Can You Have Pets in Colorado Apartments? What Renters Need to Know

If you assume Colorado’s reputation as a pet-loving state means landlords have to let you keep a dog or cat, you’re in for a surprise. Whether you can have pets in apartments in Colorado depends almost entirely on what your individual landlord decides to allow, not on any statewide mandate. Roughly half of Colorado households share their home with a pet, yet state law still gives property owners wide latitude to say no.

What Colorado has done, mostly through a 2024 law, is regulate how much landlords can charge you if they do allow pets, and how they must treat service animals and emotional support animals. This guide walks through what you can expect as a renter, where the legal limits are, and what to do if a landlord turns down your application because of your pet.

Important Note: This article explains general Colorado landlord-tenant rules for informational purposes and isn’t legal advice. Lease disputes and fair housing complaints can turn on specific facts, so contact a local tenant attorney or the Colorado Division of Housing for guidance on your situation.

Can a Landlord Ban Pets in Colorado

Colorado gives landlords broad control over pet policy. Hemlane notes that Colorado operates under a strong legal framework that balances landlords’ control and tenant rights, and for landlords, Colorado is a landlord-friendly state that provides clear pet rent guidelines to protect their properties. There’s no statewide statute forcing a property owner to accept pets, and a “no pets” clause in a lease is generally enforceable.

That discretion extends beyond a simple yes-or-no. A landlord who does allow pets can still limit the number of animals, restrict certain species, or set behavioral expectations in the lease. The one major exception applies to assistance animals. As one Colorado property management resource puts it bluntly, service animals and emotional support animals are not legally considered pets, and assistance animals are not pets under the Fair Housing Act or Colorado law. That distinction matters because it means a documented service animal or ESA can live with you even in a building with a strict no-pets policy: it doesn’t matter if the lease says “no animals allowed,” and it doesn’t matter if the property has been pet-free for twenty years.

Outside of that exception, if you’re apartment hunting with a dog, cat, or other companion animal, expect to see the pet policy spelled out clearly in the listing or lease addendum. Some buildings and single-family rentals allow pets outright, some ban them entirely, and many fall somewhere in between with size, breed, or quantity limits.

Pet Deposits and Pet Fees: What Colorado Allows

Where Colorado law gets specific is money. Effective January 1, 2024, Colorado law HB23-1068, the Pet Animal Ownership in Housing Act, limits tenant pet-related charges, including pet rent and security deposits. Before that law passed, landlords could charge whatever they wanted for pets, and some tenants faced deposits well over $1,000 or monthly fees stacked per animal.

Under the current caps, landlords cannot charge more than $35 per month or 1.5% of the tenant’s monthly rent, whichever is greater, as pet rent. On the deposit side, property managers at Bergan & Company explain that a pet deposit is limited to $300 per household, not per pet, and pet rent is limited to $35 per month per household, with both charges required to be clearly stated in the lease. In other words, if you have two cats, your landlord still can’t charge $300 for each one — the $300 cap covers the whole household.

Nonrefundable “pet fees” separate from the deposit are no longer allowed either. Nonrefundable pet fees in addition to the capped deposit and pet rent are not permitted under the current law. If a landlord collects money upfront for a pet, Colorado treats it as a refundable deposit, full stop.

Charge Type	Colorado Legal Limit	Refundable?
Pet Rent	$35/month or 1.5% of rent (whichever is greater), per household	N/A (ongoing charge)
Pet Deposit	$300 per household	Yes, minus documented damage
Nonrefundable Pet Fee	Not permitted	N/A
ESA/Service Animal Charges	$0	N/A

If your landlord does deduct from the deposit for damage, they have to follow the same rules that apply to a regular security deposit. According to Hemlane’s guidance for landlords, property owners should take photos, get repair estimates, provide itemized receipts, and follow the timeline in Colorado Revised Statutes § 38-12-103, with 30 days to return a full deposit and 60 days if deductions are involved. Keep your own move-in photos and receipts in case you need to dispute a deduction later.

One notable carve-out: the security deposit limit does not apply to properties that are subsidized or funded by the federal government, such as Section 8 housing, so always check your specific lease terms if you’re in subsidized housing. If you believe you’ve been overcharged, the Colorado Division of Housing accepts complaints through its official housing complaint form.

