Colorado Rent Increase 2026: Once Per 12 Months & When 60 Days Applies
Colorado generally limits residential rent increases to one in any 12-month period of consecutive occupancy. The state's 60-day ordinary-residential rule applies when there is no written rental agreement, while mobile-home park lots have a separate 60-day rule. Learn what to verify before serving or relying on an increase.
The short answer
Colorado Revised Statutes section 38-12-702 limits a landlord to no more than one residential rent increase in any 12-month period of consecutive occupancy. The statute applies regardless of whether the rental agreement is written, how long the tenancy has lasted, or whether the tenancy is fixed-term, month-to-month, or indefinite.
Colorado's separate 60-day ordinary-residential notice rule is narrower than many summaries suggest. Section 38-12-701 requires at least 60 days' written notice when the residential tenancy has no written agreement. It does not create one universal 60-day rent-increase notice period for every written lease. Mobile-home park lot rent is governed by a separate provision that also uses a 60-day written-notice rule and adds park-registration and compliance conditions.
Colorado generally limits residential rent increases to once in 12 months
Section 38-12-702 focuses on frequency. During a tenant's consecutive occupancy, a landlord cannot increase residential rent more than one time in any 12-month period. The rule expressly applies across written and unwritten rental agreements and across fixed-term, month-to-month, and indefinite tenancies.
That frequency limit is not the same thing as permission to change rent whenever 12 months have passed. The actual rental agreement, renewal structure, housing program, property type, and any other current legal requirements still need to be checked before choosing an effective date or serving a notice.
The 60-day ordinary-residential rule applies when there is no written rental agreement
Section 38-12-701 says that in a residential tenancy with no written agreement between landlord and tenant, the landlord may increase rent only after at least 60 days' written notice. The same section prevents a landlord from terminating an unwritten residential tenancy when the primary purpose is to increase rent in a way that would evade that notice rule.
This is why Max Rental Tools does not treat 60 days as an automatically verified notice period for every Colorado rental. If the tenancy is governed by a written lease, review that lease and the current Colorado framework rather than assuming the unwritten-tenancy rule controls. If there is no written agreement, the statutory 60-day rule is the state starting point, subject to any other law or housing-program requirement that applies.
A fixed-term lease still needs a lease-first review
Colorado's once-per-12-month rule applies even to fixed-term tenancies, but that does not mean the frequency statute itself rewrites the rent promised in a written lease. Before proposing an increase during or after a fixed term, identify whether the change is for the current term, a renewal term, or a later periodic tenancy and review the signed agreement for rent, renewal, amendment, and notice provisions.
For a proposed renewal increase, keep the current lease, expiration date, renewal offer, proposed rent, date of the prior increase, and proposed effective date together. The safest workflow is to separate three questions: whether another increase is allowed yet under the 12-month frequency rule, whether the lease permits the proposed timing, and what notice or renewal procedure applies to the actual tenancy.
Colorado prohibits local rent control, but that does not erase every local housing rule
Section 38-12-301 treats private residential rent control as a matter of statewide concern and generally bars counties and municipalities from enacting ordinances that control rent on private residential property. The statute contains exceptions for specified voluntary affordable-housing agreements, deed restrictions, and related public or voluntarily regulated housing arrangements.
Do not turn that preemption rule into a claim that local law never matters. Local licensing, habitability, building, occupancy, notice, affordable-housing, or program rules can still affect a rental even when a city or county cannot impose ordinary private-market rent control. Property location and program status remain part of the review.
Mobile-home park lot rent uses a separate 60-day rule
Colorado's Mobile Home Park Act has its own rent-increase requirements. Section 38-12-204 requires at least 60 days' written notice before increasing the rent for a mobile-home lot. The same statutory framework limits increases to one in a 12-month period of consecutive occupancy.
Current Colorado Department of Local Affairs guidance also explains that a park landlord must have a current Mobile Home Park Oversight Program registration, have applicable penalties paid, and be in compliance with final government orders before increasing rent. A mobile-home park resident or operator should therefore use the specialized park framework rather than substituting the ordinary unwritten-residential-tenancy rule.
Example: the percentage is only one part of the Colorado check
Suppose rent is proposed to increase from $1,800 to $1,950. The change is $150, or about 8.3%. That calculation tells you the size of the proposal, but it does not establish whether the effective date is lawful.
First identify the date the last increase took effect so the once-per-12-month rule can be checked. Then identify whether the tenancy has a written agreement, whether the proposed change is during a fixed term or at renewal, and whether the property is a mobile-home park or other specially regulated housing. Only after those facts are known should the notice path be selected.
What to verify before acting on a Colorado rent increase
For an ordinary rental, preserve the signed lease or other proof of the rental arrangement, the current rent, the date and amount of the last increase, the proposed new rent, the intended effective date, and the notice-delivery record. Confirm whether a written rental agreement exists and whether the increase is tied to a renewal, amendment, or periodic tenancy.
For mobile-home parks or subsidized, affordable, campus, employer-linked, or otherwise specialized housing, also verify the program and property-specific requirements. A statewide summary should not replace the official source or the actual agreement when those facts can change the legal pathway.
Use Max Rental Tools after identifying the Colorado pathway
Use the Colorado state guide and rent-increase calculator to measure the proposed change and organize the dates. If the tenancy has no written agreement, the current state statute supplies the 60-day starting point; if there is a written lease, keep the notice timing review-gated until the agreement and current law are checked.
When the increase is ready to move forward, use the Rent Increase Notice, Lease Renewal Notice, Month-to-Month Rental Agreement, or Rent Ledger workflow that matches the actual relationship. The Colorado General Assembly and Department of Local Affairs sources below remain the controlling public references for the rules summarized here.
Common questions
How often can a Colorado landlord raise residential rent in 2026?
Colorado Revised Statutes section 38-12-702 generally limits a landlord to one residential rent increase in any 12-month period of consecutive occupancy, regardless of whether the tenancy is written, fixed-term, month-to-month, or indefinite.
Does every Colorado rent increase require 60 days' notice?
No. Section 38-12-701's ordinary residential 60-day rule is written for a tenancy in which there is no written agreement between the landlord and tenant. A written lease requires a lease-specific and current-law review rather than automatically applying that rule.
Can a Colorado landlord raise rent during a fixed-term lease after 12 months?
The once-per-12-month statute is a frequency limit; it does not by itself authorize a mid-term change to a written lease. Review the actual lease, renewal or amendment terms, and the current Colorado law before treating the 12-month anniversary as permission to change rent.
Does Colorado have a general statewide percentage cap on ordinary private residential rent increases?
The current ordinary state framework reviewed here limits frequency rather than establishing one general statewide percentage ceiling. Colorado also generally preempts local government rent control on private residential property, subject to statutory affordable-housing and voluntary-agreement exceptions.
How much notice is required for a Colorado mobile-home park lot rent increase?
Colorado's Mobile Home Park Act uses a separate rule requiring at least 60 days' written notice before a mobile-home lot rent increase. Current DOLA guidance also identifies park-registration, penalty-payment, and final-order compliance conditions.
Can a Colorado landlord end an unwritten tenancy just to avoid the 60-day rent-increase rule?
Section 38-12-701 says a landlord may not terminate an unwritten residential tenancy when the primary purpose is to increase rent in a manner inconsistent with that section.
Official sources
Colorado General Assembly — 2026 Colorado Revised Statutes, Title 38Colorado Department of Local Affairs — Mobile Home Park Oversight Program Rent Increase UpdateContinue your check
Use the state directory for current jurisdiction-specific rules, calculate the proposed increase, then prepare the appropriate rental document only after the legal-rule checks are complete.