Colorado’s new pricing transparency law and what it means for renters

If you’ve ever clicked on a rental listing that looked affordable, only to discover extra required fees later, you’re not alone. For years, renters have dealt with pricing that felt incomplete or misleading. A rent number up top. A long list of add-ons buried later.

Colorado’s new pricing transparency law aims to change that.

House Bill 25-1090 strengthens rules around how prices are offered, displayed, and advertised, including rent and required fees. The goal is simple. When you see a price, you should be able to understand what you may actually be required to pay.

Here’s what the law says, how it applies to rentals, and what it means for renters in Colorado.

What is Colorado’s pricing transparency law?

Colorado House Bill 25-1090 adds new pricing disclosure requirements to the Colorado Consumer Protection Act. In plain terms, it limits deceptive pricing practices and requires clearer, more upfront price information.

For renters, the law focuses on how landlords and property managers communicate rent and mandatory fees. When an amount a renter may pay is offered, displayed, or advertised, the law requires disclosure of the total price, rather than just part of the cost.

The legislature made its intent clear. Pricing rules are meant to protect people from unfair or confusing practices and should be interpreted broadly to do so.

What does “total price” mean for renters?

Under the law, the total price means the maximum total of all amounts a person must pay for a good, service, or property, including any additional mandatory fees that are not reasonably avoidable.

For rentals, that means when a landlord advertises an amount a renter may pay, required costs that are not optional generally must be reflected in the disclosed total price. The law is designed to prevent situations where a low base rent is shown first and required charges are added later.

There are limits. Government charges, such as taxes, are not required to be included.

Utility costs charged directly by a utility provider for service to a dwelling unit also do not have to be included in the disclosed total price.

In short, required costs should not come as a surprise.

What landlords must disclose upfront

The law requires pricing information to be clear and conspicuous. That term is defined in detail.

Disclosures must be easy to notice and easy to understand. Online disclosures must be unavoidable. Spoken disclosures must be delivered clearly and at a pace ordinary people can understand.

Most importantly, when an amount a renter may pay is offered, displayed, or advertised, the total price must be disclosed as a single number. That total price must be more prominent than any other pricing information.

These disclosures must be made before a renter agrees to pay.

Fees landlords cannot require

The law also places limits on certain fees landlords and their agents may require from tenants.

A landlord or their agent may not require a tenant to pay a fee, charge, or amount that:

• Exceeds the actual cost charged by a utility provider for service to the tenant’s dwelling unit, except in limited circumstances

• Increases by more than two percent during the term of a rental agreement of one year or less, with limited exceptions

• Is related to the payment of property taxes

• Is charged for processing rent or other payments if a cost-free payment option is not reasonably accessible

• Is related to services the landlord is already required to provide, including basic habitability

• Is for the maintenance of common areas

• Is for a good, service, or property not actually provided

• Otherwise violates the pricing requirements of this law

If a required fee violates these rules, the landlord may not require it.

How this affects rental listings you see online

If a rental listing offers or displays an amount a renter may pay, the law is intended to ensure that the disclosed price reflects required, non-optional costs, not just a base number.

This does not mean every possible cost must be bundled into one number. It means required costs must be disclosed clearly and before a renter agrees to pay.

If a fee is not part of the total price, the landlord must clearly disclose what the fee is for, who receives it, and whether it is refundable before the renter consents to pay it.

Transparency is the point.

How this law fits with other Colorado renter protections

This pricing law works alongside other renter protections, including Colorado’s portable tenant screening report rules.

For example, in many cases, property managers must accept a valid portable tenant screening report that a renter provides. Acceptance of a report, however, is not the same as approval of an application.

These laws address different parts of the rental process, but they share a common direction. Fewer surprise costs. Clearer expectations. More fairness.

What to do if pricing feels misleading

If a listing or fee structure feels unclear, it’s reasonable to ask questions. Ask for the total price in writing. Ask which fees are required. Ask who receives them.

If something still feels off, documenting what was shown and when can help. Colorado’s consumer protection laws include enforcement mechanisms, but clarity often starts with renters knowing what the rules require.

You’re not being difficult. You’re asking for information the law says should be disclosed.

In short

Colorado’s pricing transparency law is about clarity and trust.

When renters see a price, it should be meaningful and understandable. You shouldn’t have to decode a listing or brace for required fees later in the process.

The law won’t fix every problem in renting. But it does push pricing toward clearer, more consistent disclosure.

The number you see should be a number you can plan around.