Colorado Landlords Must Cap Pet Deposits & Fees

By jlawson on June 8, 2023

UNSPECIFIED, – MAY 10: Pictured in this screengrab: Whitney Cumming’s dog Frank performs on Byron Allen’s Feeding America Comedy Festival, co-produced by Entertainment Studios and Funny or Die, broadcasted on NBC, The Weather Channel, Comedy.TV and Local Now on May 10, 2020 in UNSPECIFIED, UNSPECIFIED – Region AMER. (Photo by Getty Images/Getty Images for Allen Media Group)

Great news for renters in Colorado who are fed up with what can often be exorbitant pet deposits and fees when trying to rent a home or apartment with a pet.

Yesterday Colorado Governor Jared Polis signed a bill that will go into effect January 1st, 2024 that will cap pet security deposits to $300.  The bill will make those deposits refundable as well and limit any pet fee to $35 or 1.5% of rent, whichever is higher.

With some landlords requiring renters to pay deposits as high as $1,500, this will offer some relief to our pet loving neighbors!  However some opponents argue that capping the pet security deposits will push many landlords to not allowing any pets on their properties at all instead of risk potentially having damages that exceed the pet security deposit.