Can Landlords Ban Pets in Colorado? Breed Rules, Fees, and Your Rights

If you’re apartment hunting in Colorado with a dog, cat, or something more exotic in tow, you’ve probably already run into a wall of “no pets allowed” signs. Roughly half of Colorado households share their home with an animal, yet nearly half of the state’s renters still face restrictive pet policies when searching for housing. The good news is that Colorado law does put some guardrails around what landlords can charge and how they must treat certain animals, even though a full ban on pets is still perfectly legal in most cases.

This breakdown walks through exactly where landlords have the upper hand, where state law steps in to protect tenants, and what you can actually do if a property owner tells you your pet isn’t welcome.

Can a Landlord Legally Ban Pets in Colorado

In most cases, yes. There is no law forcing a landlord to rent to tenants with pets, and property owners in Colorado can sidestep pet-related wear and tear simply by refusing pets on the property altogether. Colorado is generally considered a landlord-friendly state, and that extends directly to pet policy.

Even after the 2023 passage of House Bill 23-1068 (the Pet Animal Ownership in Housing Act), landlords remain free to prohibit pets outright or impose breed restrictions. The law reshaped how much landlords can charge for pets they do allow, but it never created a right for tenants to keep pets against a landlord’s wishes. If a lease says “no pets,” that clause is enforceable, and violating it can put your tenancy at risk.

That said, a blanket “no pets” policy isn’t absolute. Landlords still have to comply with fair housing law, local ordinances, and the specific terms they put in writing. If you’re weighing whether a strict no-pet building might still work with something small and quiet, options like low-maintenance pets sometimes fall outside a landlord’s radar entirely, since many leases define “pet” narrowly around cats and dogs.

Pro Tip: Always get pet policies in writing, even if a landlord verbally says pets are fine. Verbal approval means nothing if a dispute lands in court.

Exceptions: Service Animals and Emotional Support Animals in Colorado

Pet bans hit a hard limit when disability accommodations come into play. Under fair housing laws, landlords must provide reasonable accommodations for tenants with disabilities who rely on service animals or emotional support animals, which usually means waiving standard pet restrictions or fees for that specific animal. A verified emotional support animal is not treated as a “pet” under the lease at all — it’s a disability accommodation. That distinction matters financially too. Housing providers may not charge extra fees or require a pet deposit for an emotional support animal under the Fair Housing Act, and landlords generally cannot deny a request based on breed or weight alone, though they can deny a specific animal that poses a genuine safety or property risk.

Colorado lawmakers reinforced these protections in 2026. House Bill 26-1045 added formal definitions of “assistance animal,” covering both service and emotional support animals, into the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act, restoring guidance that had been rolled back at the federal level.

Important Note: As of 2026, federal HUD enforcement narrowed to focus on assistance animals individually trained to perform tasks, rather than automatically requiring accommodation for untrained emotional support animals. Colorado’s HB26-1045 was written specifically to preserve broader ESA protections at the state level, so Colorado renters may have stronger rights than the current federal floor. Local fair-housing experts note that breed-specific bans do not override fair housing protections when a legitimately verified ESA is involved.

Landlords can still ask for reliable documentation supporting the need for the animal, and a service animal remains different from an ESA under most legal definitions — a service animal is individually trained to perform specific tasks, while an ESA provides comfort through its presence. Either way, neither counts against a no-pets policy the way a family cat or dog would.

Breed and Size Restrictions in Colorado

Outside of assistance animals, Colorado gives landlords wide latitude on breed and size. No law in Colorado stops landlords from banning or restricting certain dog breeds or sizes, so a property owner can legally refuse pit bulls, Rottweilers, Dobermans, or any dog over a certain weight limit. These restrictions are often driven by insurance requirements and perceived liability rather than the landlord’s personal preference. It’s worth being clear about what HB23-1068 actually changed here, because it’s a common point of confusion. The law prohibits breed-specific bans when insurance companies decide whether to write a homeowners policy, meaning an insurer can no longer deny, cancel, or raise premiums on a landlord’s policy purely because a tenant’s dog is a restricted breed. It does not stop the landlord’s own lease from banning that breed. Insurers can still adjust coverage if a specific dog has a documented history of aggression.

Local history backs this up. Denver, once known for one of the strictest breed-specific bans in the country, repealed its pit bull ban in 2020, but individual landlords across the city and state are still free to keep their own breed restrictions in their leases.

If breed or size restrictions keep shutting doors, it may be worth considering pets that never trigger those clauses in the first place. Small mammals like certain rabbit breeds, reptiles such as pet chameleons, or low-footprint options like pet crabs and pet snails typically fall outside weight-based and breed-based lease clauses entirely, since those restrictions almost always target dogs specifically. Even pet insects can be a workable option in buildings that technically allow “small caged animals” but not dogs or cats.

Restriction Type	Can Landlord Enforce It?	Applies to Assistance Animals?
Breed ban (e.g., pit bulls)	Yes, on the lease itself	No — cannot deny a verified ESA/service animal based on breed
Weight or size limit	Yes	No
Number-of-pets cap	Yes	Generally does not apply to assistance animals
Breed-based insurance denial	No — banned under HB23-1068	N/A

Pet Deposits, Pet Rent, and Fee Limits in Colorado

Even where landlords do allow pets, Colorado law now limits what they can charge. Effective January 1, 2024, HB23-1068 places new restrictions on landlords when renting to tenants with pets, capping monthly pet rent and pet deposits statewide for the first time. Specifically, pet deposits are capped at $300 and must be refundable — the old practice of charging a “non-refundable pet fee” is no longer legal in Colorado. Pet rent, if a landlord chooses to charge it, is capped at $35 per month or 1.5% of the monthly rent, whichever is greater, which lets higher-rent properties charge slightly more than a studio apartment would pay.

