What Colorado landlords can charge: deposits, pet fees, service markups and new consumer-protection limits

Landlords and property managers attending the webinar heard a compact list of fee limits and deposit rules they must follow under Colorado law, along with practical drafting tips.

Elise Aken told attendees that late fees on rent "can't exceed $50 or 5% of the past due rent whichever is greater," and that a landlord must wait until a payment is seven days past due before charging a late fee. She also noted that landlords may increase rent only once in a 12‑month period.

On pet charges, Aken said statutory limits cap refundable pet security deposits at $300 and allow pet rent of up to $35 monthly or 1.5% of the tenant's monthly rent, whichever is greater. She added landlords cannot assert a lien against a tenant’s pet and that courts have pushed back against attempts to hide fees by characterizing them as 'rent.'

Aken described restrictions on service-markup fees for third-party maintenance: landlords may not mark up a third‑party service by more than 2% of the service cost or charge a flat fee greater than $10/month except as the statute permits. She also said changes under the Colorado consumer-protection statute coming in January will broaden fee prohibitions.

Practical takeaways included rolling reasonable, predictable costs into the advertised rent rather than inserting multiple small fees that statutes may later void, keeping detailed payment ledgers, and providing a cost‑free method for tenants to pay rent (so landlords cannot shift portal processing fees onto tenants when no free method is available).

The presenters said they will provide slides and a recording to attendees for reference and encouraged landlords to update lease templates to reflect the fee limits discussed.