Aurora CO rent increase 2026 Aurora, Colorado has no local rent control ordinance. Colorado HB 21-1117 (April 2021) repealed the statewide rent control preemption (Prop. 10 / CRS §38-12-301 from 1994), returning local authority to cities — but Aurora City Council has NOT enacted any local rent stabilization or rent increase ordinance. Aurora landlords may raise rent freely. Colorado CRS §38-12: no deposit cap; 60-day return (or 30 days with written demand); 3× willful wrongful withholding + attorney fees. 10-day non-payment notice (CRS §13-40-104; HB 21-1121). 3rd largest Colorado city; ~390,000 population; Adams County (north) + Arapahoe County (south). University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus (13001 E. 17th Place; opened 2006; ~22,000 students/faculty/staff). UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital (637 beds; Level I Trauma; #1 CO hospital). Children’s Hospital Colorado (644-bed main campus; US News top-10). Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center (1700 N. Wheeling St; opened October 2018; 182 + 60 CLC beds). Raytheon Intelligence & Space (~2,500 Aurora employees; missile defense, satellite systems). Buckley Space Force Base (~3,000 military + civilian). Arapahoe County District Court (7325 S. Potomac St, Centennial CO 80112) handles most Aurora evictions.

Colorado rent control law: what Aurora landlords need to know

Colorado’s history with rent control has two distinct chapters. From 1994 to 2021, Colorado Revised Statutes §38-12-301 (enacted via the 1994 Proposition 10 ballot initiative) prohibited any Colorado city or county from enacting rent control. In April 2021, Governor Jared Polis signed House Bill 21-1117, repealing §38-12-301 and returning local authority to Colorado municipalities.

Since HB 21-1117 took effect, no Colorado city has enacted a rent stabilization ordinance. Denver, Colorado Springs, Boulder, Fort Collins, Pueblo, and Aurora have all declined to enact rent control, focusing instead on housing supply measures. Aurora City Council has not introduced, debated, or passed any rent stabilization ordinance as of 2026. Aurora landlords may raise rent by any amount at lease expiration or with appropriate notice for month-to-month tenancies — without any cap, registration requirement, or administrative approval.

Colorado security deposit law for Aurora landlords

Colorado Revised Statutes §38-12-102 through §38-12-104 govern security deposits for all Aurora residential tenancies. Key provisions:

• No deposit cap. Colorado imposes no statutory maximum security deposit. Aurora market practice is typically 1–2 months’ rent plus a separate pet deposit ($300–$500 per pet or $50–$100/month pet rent) for pet-friendly units.
• Return deadline: 60 days after the tenancy ends, OR 30 days if the tenant provides a written demand (CRS §38-12-103(1)). Best practice: use 30 days as the standard to avoid ambiguity.
• Itemized statement required. Any partial return must be accompanied by a written itemized statement identifying each deduction and the dollar amount (CRS §38-12-103(2)). Failure to provide a proper itemized statement is treated as wrongful withholding of the withheld amount.
• Willful wrongful withholding penalty: 3× the amount wrongfully withheld plus reasonable attorney’s fees and costs (CRS §38-12-103(3)). The treble-damage penalty applies only to willful violations.

Aurora eviction: the 10-day non-payment notice

Colorado HB 21-1121 (signed 2021; CRS §13-40-104(d)) extended the non-payment eviction notice from 3 days to 10 days. An Aurora landlord seeking to evict for non-payment must first serve a written 10-Day Demand for Payment or Possession stating: (1) the amount of rent owed; (2) the 10-day payment deadline; and (3) that eviction will follow failure to pay.

If the tenant pays all past-due rent within 10 days, the landlord cannot proceed with the eviction. After 10 days without payment, the landlord files an FED (Forcible Entry and Detainer) action at the appropriate county court:

• Arapahoe County: most Aurora addresses (ZIP codes 80012–80018, 80045 and southern portions of 80010/80011) → Arapahoe County Court, 7325 S. Potomac St, Centennial CO 80112.
• Adams County: northern Aurora (northern ZIP codes 80010, 80011, 80040–80047) → Adams County Court, 1100 Judicial Center Dr, Brighton CO 80601.

Colorado also prohibits self-help eviction under CRS §38-12-510: changing locks, removing belongings, or shutting off utilities without a court order exposes the Aurora landlord to actual damages, up to $5,000 in punitive damages, and attorney’s fees.

Anschutz Medical Campus: Aurora’s economic anchor

The University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus (13001 E. 17th Place, Aurora CO 80045) opened in 2006 on the former site of Fitzsimons Army Medical Center (closed 1999 under BRAC). The 230-acre campus is one of the largest and most concentrated academic medical complexes in the United States, with three major hospital systems and a complete medical university on a single integrated campus:

• UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital (12605 E. 16th Ave; 637 licensed beds; Level I Trauma Center; rated #1 hospital in Colorado by US News & World Report for 9+ consecutive years; Barrow Neurological Institute at UCHealth; approximately 6,000 employees).
• Children’s Hospital Colorado (13123 E. 16th Ave; 644-bed main campus opened 2007; consistently US News top-5 to top-10 children’s hospitals in the US; the Mountain West’s flagship pediatric academic medical center; approximately 5,000–6,000 employees system-wide, majority on the Aurora main campus).
• Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center (1700 N. Wheeling St, Aurora CO 80045; opened October 2018, replacing the old Denver VAMC in Glendale; 182 inpatient acute care beds + 60 Community Living Center beds; serves Veterans from Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Utah, and portions of New Mexico/South Dakota; approximately 1,200 employees; the VA hospital opened after years of delays and approximately $1.7 billion in construction costs, making it one of the most expensive federal construction projects in US history relative to original budget).