Breed and Weight Restrictions in Colorado

This is where a lot of online guidance gets confused. Colorado did pass a law restricting breed discrimination, but it applies to insurance, not to what a landlord can put in a lease. Under HB23-1068, insurance companies are now barred from denying, altering, canceling, or adjusting premiums on homeowners policies solely because of a dog’s breed. That protects a landlord’s ability to insure a property with a “restricted” breed on it, but it doesn’t require the landlord to rent to that breed. For actual leasing decisions, Denver’s FOX31 news confirmed the opposite is true: no law in Colorado stops landlords from banning or restricting certain dog breeds or sizes, so landlords can place breed and size restrictions on their properties, ranging from a ban on any pet over 65 pounds to a ban on specific breeds such as Rottweilers or pit bulls.

In practice, common breeds you’ll see flagged on rental listings include pit bull types, Rottweilers, Dobermans, German Shepherds, Akitas, and Chow Chows. Some leases go a step further and restrict any dog that resembles a listed breed, which can put mixed-breed owners in a tough spot. A vet letter, training certificate, past landlord reference, or pet liability insurance can help make your case if your dog falls into a gray area.

Pro Tip: Don’t assume a repealed city ordinance changes your landlord’s lease terms. Denver repealed its own pit bull ban back in 2020, but that municipal change has no bearing on what an individual property owner writes into a private lease.

There’s one meaningful shift coming for a specific slice of the market. Under House Bill 25-1207, signed in 2025, starting January 1, 2026, any new affordable housing development receiving public financing in Colorado must allow tenants to own or keep up to two dogs or cats, regardless of breed or size. That rule is limited to new publicly financed affordable housing, though — it doesn’t apply to typical market-rate apartments or single-family rentals.

Local ordinances add another layer on top of state law. Denver requires pet licensing and enforces leash laws in public areas, Boulder limits the number of pets allowed in rental units and enforces waste disposal rules, and Aurora requires vaccination and licensing while limiting exotic animals. Colorado law also flatly prohibits certain animals from being kept as pets at all, including bears, mountain lions, and venomous reptiles, so it’s worth checking state exotic pet rules before you bring home anything unusual. If you’re weighing whether a particular animal is even a reasonable choice for apartment life, it’s also worth reviewing which species tend to cause the most trouble as household pets before you sign a lease around one.

Service Animals and Emotional Support Animals: Your Rights in Colorado

Service animals and emotional support animals occupy a completely different legal category than pets. A service animal is trained to perform specific tasks for a person with a disability, while an emotional support animal provides comfort to someone with an emotional or mental health condition, doesn’t require specialized training, and is typically prescribed by a licensed mental health professional to help with anxiety, depression, PTSD, or similar conditions.

Both categories are protected under the federal Fair Housing Act and Colorado fair housing law, which means landlords generally can’t:

• Charge extra rent, deposits, or fees for a qualifying ESA or service animal
• Enforce breed or weight restrictions against them
• Deny an otherwise qualified applicant solely because of the animal
• Enforce a “no pets” policy against a documented assistance animal

Bergan & Company’s lease-compliance guidance for owners is direct on the money question: a landlord cannot collect a pet deposit, pet rent, or a pet fee for an ESA, and cannot deny an otherwise-qualified applicant solely because of the ESA. The breed exemption is just as firm — a Colorado fair-housing compliance firm notes that one of the biggest misconceptions is that landlords can deny an ESA based on breed restrictions like pit bulls, Rottweilers, or Dobermans, but neither federal nor Colorado fair-housing law allows breed-based ESA denials. None of this means a landlord has zero say. Landlords may still require reasonable documentation of the animal’s status and hold the tenant responsible for any damage the animal causes, so keep your ESA letter or service-animal documentation current and be prepared to cover any property damage the same way any tenant would.

