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This memorandum provides information on the regulation of short-term rentals (STRs) in Colorado. State law defines any rental of a lodging unit for less than 30 days as an STR, and allows for their regulation at the county level. STRs may also be regulated privately through contracts and homeowners’ association covenants. A lodging unit includes any property or portion of a property that is available for lodging, except for hotels. STRs are usually privately owned residential units that are booked through third-party vacation rental services, such as Airbnb and VRBO.

This memorandum provides information on service and assistance animals. Specifically, it explains the differences between each type of animal, how each type of animal can be verified, the rights granted to individuals accompanied by a service animal, and offenses related to the misrepresentation of service or assistance animals.

Between 2023 and 2025, the General Assembly passed laws designed to boost the type and supply of housing in Colorado communities. These laws emphasize higher‑density residential housing near transit areas and encourage more affordable housing options, such as accessory dwelling units and condominiums. This issue brief summarizes key housing laws passed by the legislature since 2023 that aim to increase the state’s housing supply.

The General Assembly considered several measures related to housing during the 2025 legislation session, including bills that affect landlords and tenants, state housing programs, and residential building regulations.

Homelessness affects thousands of individuals and families across Colorado. Among U.S. states, Colorado has the 8th highest number of residents experiencing homelessness. This memorandum describes the scope of homelessness in the state and provides an overview of the programs and resources available to Colorado’s unhoused population.

A homeowner association (HOA) must obtain insurance to cover common elements such as physical property and liability. Unit owners within an HOA also purchase insurance to cover the homeowners’ private property, parts of the unit not covered by the HOA’s policy, and liability. This issue brief outlines insurance coverage for HOAs and unit owners, circumstances contributing to the cost of insurance, and current laws that address insurance issues.

While lease agreements are the primary legal contract between landlords and tenants, there are also federal, state, and local laws regulating this relationship. This memorandum provides a detailed overview of Colorado laws regulating residential lease agreements, as well as applicable federal laws and examples of stricter local laws. It concludes with a list of resources for landlords and tenants. Nothing in this memorandum should be construed as legal advice.

The General Assembly considered several measures related to housing during the 2024 legislative session, including bills that affect landlords and tenants, housing codes, and homeowners’ associations.

The General Assembly considered several measures related to housing during the 2023 legislative session, including bills regarding landlords and tenants, housing transactions, local governments, and land use.

This memorandum provides information about FY 2022-23 appropriations for state-funded behavioral health programs.  Information for this memorandum was taken from:

• the FY 2022-23 Long Bill, House Bill 22-1329;
• other bills that include funding for behavioral health programs;
• Joint Budget Committee (JBC) staff FY 2022-23 figure-setting documents and the JBC Appropriations Report FY 2022-23; and
• department staff.

This issue brief provides an overview of the CCIOA provisions that regulate HOAs.

Since 2019, the state legislature has updated the Mobile Home Park Act several times.  This issue brief provides background on mobile homes and an overview of the Mobile Home Park Act, including recent changes to the law regarding purchasing mobile home parks, evictions, and leases.

During the 2022 legislative session, the General Assembly considered housing bills to address affordability, homeowner associations, and families without housing.

Colorado has a once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform its affordable housing system and make sure it works for Coloradans in every corner of the state. The $400 million in unallocated funding from the “American Rescue Plan Act of 2021” (ARPA) offers us a chance to make one-time transformational investments that improve access to affordable housing across the state for those experiencing homelessness and for our essential workers with low to middle incomes.

During the 2021 legislative session, the General Assembly focused on continued impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic, landlord-tenant relations, and affordable housing. 

This memorandum provides an overview of housing assistance programs and resources offered by federal, state, and local governments and nonprofit agencies throughout Colorado during the COVID-19 public health emergency.

Interactions between landlords and tenants,  funding related to the COVID-19 pandemic, and construction were major topics during the 2020 legislative session.

Some U.S. cities have adopted legislation to limit or restrict the use of natural gas systems in new construction, instead requiring building systems or appliances to be powered by electricity.  In response to these natural gas prohibitions, some states have enacted legislation prohibiting cities from restricting natural gas systems in new construction.  This issue brief provides background on the issue and how it applies to Colorado.

This issue brief provides background information on mobile homes and an overview of the Mobile Home Park Act, including recent changes to the law with regard to county ordinances, registrations, the dispute resolution and enforcement program, and evictions.

Interactions between landlords and their tenants was a major topic during the 2019 legislative session.  This was evident in bills that made changes to the eviction process, unfit rentals, rental applications, and mobile home parks.

This memorandum provides information on five types of programs that provide property tax and/or rental cost relief to seniors.

During the 2017 legislative session, the General Assembly considered measures related to affordable housing, landlord-tenant agreements, construction defects, and homelessness.

The Public Benefits and Services Resource Manual is intended to serve as a reference guide for information on some of the state’s programs that provide direct benefits or services to members of the public. The manual is divided into four sections to make it easier for the reader to access information. The first section provides information on how to apply for certain public benefits using the Colorado PEAK website and county offices of human or social services.

This document provides a summary of major legislation pertaining to property and housing considered by the General Assembly during the 2014 legislative session.