One detail that trips up both landlords and renters: these caps generally apply per household, not per pet. That means a tenant with two dogs typically can’t be charged $300 for each animal — the $300 deposit cap and $35 monthly cap apply to the household’s pets as a whole under most current guidance, though it’s worth confirming this directly against your specific lease terms since interpretations can vary by property manager.

The law also changed how pets are treated in a few other situations. Pets are now excluded from being categorized as a tenant’s personal property, so a landlord cannot place a pet on a lien or use it as collateral to recover unpaid rent. Standard security deposits are a separate matter — Colorado law caps the maximum security deposit at one month’s rent, and landlords must provide an itemized list of any deductions if they keep part of the deposit after move-out.

Pro Tip: Keep photos of your rental unit’s condition at move-in and move-out. If a landlord tries to deduct pet-related damage beyond the $300 cap, documentation is your strongest evidence in a dispute.

What Happens If You Keep a Pet Without Permission in Colorado

Keeping an unauthorized pet in a no-pet unit is a lease violation, and Colorado landlords have real enforcement tools. Most leases treat an undisclosed pet the same as any other material breach, which can lead to a formal notice to cure, a fine, or in repeated cases, eviction proceedings.

Colorado law has also added specific protections for what happens to pets during an eviction itself, which matters if things do escalate. Under recent changes, a deputy sheriff must now check for pets on the premises during eviction and ensure either the tenant or animal control takes custody of the animal — landlords cannot simply leave a pet unattended or abandoned on the property. If the tenant isn’t present, the landlord is required to post notice at the property with contact information for where the pet can be found.

Common Mistake: Assuming a landlord “won’t notice” a small pet, or that a short-term stay doesn’t count. Property managers routinely catch undisclosed pets through maintenance visits, neighbor complaints, or renewal inspections, and the resulting violation can affect your rental history for future applications.

If you already have a pet and your lease prohibits it, the safest move is disclosure and negotiation before a violation is discovered, not after. Many landlords would rather add a pet addendum and collect the legal pet rent and deposit than deal with an eviction filing.

Local City and County Pet Ordinances in Colorado

State law sets the floor, but cities and counties layer on their own rules that landlords and tenants both need to track. Colorado Springs, for example, has specific rules about pet noise and barking complaints, which can affect a tenancy separately from anything in the lease itself. Denver’s regulatory history is worth knowing too. The city’s long-standing pit bull ban made national headlines for years before it was repealed in 2020, and while the citywide ban is gone, some individual buildings and HOAs still write their own breed restrictions into governing documents. For broader statewide context on pet rules and regional coverage, the Colorado pet and wildlife archive is a useful starting point.

State-level wildlife law also limits what any Colorado renter can legally keep regardless of what a lease permits. Colorado prohibits keeping certain wild animals as pets outright, including bears, mountain lions, and venomous reptiles, so it’s worth checking which exotic pets are actually legal in Colorado before assuming a landlord’s silence on the subject means anything goes. Some species that seem harmless are still classified among the animals that make poor or restricted pets under state wildlife rules, independent of whatever your landlord decides.

Your Options If a Landlord Won’t Allow Pets in Colorado

If you’ve hit a firm “no pets” policy and you don’t qualify for a disability accommodation, you still have a handful of practical paths forward.

1. Negotiate a pet addendum. Some landlords who advertise “no pets” are open to exceptions for a well-behaved, house-trained animal if you offer references, proof of vaccination, or a slightly higher deposit within the legal $300 cap.
2. Ask about size or species-specific carve-outs. A landlord who bans dogs may still allow caged animals, fish, or other low-maintenance pets for kids that don’t damage flooring or generate noise complaints.
3. Look for pet-friendly listings specifically. Filtering rental searches for “pets allowed” upfront saves time compared to negotiating after you’ve already found a unit you like.
4. Consider a roommate or family member’s lease. If your name isn’t the only one on the lease, coordinate before signing to avoid disputes over responsibility for pet damage.
5. Plan ahead if you’re relocating with an existing pet. If a move means air travel, review guidance on keeping pets safe when flying them to a new home well before your lease start date.

None of these options override a landlord’s legal right to refuse pets, but they reflect how most pet-related disputes actually get resolved in Colorado’s rental market — through documentation, negotiation, and finding the right property rather than legal action. Save formal complaints or fair housing claims for situations involving a legitimate disability accommodation that a landlord has wrongly denied.

Pro Tip: If you believe a landlord denied a legitimate service animal or ESA accommodation, document the request and denial in writing and contact the Colorado Civil Rights Division before taking further action.

Colorado’s pet-related rental rules strike a deliberate balance: landlords keep the right to say no to pets altogether, but once they say yes, the terms are far more standardized than they were before 2024. Whether you’re a tenant budgeting for a $35 monthly pet rent cap or a landlord updating a lease template, knowing exactly where state law ends and property-specific policy begins makes the whole process a lot less contentious.