Rent Increases · Colorado
Rent increase notice in Colorado
A Colorado landlord must give 60 days’ written notice before a rent increase takes effect, and may raise the rent no more than once in any 12 months.
Required notice
60 days
The 60-day notice applies where there is no written agreement. The one-increase-per-12-months limit in 38-12-702 applies regardless of whether there is a written agreement or how long the tenancy is. A landlord may not terminate a no-written-agreement tenancy primarily to raise the rent.
“In a residential tenancy in which there is no written agreement between the landlord and tenant, a landlord may increase the rent only upon at least sixty days' written notice to the tenant”
Colorado has a statute specifically about rent increases
C.R.S. 38-12-701; 38-12-702 addresses rent increases directly, so the 60days is a floor written for exactly this situation — not borrowed from the termination rules, as it is in 29 other states.
Increases per 12 months
Once
“In a residential tenancy in which there is no written agreement between the landlord and tenant, a landlord may increase the rent only upon at least sixty days' written notice to the tenant”
When the new rent can actually start
The notice period runs before the increase takes effect, not before you send it. Counting from the wrong end is the most common way a valid increase becomes an invalid one. In Colorado, a notice served today makes the new rent collectable no earlier than 60days from now — and in most states it must also line up with a rent due date, so in practice the increase begins on the first rent date after the period expires, not on day 61 itself.
Rent is still owed at the old figure for the whole notice period. A tenant who pays the old amount during those 60 days is paying correctly, and treating the shortfall as arrears is a mistake that turns into a losing eviction case.
What the notice has to contain
Requirements vary, but a notice that includes all of the following is hard to attack anywhere:
- The current rent and the new rent, as figures.
- The date the new rent takes effect.
- The address of the unit and the tenant’s name.
- The date the notice was given, and a record of how it was delivered.
Keep proof of service. Where a dispute reaches a hearing, the argument is almost never about what the notice said — it is about whether the tenant received it, and when.
The detail specific to Colorado
The 60-day notice applies where there is no written agreement. The one-increase-per-12-months limit in 38-12-702 applies regardless of whether there is a written agreement or how long the tenancy is. A landlord may not terminate a no-written-agreement tenancy primarily to raise the rent.
Notice is not the same as a cap
A notice period controls when rent can rise. It says nothing about how much. Only a handful of states cap the amount — California, Oregon and Washington do so statewide, and a number of cities do it locally through rent control or stabilisation. Everywhere else, a landlord who gives proper notice may raise the rent by any amount the market will bear.
Which means a short notice period is not the same as a weak protection, and a long one is not the same as a strong one. North Carolina requires only 7 days; Maryland requires 90. Neither caps the increase.
How this compares
Across the United States the requirement runs from 7 days to 90. Colorado sits at 60. See every state side by side, including which ones have a real statute and which borrow from their termination rules.
Other states requiring 60 days
Common questions
- How much notice must a landlord give before raising rent in Colorado?
- 60 days' written notice under C.R.S. 38-12-701; 38-12-702. The 60-day notice applies where there is no written agreement. The one-increase-per-12-months limit in 38-12-702 applies regardless of whether there is a written agreement or how long the tenancy is. A landlord may not terminate a no-written-agreement tenancy primarily to raise the rent.
- How often can rent be raised in Colorado?
- No more than 1 time in any 12-month period, under C.R.S. 38-12-701; 38-12-702.
- Can a Colorado landlord raise rent mid-lease?
- Not on a fixed-term lease, unless the lease itself allows it. A fixed rent for a fixed term is the bargain both sides signed, and it binds the landlord too. Rent increases on a fixed-term tenancy normally take effect at renewal; the notice periods here govern month-to-month tenancies and renewals.
- What happens if the notice is short or never given?
- The increase is generally ineffective — the tenant owes the old rent until a proper notice has run its course. Some states say so expressly. A landlord who collects the higher amount without valid notice is usually collecting an overpayment, not rent.
Serve the notice on the right date
Pacific Rentals Pro knows your state’s notice period, counts back from the date you want the new rent to start, and keeps the record of what was sent and when. The Colorado rule on this page is the same data the app runs on.
Start free →Read against the cited source on November 6, 2026. Authority: C.R.S. 38-12-701; 38-12-702. General information about Coloradolaw, not legal advice — statutes change and city ordinances can impose longer notice and caps the state does not. Rent-controlled and rent-stabilised units follow separate rules.