Free Colorado Rent Increase Notice
Colorado has no statewide rent cap on how much you can raise the rent, but state law sets firm rules on how often and how much notice: rent may rise only once in any 12-month period for the same tenant (C.R.S. 38-12-702), and a tenancy with no written lease needs at least 60 days’ written notice (C.R.S. 38-12-701). Generate a clean notice below.
This Colorado Rent Increase Notice raises the rent on a residential tenancy. Colorado sets no statewide cap on the amount, but it does cap the frequency and require written notice: under C.R.S. 38-12-702 rent may go up only once in any 12-month period of consecutive occupancy, and under C.R.S. 38-12-701 a tenancy with no written lease needs at least 60 days’ written notice. Keep the increase out of the retaliation bar in Section 38-12-509. Our how to raise rent guide covers the timing, and the tenant screening laws by state hub helps you place reliable tenants in the first place.
Colorado Rent Increase at a Glance
Statute
C.R.S. 38-12-701 / 702
Statewide rent cap
None
No-written-lease notice
60 days (38-12-701)
Increase frequency
Once / 12 mo (38-12-702)
Colorado rent-increase rules at a glance
Colorado does not cap the amount of rent, but it limits how often and how. Under C.R.S. 38-12-702 the rent may be raised only once in any 12-month period of consecutive occupancy by the same tenant. Under C.R.S. 38-12-701, a residential tenancy with no written lease requires at least 60 days’ written notice before the new rent takes effect, and the landlord cannot serve a notice to quit to dodge that notice. Where there is a written lease, its own terms control the timing – the rent cannot change mid-term unless the lease allows it, and any increase takes effect at renewal. An increase may not be retaliatory (C.R.S. 38-12-509).
How to Serve the Colorado Rent Increase Notice
Determine the required notice period
Confirm the tenancy and the lease. On a written-lease fixed term the rent is locked unless the lease has an escalation clause, and any increase applies at renewal; a tenancy with no written lease can be raised prospectively with proper written notice.
Calculate the increase
Check the once-per-year limit first. Under C.R.S. 38-12-702 you may not raise the rent more than one time in any 12-month period of consecutive occupancy by the same tenant – confirm at least 12 months have passed since the last increase before you serve a new one.
Prepare the written notice
Set the notice period. For a residential tenancy with no written lease, C.R.S. 38-12-701 requires at least 60 days’ written notice before the new rent takes effect; where there is a written lease, follow the lease’s own notice terms. You also may not serve a notice to quit to circumvent the 60-day rule.
Serve the notice
Make sure the timing is not retaliatory. C.R.S. 38-12-509 bars raising the rent in response to a tenant’s good-faith complaint about a condition affecting life, health, or safety, organizing or joining a tenants’ association, or exercising a legal right or remedy.
Document and follow up
Put the increase in writing – the current rent, the new rent, and the effective date – deliver it by a method you can prove (Colorado sets no required service method, but the notice must be written), and keep a signed, dated copy with proof of delivery.
Generate the Colorado Notice
Complete the fields below to generate a Colorado rent increase notice. The new rent and effective date must give the tenant the full statutory notice period. Service should comply with applicable Colorado law; retain proof of service.
Set the effective date correctly
Count the full notice period from when the tenant receives the notice. For a tenancy with no written lease, that is at least 60 days under C.R.S. 38-12-701 – set the effective date after those 60 days run, and make sure it is at least 12 months after any prior increase (C.R.S. 38-12-702). An effective date that arrives before the 60-day period closes, or within 12 months of the last increase, makes the increase unenforceable. Allow added days for receipt when you mail.
1. Parties & Property
From (Landlord / Property Manager)
To (Tenant)
2. Rent Change Details
3. Notice Details
4. Signature
About This Colorado Notice
A Colorado rent increase notice is the written notice a landlord gives to raise the rent on a residential tenancy. Colorado is a market-rate state: there is no statewide rent control and no statutory cap on how much the rent can go up. State law (C.R.S. 38-12-301) has long preempted local rent control as well; a 2024 change opened only a narrow, limited local exception, so for almost all Colorado rentals there is still no cap on the amount of an increase. What the law regulates instead is how often a landlord may raise the rent, how much notice the tenant must get, and why the increase is being made.
