rental early. Ending your rental means you give up your home, so decide where you will live next before you act.

    Sources:
    1. Our editorial rules.
    2. § 38-12-509(2), Colorado Office of Legislative Legal Services. Law.

  3. A court can order your landlord to pay you money if it decides the rent increase was to punish you for using your rights. The court can award 3 months of rent or 3 times your actual money losses, whichever is more. For example, 3 times a $1,500 loss is $4,500. The court can also order your landlord to pay reasonable (fair) lawyer's fees and court costs. You get this money only if you win your case and your landlord pays.

    Sources:
    1. Our editorial rules.
    2. § 38-12-509(2), Colorado Office of Legislative Legal Services. Law.

  4. You might stop paying a rent increase because you believe your landlord raised it to punish you. If your landlord then starts a court case to remove you for not paying, Colorado law lets you raise this as your defense.

    Source:
    1. § 38-12-509(1.5), Colorado Office of Legislative Legal Services. Law.

Published by Nazanin, September 27, 2026. Is something on this page wrong or out of date? Tell us.