Effective since 1885 and significantly strengthened by recent statutory updates (including HB21-1121 and HB24-1098), the Colorado Revised Statutes govern all residential rent adjustments. Colorado generally prohibits rent control at the local or state level. Landlords are legally permitted to increase rent to match fair market value, however, the frequency of those increases and the methods used to implement them are heavily regulated.

[!IMPORTANT] Anti-Retaliation & Anti-Circumvention Rule: Under Colorado's 'For-Cause' eviction laws (HB24-1098, codified in C.R.S. § 38-12-1307), a landlord is prohibited from increasing a tenant's rent in a discriminatory, retaliatory, or unconscionable manner to circumvent the requirements and prohibitions related to 'for-cause' evictions. Additionally, per C.R.S. § 38-12-509, a landlord shall not retaliate by increasing rent in response to a tenant making a good faith complaint regarding conditions that materially interfere with life, health, or safety.

Official Law Citation: The rules and regulations outlined on this page are strictly configured under the official Colorado Revised Statutes (C.R.S. § 38-12-301Preview unavailable, § 38-12-701Preview unavailable, § 38-12-702Preview unavailable, § 38-12-1307Preview unavailable, § 6-1-735Preview unavailable, and § 38-12-509Preview unavailable).

Frequency established by Law

Regardless of whether a tenant is on a formal one-year lease or an informal month-to-month agreement, a Colorado landlord can only increase a tenant's rent once in any twelve-month period of consecutive occupancy (C.R.S. § 38-12-702).

If a tenant is on a 6-month lease, the landlord cannot increase the rent upon renewing that lease for another 6 months; they must wait until the full 12 months have passed.

Required Notice Periods

The amount of notice required to legally increase the rent depends entirely on the type of tenancy.

Written Fixed-Term Leases

If a tenant has a written, fixed-term lease (e.g., a standard 12-month lease), the rent cannot be increased during the term unless the lease agreement specifically includes a clause permitting such an increase. When the lease term ends, the written agreement itself typically dictates the timing and notice requirements for proposing a rent increase for a subsequent renewal period. There is no specific state statute mandating a notice period for rent increases in written fixed-term leases.

Tenancies with No Written Lease (or Month-to-Month)

If a residential tenancy relies simply on an oral agreement or operates on an informal month-to-month basis without a controlling written document, the landlord must provide at least 60 days’ written notice before they can legally enforce a rent increase (C.R.S. § 38-12-701(2)(a)).

Emergency Rent Freezes (Price Gouging)

Under House Bill 24-1259 (C.R.S. § 6-1-735), Colorado explicitly prohibits price gouging in the provision of rent-based housing during state-declared disasters. During an emergency declaration that results in a material decrease in available housing units, dramatic rent increases are categorized as illegal price gouging. Price gouging generally means increasing rent either more than the previous year or 10%, whichever is greater. This prohibition applies for one year after the date of the initial disaster declaration.

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