The three Anschutz hospitals together employ approximately 12,000–15,000 people. Combined with the medical school, nursing school, pharmacy school, graduate programs, and administrative staff, the Anschutz campus generates approximately 22,000 students, faculty, and employees whose housing needs anchor Aurora’s northeast and central rental market.

Raytheon and Buckley Space Force Base: the defense cluster

Raytheon Intelligence & Space (now part of RTX Corporation following the 2020 United Technologies / Raytheon merger) maintains a significant Aurora campus in the Buckley/Havana Street technology corridor, employing approximately 2,000–3,000 Aurora workers. Raytheon Aurora develops and manufactures missile defense systems (including THAAD and Patriot system components), satellite communications systems, airborne radar systems, and cyber/intelligence products.

Buckley Space Force Base (formerly Buckley Air Force Base; redesignated 2020 when the US Space Force was established; located at East Alameda Ave and Buckley Rd in southeast Aurora) hosts approximately 3,000 military personnel and civilian employees, plus thousands of contractor personnel from Raytheon, Boeing, General Dynamics, and other defense contractors operating on or adjacent to the base. Buckley’s mission includes space control, missile warning, and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) operations.

The combined Raytheon/Buckley defense cluster anchors the southeast Aurora rental market, particularly the Saddle Rock, Murphy Creek, and Piney Creek neighborhoods where military families and defense contractors prefer good schools (Cherry Creek School District for southeast Aurora) and easy access to E-470 and I-225.

Aurora rental submarkets at a glance (2026)

Submarket	Primary demand driver	1BR range	2BR range	County
Stapleton/Central Park (west Aurora border)	Denver spillover; professionals; young families	$1,600–$2,300	$2,000–$2,800	Adams
Anschutz / Fitzsimons Corridor	Medical residents; nursing staff; graduate students	$1,500–$2,100	$1,900–$2,600	Adams/Arapahoe
Southeast Aurora (Saddle Rock, Murphy Creek)	Defense/aerospace workers; Cherry Creek SD families	$1,500–$2,000	$1,900–$2,500	Arapahoe
Gateway / I-70 Corridor	Logistics; Amazon; airport workers; DIA access	$1,200–$1,700	$1,500–$2,100	Adams
Northeast / Havana Street / older Aurora	APS employees; diverse working-class; service workers	$1,100–$1,600	$1,400–$2,000	Arapahoe/Adams
Lowry (adjacent; technically Denver)	Anschutz overflow; military veterans; professionals	$1,500–$2,200	$1,900–$2,700	Denver Co.

10-step Colorado landlord compliance checklist for Aurora (2026)

1. Confirm which county your Aurora property is in. Most Aurora addresses are in Arapahoe County. Northern Aurora ZIP codes (80010, 80011 northern portions, 80040-47) are in Adams County. This determines which court handles evictions and which county assessor holds property records.
2. No rent cap applies in Aurora. Set rent at market rate. No ceiling, no registration, no justification required. Colorado HB 21-1117 returned local authority, but Aurora has not acted. Document the new rent in a written lease or addendum.
3. Charge a reasonable deposit. Colorado imposes no cap. Market practice: 1–2 months’ rent. Charge a separate pet deposit for pet-friendly units. Document the deposit amount in the lease.
4. Hold the deposit properly. Colorado does not require a separate account, but maintaining a separate account prevents commingling disputes. Track deposits per-unit.
5. Return the deposit within 30 days (or 60 days if no written demand). If making deductions, provide a written itemized statement with each deduction and amount. Failure to itemize = wrongful withholding.
6. Willful bad-faith withholding = 3× penalty. Do not withhold a deposit without a legitimate, documented reason. Keep move-in and move-out inspection reports to document the condition of the unit. Use RentCeiling’s compliance log to timestamp deposit handling.
7. Give 24 hours’ written notice before entering. CRS §38-12-1102 (HB 19-1118). Except in emergencies. Document entry dates and reasons.
8. Serve a 10-day non-payment notice before filing FED. CRS §13-40-104(d). State the total amount due and the 10-day deadline. If the tenant pays in full within 10 days, the eviction cannot proceed on that notice.
9. File FED at the correct county court. Arapahoe County (Centennial) for most Aurora addresses. Adams County (Brighton) for northern Aurora. Do not file in the wrong county — it will be dismissed.
10. No self-help eviction. CRS §38-12-510 prohibits changing locks, removing belongings, or shutting off utilities without a court order. Violations: actual damages + up to $5,000 punitive + attorney fees.

Frequently asked questions