Rent Increases in Colorado

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 new 'For-Cause' eviction laws, a landlord cannot raise the rent by an unconscionable amount solely to try and force a tenant out, in an attempt to circumvent the new cause requirements for eviction.

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.

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 strictly be increased during the term unless specific lease clauses permit it. When the lease ends, the written agreement itself usually dictates the timing and notice requirements required to propose a rent increase for the subsequent renewal period (often 30, 60, or 90 days before expiration).

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.

Emergency Rent Freezes (Price Gouging)

Under House Bill 24-1259, Colorado explicitly prohibits price gouging during state-declared disasters. During an emergency declaration that results in a material decrease in available housing units (such as widespread wildfires destroying a region's housing stock), dramatic rent increases are temporarily frozen and categorized as illegal price gouging to protect displaced citizens.

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