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Colorado: Rent Increase Notice Requirements

verified against the statute 2026-07-12 2 statute sources

The short answer

Colorado requires at least 60 days' written notice before increasing rent in a residential tenancy with no written agreement. It does not set a general statewide percentage cap, but it prohibits more than one rent increase in any 12-month period of the tenant's consecutive occupancy.

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This is the general rule in Colorado. Ezel applies current Colorado law to your specific facts and answers with citations to the statutes.

Governing lawColo. Rev. Stat. §§ 38-12-701 to -702
Advance notice requiredNo written agreement: ≥60 days' written notice (§ 38-12-701(2)(a)); no general period stated here for a written agreement
Statewide limit on the increaseNo general statewide percentage or dollar cap
Homes and landlords exempt from the capN/A No statewide amount cap
How often rent may increaseNo more than 1 increase in any 12 months of consecutive occupancy, regardless of agreement type or term (§ 38-12-702)
Notice form, content, and serviceWritten notice required for a tenancy with no written agreement; no special content or service method stated (§ 38-12-701(2)(a))
Increase during a fixed leaseThe 12-month limit expressly covers fixed tenancies, but §§ 38-12-701 to -702 do not themselves authorize a unilateral midterm change
Tenant's remediesNo rent-increase-specific invalidity, damages, or agency remedy stated in §§ 38-12-701 to -702

Compare this rule across all 50 states + DC →

Requirements one by one

Notice period and form

For a residential tenancy with no written agreement, Colo. Rev. Stat. §
38-12-701(2)(a)
requires at least 60 days' written notice before an increase.
The section does not prescribe special content or a service method, and it does
not state a general advance-notice period for a tenancy governed by a written
agreement.

Subsection (2)(b) also prevents a landlord from using a termination notice with
the primary purpose of obtaining an increase inconsistent with the section. That
provision is not a separate termination-notice period for this survey.

Frequency limit

Section 38-12-702 permits no more than one rent increase in any 12-month
period of the tenant's consecutive occupancy. The statute makes the limit apply
regardless of whether the agreement is written, how long the tenancy lasts, or
whether it is fixed, month-to-month, or indefinite.

The section regulates frequency, not amount. It states no statewide percentage
or dollar ceiling and no part-7 damages formula.

What trips people up

The 60-day rule is not universal. Its text applies when there is no written
agreement between landlord and tenant. The once-per-12-month rule is broader
and expressly reaches written and fixed tenancies.

Coverage of a fixed tenancy by the frequency limit does not itself authorize a
landlord to rewrite the rent before the agreed term ends. Sections 38-12-701 and
-702 do not answer whether a particular written agreement permits a midterm
change.

Common questions

Does Colorado cap the percentage of an increase?

Not under these general state sections. Section 38-12-702 limits how often
rent may increase, not the size of an increase. Local law may separately matter.

Does a written lease get the 60-day rule?

Section 38-12-701(2)(a) states the 60-day requirement for a residential
tenancy in which there is no written agreement. The written agreement and other
applicable law must be checked for a written tenancy.

Can the landlord raise rent twice if both notices were timely?

Not within one 12-month period of consecutive occupancy. Section 38-12-702
imposes the frequency limit independently of the notice rule.

Statutes and sources

  • Colo. Rev. Stat. § 38-12-701(2). Sixty-day written notice for a residential
    tenancy without a written agreement and the anti-circumvention termination
    rule. Official 2025 code PDF
    (accessed July 12, 2026).
  • Colo. Rev. Stat. § 38-12-702. Once-per-12-month frequency limit across
    agreement and tenancy types.
    Official 2025 code PDF
    (accessed July 12, 2026).

Source links

Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.

Colo. Rev. Stat. § 38-12-701(2) · accessed 2026-07-12
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 38-12-702 · accessed 2026-07-12
This page is general legal information about residential rent increases under STATE law, not legal advice about your lease or a specific notice. It does not cover an eviction or nonrenewal notice, and it does not include city or county rent-control rules, which may be stricter than the state floor. Coverage, exemptions, the lawful increase, and the remedy can depend on the property, landlord, subsidy, lease dates, and local law. Verified against the official statute text on the date shown; confirm current state and local law or consult a licensed attorney in the state before relying on it.

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