Colorado Rental Application Form
As one of the healthiest states in the country, Colorado promises to be a good place to live. If you have your eyes on any property in the state, you would need a Colorado Rental Application Form.
The standard form is a document that a potential tenant submits to the landlord. The landlord uses the form to conduct a background check on the applicant. They look into the applicant’s employment history and then do a credit check. This is usually used to determine if the applicant can pay the rent.
The landlord would also like to check an applicant’s history with residential properties. Have they been evicted? Do they pay rent on time? Another common concern among landlords is an applicant’s criminal history.
When the landlord approves the renal application form, they should consider the Federal Fair Housing Act. According to this law, landlords are prohibited from discriminating against applicants based on:
- the color of their skin or race
- religion
- gender
- national origin
- familial status
- disability
If you are eyeing a home in Colorado, you can find a printable template of the form online.
Rental Application Fee
The Rental Application Fairness Act states that the landlord should not charge an applicant a rental application fee unless the entire amount will be used to cover the cost of processing the rental application. The amount will be based on the actual expense of the processing. If the landlord fails to spend the entire amount of the fee, they should return the balance to the applicant. The landlord is also required to provide a receipt.
All applicants for the same property should be charged the same rental application fee. The landlord should provide prospective tenants with an itemized expenditure from the rental application process.
Security Deposits
in Colorado, there is no limit to how much security deposit a landlord may impose, but it cannot be non-refundable. It’s the same rule even for leases that are short-term. No state compels the landlord to put the deposit in a bank account or financial institution.
The crucial thing is that the Landlord should be able to return the security deposit within a month following the end of the rent agreement. It could be longer as long as it is stated clearly in the agreement, but it should not exceed 60 days (CO Rev Stat § 38-12-103 (2020)).
If there is cause for withholding part of the deposit or its entirety, the landlord should provide a written statement with cost details.