Deposit Record Statute-cited public record

Colorado Security Deposit Limits: How Much Can a Landlord Charge?

A Colorado landlord cannot require a security deposit larger than 2 months’ rent. That has been the rule since August 7, 2023, and the 2026 rewrite of the deposit statute did not change it, despite a lot of guidance that says otherwise. This page covers the base cap, the myth about a 2026 cut, the pet deposit and pet rent limits, and the different cap for a mobile home in a park. Statutes verified August 22, 2026.

The base cap: 2 months’ rent

On and after August 7, 2023 except as described in subsection (2) of this section, a landlord shall not require a tenant to submit a security deposit in an amount that exceeds the amount of two monthly rent payments under the rental agreement. C.R.S. § 38-12-102.5(1)

The one-month myth. HB25-1249, the law that rewrote Colorado’s deposit rules effective January 1, 2026, was introduced with a one-month cap. That provision was stripped before the bill passed, so the cap never changed: it is still 2 months. If you have read that a 2025 or 2026 law cut Colorado deposits to one month’s rent, that is the introduced bill, not the law.

Pet deposits and pet rent

A pet deposit is allowed on top of the 2-month base cap, but it is capped and must be refundable, and pet rent is capped separately:

  • Pet deposit: no more than $300, and it must be refundable (§ 38-12-106(1)).
  • Pet rent: no more than the greater of $35 per month or 1.5% of the monthly rent (§ 38-12-106(2)).
  • Service and assistance animals are not pets, so no pet deposit or pet rent may be charged for them.
A landlord shall not demand or receive an additional security deposit of more than three hundred dollars from a prospective or current tenant as a condition of permitting the tenant’s pet animal to reside at the residential premises with the tenant, and the security deposit must be refundable to the tenant. C.R.S. § 38-12-106

Mobile home in a park: one month

The cap is different if the tenant owns a mobile home and rents a lot in a mobile home park. There the owner may charge no more than one month’s lot rent, and the deposit stays the home owner’s property and must be held in a separate trust account with no commingling (C.R.S. § 38-12-207). A mobile home on private land, not in a park, follows the ordinary 2-month rule.

The owner of a mobile home park or the owner’s agents may charge a security deposit in an amount not greater than one month’s rent. C.R.S. § 38-12-207; § 38-12-103(12)

The two regimes combine rather than replace each other. The lot deposit is capped at one month and must sit in a separate trust account as the home owner’s property, but the ordinary § 38-12-103 return machinery still runs on top of it: the same 30-day deadline, the same written statement, the same treble exposure. What does not carry over is the walk-through and the carpet and paint limits.

What a lease cannot do, however it is worded

Caps are not the only limit on what you may collect, and the one landlords fall foul of most is not a number at all. A lease term that shifts the cost of ordinary wear or routine turnover work onto the tenant is void in Colorado, whether it is called a cleaning fee, a carpet fee, or a non-refundable charge, and whether or not the tenant signed it willingly.

A provision, whether oral or written, in or pertaining to a rental agreement, which provision assigns a fee or charge to a tenant for repairs, cleaning, or other necessary work due to normal wear and tear or for any damage or defective condition that preexists the tenancy, is deemed to be against public policy and void. C.R.S. § 38-12-103(7)(a)-(b)

Note the second half: a term that waives or modifies a protection written for the tenant is also void. You cannot contract out of the written statement or the deduction limits. The one thing a lease may do to the deadline is lengthen it, and only to sixty days (§ 38-12-103(1)(a)). A term that shortens the deadline, or waives anything else, buys you nothing and can support a finding that the retention was wrongful.

Return a Colorado deposit correctly

The cap is only the start. When the tenancy ends, the free Colorado deposit tool computes your 30-day deadline, applies the four lawful deduction categories and the carpet and paint limits, adds Boulder deposit interest where it applies, and generates a statute-cited return letter.

Colorado security deposit limits: common questions

How much can a landlord charge for a security deposit in Colorado?

A Colorado landlord may not require a security deposit larger than 2 months’ rent. That amount took effect August 7, 2023 and has not changed since, including under the 2026 rewrite. One narrow exception starts January 1, 2027, for a landlord who bought the home from the tenant and rented it back to them. (C.R.S. § 38-12-102.5)

Did Colorado cut the security deposit limit to one month in 2026?

No. HB25-1249 rewrote many of Colorado’s deposit rules effective January 1, 2026, but it did not change the cap. A one-month limit was in the introduced bill and was removed before it passed, so the cap is still two months’ rent. Many sites and even some legal summaries still repeat the one-month figure; it is wrong. (C.R.S. § 38-12-102.5)

How much can a landlord charge for a pet deposit in Colorado?

No more than $300, and it must be refundable. That pet deposit is allowed on top of the 2-month base cap. (C.R.S. § 38-12-106(1))

Can a landlord charge pet rent in Colorado?

Yes, but pet rent is capped at the greater of $35 per month or 1.5% of the monthly rent. Service animals and assistance animals are not pets, so no pet deposit or pet rent may be charged for them. (C.R.S. § 38-12-106(2))

Is the deposit limit different for a mobile home in a park?

Yes. For a mobile home in a mobile home park, the owner may charge no more than one month’s lot rent, not two, and the deposit must be held in a separate trust account as the home owner’s property. (C.R.S. § 38-12-207)

What if I already collected more than the Colorado limit?

The cap governs what you may require at the start of the tenancy, not the return math at the end, which runs on what you actually hold. If you collected more than the cap allows, the prudent course is to return the excess; over-collecting is a violation of the statute even though it does not change what you owe back at move-out.

Sources

About this page

Every cap and quoted passage above is read from the same statute-cited rules the Colorado tool runs on, so this page cannot state a different cap from the calculator. How we verify the law explains the process and what a “last verified” date does and does not promise. This is general information that cites the statute, not legal advice, and Orygn LLC is not a law firm. For advice about your situation, talk to a licensed Colorado attorney.