Important Note: Federal enforcement guidance shifted recently. On May 22, 2026, HUD’s Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity issued new enforcement guidance and rescinded its 2020 assistance-animal notice, saying it will now pursue accommodation complaints mainly for animals individually trained to perform disability-related tasks. However, state and local laws did not change alongside it, and many still protect ESAs in housing, so Colorado tenants retain state-level protections even as federal enforcement priorities narrow. Confirm current guidance with a fair housing resource before relying on any exemption.

Can a Landlord Change the Pet Policy Mid-Lease in Colorado

A signed lease is a binding contract for its stated term, and that cuts both ways. Generally speaking, a landlord can’t unilaterally rewrite material terms — including pet policy, pet rent, or breed restrictions — in the middle of a fixed-term lease without your agreement. If your lease was silent on pets when you signed it, or explicitly allowed your pet, a landlord typically can’t retroactively ban that animal or start charging new fees until the lease renews.

Month-to-month tenancies work differently. Because those agreements renew each rental period, a landlord can usually introduce new pet terms with proper written notice before the next term begins, rather than needing your immediate consent. Colorado’s caps still apply either way: if a landlord tries to introduce a new charge that exceeds the state limits, that portion of the charge is legally unenforceable regardless of when it’s added. As Bergan & Company puts it regarding excess charges, if you’ve been charging above the state cap, the excess is unenforceable and you may be exposed on a deposit refund — a principle that protects tenants from new mid-tenancy fees that exceed the law, not just charges set at move-in.

There’s also a narrower protection worth knowing about if you’re temporarily caring for someone else’s pet. Tenants in Colorado are generally protected from eviction for temporarily caring for a pet, such as dog sitting, unless a lease clause explicitly prohibits it. If your written lease is genuinely silent on pet-sitting, a landlord typically can’t use that as sole grounds for eviction.

Common Mistake: Assuming a verbal notice from a landlord about a new pet policy is enforceable. Any change to your lease terms, including pet rules, should be in writing and, for a fixed-term lease, agreed to by both parties before it takes effect.

What to Do If Your Landlord Won’t Allow Your Pet in Colorado

If a landlord’s listing says no pets, or you’re up against a breed restriction, you still have a few practical paths forward before writing off the property entirely. Pettable’s rental guidance suggests several tactics that actually move the needle with property owners:

1. Negotiate directly — discuss your pet’s behavior and offer to pay a pet deposit or agree to specific terms rather than assuming the policy is fixed.
2. Provide references — offer references from previous landlords or neighbors to show your pet’s good behavior.
3. Build a pet resume — create a document outlining your pet’s training and vaccination records.
4. Carry pet insurance — obtaining pet insurance to cover potential damages can ease a landlord’s liability concerns.
5. Request a pet interview — propose a meeting between your landlord and your pet so they can judge temperament firsthand.

If your landlord is charging above the legal caps or denying a properly documented ESA or service animal, that’s a different situation entirely — that’s a legal violation, not a negotiation. Colorado renters in that position can file a complaint with the Colorado Division of Housing using its official housing complaint form, or pursue a fair housing complaint if the issue involves a disability-related accommodation.

If pet restrictions keep blocking you from housing you otherwise want, it’s also worth reconsidering what “pet” means for your household. Small, quiet, low-mess species often fall outside standard breed and weight rules altogether because most leases are written with dogs and cats in mind. Renters have had success with apartment-friendly options like pet insects, chameleons, pet crabs, snails, and even pet scorpions, all of which sidestep dog-specific breed and weight clauses. Rabbits are another middle-ground option; certain rabbit breeds stay small and quiet enough that many no-dog buildings allow them without issue. If you want a broader list of options before signing anywhere, a rundown of low-maintenance pets is a good starting point.

Just remember that whatever pet you do bring home, Colorado’s climate has its own hazards. Summers get hot enough that even a quick errand can turn dangerous, so review the state’s rules around leaving pets in hot cars before you assume a parked car with the windows cracked is safe for your animal.

Ultimately, whether you can have pets in your Colorado apartment comes down to your specific lease and landlord, not a blanket state guarantee. Know the dollar caps on pet rent and deposits, understand that breed restrictions are legal outside of insurance and ESA contexts, and keep your assistance-animal documentation ready if that applies to you. With those pieces in place, you’re in a much stronger position to either secure the housing you want or push back when a landlord oversteps the law.