Rental Junk Fees: What Colorado and California Landlords Cannot Charge

Colorado’s 2026 rental fee law and California’s SB 611: the total-price rule, banned fees, check and notice fees, and what the FTC fee rule does not cover.

By Seayora Editorial Team · Published October 23, 2026 · Facts checked October 23, 2026 · 5 min read

Short answer: Since January 1, 2026, Colorado requires a rental advertisement to show the total price as a single number that includes every mandatory fee except the utility provider’s actual charges, and bars fees for property taxes, common-area maintenance, the landlord’s own legal obligations, services not provided, and payment processing when no free way to pay is available. California has, since 2025, barred fees for serving notices and for paying rent or a deposit by check. The FTC’s federal fee rule covers short-term lodging, not long-term leases.

Key takeaways

Colorado: advertise the total monthly price as one number, more prominently than any other price (C.R.S. 6-1-737, effective January 1, 2026).
Colorado: no fees for property taxes, common-area maintenance, habitability work, services not provided, or late fees on charges that are not rent.
Colorado: a fee may not rise more than 2% during a lease of a year or less, except utilities.
California: no fee for serving or posting a notice, and no fee for paying rent or a deposit by check (SB 611).
The FTC’s Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees applies to hotels and short-term rentals, not to ordinary leases.

What is a rental junk fee?

It is a charge on top of the advertised rent that a tenant cannot avoid, or a fee for something the landlord was already obliged to do. Recent laws attack it two ways: by requiring the advertised price to include every mandatory charge, and by banning certain fees outright. Colorado has done both; California has banned specific fees.

Rental fee rules (read October 2026).
Rule	Colorado	California
Advertised price must include mandatory fees	Yes, as one number, except the utility provider’s actual charges	Not addressed for long-term leases by SB 611
Fee for serving or posting a notice	Not listed as such	Prohibited
Fee for paying by check	Prohibited if no free way to pay is reasonably available	Prohibited for rent and deposits paid by check
Property-tax or common-area maintenance fee	Prohibited	Not addressed
Source	C.R.S. 6-1-737; 38-12-801(3)(a)(VI)	Civ. Code §§ 1946, 1946.1, 1947.3; Code Civ. Proc. § 1161

What does Colorado’s law require?

House Bill 25-1090 added C.R.S. 6-1-737 and took effect January 1, 2026. Anyone advertising a price must disclose “the total price for the good, service, or property as a single number without separating the total price into separate fees, charges, or amounts,” and the total price “must be disclosed more prominently than any other pricing information.” The total price is the maximum of all amounts a person must pay, including any amount that is not reasonably avoidable. For a dwelling unit, a landlord need not include “the actual cost charged by a utility provider for service to a tenant’s dwelling unit” (House Bill 25-1090, as signed).

The same section lists what a landlord may not require a tenant to pay. In the statute’s words, a fee, charge or amount:

related to utilities that is above what the utility provider charges for the tenant’s unit, except a third-party billing markup the lease allows;
that increases by more than 2% over a rental agreement of one year or less, except the cost of utilities;
related to the payment of property taxes;
related to processing rent or other payments if a means of payment that is cost-free to the tenant is not reasonably accessible;
related to the overdue payment of a fee, charge or amount that is not rent;
for anything necessary to meet the landlord’s own obligations, including providing a habitable home;
above the total price of the thing charged for, or for something not actually provided; or
for the maintenance of common areas.

Colorado separately allows a written lease to pass on a markup or fee for a service the landlord is billed for by a third party of no more than 2% of the bill or no more than $10 a month, but not both (C.R.S. 38-12-801(3)(a)(VI), as amended). A violation is a deceptive, unfair and unconscionable practice. A tenant may send a written demand for a refund, and a landlord that does not refund and stop charging within 14 days is liable for actual damages plus interest of 18% a year, compounded annually; a tenant does not have to send the demand before suing (Colorado General Assembly, HB25-1090).

What fees has California banned?

Senate Bill 611, chaptered in 2024, amended the notice statutes so that “a landlord or its agent shall not charge a tenant a fee for serving, posting, or otherwise delivering any notice,” and amended the payment rule so that a landlord “shall not charge a tenant any fee for payment by check for rent or security deposit” (SB 611, chaptered text). The same law requires a landlord who charges a service member a higher-than-standard deposit, from April 1, 2025, to explain why in writing at signing and to return the extra after no more than six months if the rent is current.

California’s general hidden-fees law, SB 478, bars advertising a price for a good or service that leaves out mandatory fees (Civ. Code § 1770(a)(29)). The Attorney General’s guidance names short-term rentals and hotels among the businesses covered; it does not address long-term apartment leases (California Attorney General, SB 478).

Does the FTC’s junk fee rule apply to rentals?

Only to short-term stays. The FTC’s Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees, in effect since May 12, 2025, covers live-event tickets and “short-term lodging, including temporary sleeping accommodations at a hotel, motel, inn, short-term rental, vacation rental, or other place of lodging” (16 CFR Part 464). A landlord who also lists furnished units by the night is covered for those listings.

How should a landlord price a listing now?

List every recurring charge on the unit and mark which ones a tenant cannot avoid.
In Colorado, advertise the monthly total of rent plus every unavoidable fee as the headline number.
Drop any fee for property taxes, common areas, notices or check payments, and any fee for work the law already requires of you.
Offer at least one free way to pay before charging a payment-processing fee in Colorado.
Itemize the charges in the lease so the total a tenant pays matches what was advertised.

Frequently asked questions

Do Colorado landlords have to include fees in the advertised rent?

Yes, since January 1, 2026. The advertised price must be the total of rent and every mandatory fee as one number, shown more prominently than any other price. The utility provider’s actual charges may be left out.

Can a California landlord charge a fee for paying rent by check?

No. Since SB 611, a landlord may not charge any fee for paying rent or a security deposit by check, or for serving or posting a notice.

Does the FTC junk fee rule cover apartment rentals?

No. It covers live-event tickets and short-term lodging such as hotels and vacation rentals, not ordinary leases.

Sources

House Bill 25-1090, Protections Against Deceptive Pricing Practices (as signed), Colorado General Assembly
HB25-1090 bill summary, Colorado General Assembly
SB 611, Residential rental properties: fees and security (Chapter 287, Statutes of 2024), California Legislative Information
California Civil Code § 1770, California Legislative Information
SB 478, Hidden Fees, California Attorney General
16 CFR Part 464, Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees, eCFR

How Seayora helps

Online rent collection: Seayora bills pet rent, parking, storage and other monthly fees on the rent itself and itemizes each one, so a tenant sees what makes up the monthly total.

This article is general information, not legal advice. Landlord-tenant law varies by state and city and changes often, so check the current rule for your property and talk to an attorney before acting on a dispute.

How we write and check these guides: editorial standards.

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