The most important limit is frequency. Under C.R.S. 38-12-702, a landlord may not increase the rent more than one time in any twelve-month period of consecutive occupancy by the same tenant. That cap applies across the board – written lease, month-to-month, or an indefinite tenancy – so a landlord who raised the rent eleven months ago has to wait before raising it again, no matter what a lease might otherwise say. The clock runs on the tenant’s continuous occupancy, not the calendar year.
The second limit is notice, and it turns on whether there is a written lease. Under C.R.S. 38-12-701, when a residential agreement does not have a written lease – an oral agreement, or a month-to-month tenancy with no written terms – the landlord may increase the rent only upon at least sixty days’ written notice to the tenant. The same section bars a landlord from serving a notice to quit with the primary purpose of getting around that 60-day rule, so a landlord cannot end the tenancy just to reset the rent faster. Where there is a written lease, the lease’s own terms control the timing and amount of any increase: the rent cannot change during the fixed term unless the lease contains an escalation clause, and any increase takes effect at renewal. The notice, however it is given, has to be in writing and should state the current rent, the new rent, and the effective date plainly – a verbal notice does not satisfy the statute.
Even with proper timing and notice, an increase can still be unlawful because of its motive. C.R.S. 38-12-509 prohibits a landlord from retaliating against a tenant – including by increasing the rent, decreasing services, or terminating or declining to renew the tenancy – after the tenant makes a good-faith complaint about a condition that materially interferes with life, health, or safety, organizes or joins a tenants’ association or similar organization, or exercises a right or remedy the law provides. A tenant who proves retaliation can recover damages of up to three months’ rent or three times actual damages, whichever is greater, plus reasonable attorney fees and costs, and may raise retaliation as a defense to an eviction. Federal and Colorado fair housing law independently bar an increase aimed at a tenant because of a protected characteristic.
Because Colorado sets no required method to serve a rent-increase notice, the practical standard is provable written delivery within the notice period. Personal delivery to the tenant, delivery left at the premises when the tenant is absent, certified mail with a return receipt, or first-class mail all work; email or text is fine only when the lease or tenant authorizes electronic notice and you document it. Whatever the method, the notice should state the current rent, the new rent, and the effective date, and the landlord should keep a signed, dated copy with proof of delivery. Our how to raise rent guide walks through the timing, and screening applicants with verified reports keeps tenancies stable so the increases you serve actually stick.
Put together, a clean Colorado increase is simple but exact: confirm at least 12 months have passed since the last increase (C.R.S. 38-12-702), give at least 60 days’ written notice when there is no written lease or follow the lease’s notice terms (C.R.S. 38-12-701), never use a notice to quit as a workaround, keep the timing outside the 38-12-509 retaliation bar, deliver the notice in writing with proof, and never let the increase track a tenant’s protected complaint. None of this replaces the screening you do at move-in – a tenant chosen for steady income and a clean payment history is the one most likely to absorb a lawful increase without a dispute.
Colorado Statutory Requirements
- No statewide cap on the amount of a rent increase, and no statewide rent control; local rent control is barred except for a narrow 2024 exception.
- Once per 12 months — C.R.S. 38-12-702 bars more than one increase in any twelve-month period of consecutive occupancy by the same tenant.
- At least 60 days’ written notice on a residential tenancy with no written lease — C.R.S. 38-12-701.
- No notice-to-quit workaround — a landlord may not serve a notice to quit to circumvent the 60-day notice (C.R.S. 38-12-701(2)(b)).
- No mid-term increase on a written-lease fixed term unless the lease expressly allows it; the increase applies at renewal.
- No retaliatory increase after a tenant’s protected action (C.R.S. 38-12-509).
- No discriminatory increase based on a protected class (federal Fair Housing Act and the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act).
Service Methods Permitted
- Colorado sets no required method to serve a rent-increase notice, but C.R.S. 38-12-701 requires the notice to be written — verbal notice does not satisfy it.
- Personal delivery to the tenant, or delivery left at the rental premises if the tenant is absent.
- Certified mail with a return receipt, or U.S. first-class mail, gives a dated paper trail; allow added days for receipt when you mail.
- Email or text works only if the lease or tenant authorizes electronic notice and you document it; keep the send record either way.
Common Mistakes
- Raising the rent twice within 12 months for the same tenant — C.R.S. 38-12-702 allows only one increase per 12-month period.
- Giving less than 60 days’ written notice on a tenancy with no written lease (C.R.S. 38-12-701).
