Rental Application Fees in Colorado: What You Can Charge and What You Must Refund

An application fee that’s a flat, round number — $50 for everyone, no explanation — is exactly the pattern Colorado’s Rental Application Fairness Act (C.R.S. § 38-12-903) was written to stop.

The core rule: the fee has to equal actual cost

A landlord can’t charge a rental application fee unless the entire amount goes toward the landlord’s actual cost of processing that application — screening reports, verification, that kind of thing. It isn’t a profit center or a standard line-item; it’s a cost pass-through, and it has to be treated as one.

Disclosure has to be specific

The landlord has to disclose either the anticipated fees involved in processing the application, or an itemization of the actual expenses incurred. A generic “$50 application fee” with no breakdown doesn’t meet this — a prospective tenant is entitled to know what that fee is actually paying for.

Unused amounts have to come back — within 20 days

If the fee charged exceeds the actual cost, the landlord has to make a good-faith effort to refund the difference within 20 days of the later of the decision or the application date. This isn’t optional or something a tenant has to request — it’s a standing obligation tied to the fee itself.

Portable screening reports change the math entirely

If a prospective tenant provides a portable tenant screening report (a report they obtained themselves, meeting the statutory requirements), the landlord generally can’t charge an application or screening fee at all for that applicant — no fee to itemize, no refund calculation, because there’s no cost to pass through. See Uniform Tenant Screening in Colorado for what that report actually has to contain.

The penalty is real: triple damages

A landlord who violates these requirements — charging more than actual cost, failing to itemize, missing the refund window — is liable to the applicant for three times the application fee charged, plus court costs. On a $50-75 fee that’s a modest number per applicant, but it’s real exposure across a portfolio and a screening process worth getting right.

What to check in your own application process

• Does your application fee amount actually track your real processing cost, or is it a round number you’ve always charged?
• Do applicants receive a disclosure of anticipated fees or actual-cost itemization — in writing, not just verbally?
• Do you have a process for calculating and issuing refunds of unused amounts within 20 days?
• Does your process actually waive the fee when a valid portable screening report is provided?

The bottom line

This is a fee-transparency rule as much as an amount-cap — the disclosure and refund process matter as much as the dollar figure itself. A Fee Compliance Check focuses on lease and move-in fees generally; application-fee process is worth a specific look at your intake paperwork alongside it.

LeaseCheck for Landlords is an educational lease-compliance screening tool. It is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice. Colorado rental laws change; confirm specifics for your situation with a licensed attorney.