- Raising the rent mid-term on a written-lease fixed term that does not allow it.
- Serving a notice to quit to force a faster or larger increase — the statute bars that circumvention.
- Raising the rent right after a tenant’s habitability complaint or tenants’-association activity — C.R.S. 38-12-509 treats that as retaliation.
- Relying on a verbal notice with no written record or proof of delivery.
Best Practices
- Check the last increase date first — confirm a full 12 months have passed before you serve a new one.
- Read the lease: a written lease’s notice terms control; with no written lease, give at least 60 days’ written notice.
- State the current rent, the new rent, and the effective date plainly, and set the effective date after the 60 days run.
- Deliver by a method you can prove, and avoid timing an increase right after a tenant complaint.
Bottom line
In Colorado there is no statewide rent cap, but a lawful increase turns on frequency, notice, and motive: only once in any 12-month period for the same tenant (C.R.S. 38-12-702), at least 60 days’ written notice when there is no written lease (C.R.S. 38-12-701), no mid-term change on a written-lease fixed term, no notice-to-quit workaround, and nothing inside the retaliation bar of Section 38-12-509.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much notice is required for a Colorado rent increase?
It depends on the lease. Under C.R.S. 38-12-701, a residential tenancy with no written lease – an oral or month-to-month tenancy with no written agreement – needs at least 60 days’ written notice before the new rent takes effect. Where there is a written lease, the lease’s own terms control the timing. Either way, the notice must be in writing and state the new rent and effective date.
Is there a cap on rent increases in Colorado?
No. Colorado has no statewide rent control and no cap on the amount of an increase, and state law has long barred local rent control (a 2024 change opened only a narrow exception). The real limits are frequency – once per 12 months under C.R.S. 38-12-702 – proper written notice under 38-12-701, no mid-term increase on a written lease, and the retaliation and fair-housing bars.
How often can a landlord raise rent in Colorado?
Colorado caps the frequency, not the amount. Under C.R.S. 38-12-702 a landlord may not increase the rent more than one time in any twelve-month period of consecutive occupancy by the same tenant. That limit applies to every residential tenancy – written lease, month-to-month, or indefinite – so you must wait a full 12 months between increases for the same tenant.
Can a landlord raise rent during a fixed-term Colorado lease?
Not during the fixed term. On a written-lease fixed term the rent is locked unless the lease has an escalation clause, and any increase takes effect at renewal. A tenancy with no written lease can be increased prospectively with at least 60 days’ written notice under C.R.S. 38-12-701, subject to the once-per-12-month limit.
Can a rent increase be illegal in Colorado?
Yes, indirectly. C.R.S. 38-12-509 bars a landlord from raising the rent in retaliation after a tenant makes a good-faith complaint about a condition affecting life, health, or safety, organizes or joins a tenants’ association, or exercises a legal right. A tenant who proves retaliation can recover up to three months’ rent or three times actual damages, whichever is greater, plus fees, and may raise it as a defense to eviction. An increase that violates the 60-day notice or once-per-year limit is also unenforceable.
What happens if the tenant doesn’t pay the new rent?
If the increase is on a tenancy with no written lease, served with at least 60 days’ written notice, within the once-per-year limit, and outside the retaliation bar, the tenant either pays the new rent or gives notice and moves out. If the tenant stays and pays only the old amount after a valid increase, the shortfall is unpaid rent the landlord can address with a demand for compliance or possession under Colorado eviction law.
What are common mistakes that invalidate the notice?
The usual errors are raising the rent twice within 12 months (barred by C.R.S. 38-12-702), giving less than 60 days’ written notice on a no-written-lease tenancy (C.R.S. 38-12-701), raising rent mid-term on a written lease that does not allow it, using a notice to quit to circumvent the 60-day rule, timing the increase as retaliation under 38-12-509, and relying on a verbal notice with no proof of delivery. Any one of these can make the increase unenforceable.
Screen Colorado tenants thoroughly before move-in
A solid tenant relationship starts with thorough screening. Tenant Screening Background Check has been verifying renters since 2004 — credit, eviction filings, criminal background, and employment — across all 50 states and DC.
Related Resources
Published by Tenant Screening Background Check
Established 2004 · 20+ Years · All U.S. States & Territories · Statute-Based · Attorney-Reviewed
A Private Eye Reports™ service trusted by landlords, property managers, and attorneys.
