Roommate Clause
in Your Lease
What it actually means, what Colorado law says, what's specific to Denver — and exactly what to do. In plain English.
Quick Summary — What You Need to Know
- Colorado has no roommate statute — adding, swapping, or removing a roommate is governed entirely by what your lease says.
- Nearly every Denver lease uses joint and several liability, so you can be billed for 100% of the rent if a roommate vanishes.
- A new roommate's application fee is capped at the landlord's actual screening cost under Colorado's Rental Application Fairness Act.
- Denver allows up to five unrelated adults per home, and cities can no longer cap occupancy by family relationship.
- Expect $100-$300 for a mid-lease roommate swap, and know that only a signed amendment releases the person leaving.
Understanding the Roommate Clause
The roommate clause is the part of your rental agreement that decides who is allowed to live in the unit and who owes the rent if someone bails. In most Denver leases it does both jobs in about four sentences.
What the roommate clause actually controls
- The maximum number of adults who can occupy the apartment
- Whether every adult must be named on the lease and screened
- How long a guest can stay before becoming an unauthorized occupant
- Whether you can swap a roommate mid-lease, and what that costs
- Whether all tenants are liable for 100% of the rent, not just their share
That last line is the one that costs people money. Joint and several liability means the leasing office chases whoever is easiest to collect from, and that is usually the roommate still living there.
Adding or dropping a roommate almost always takes a written lease amendment. A verbal okay from the property manager moves nobody's name off the contract.
Plain English Version
Think of your lease as one bar tab with every roommate's name on it, not four separate checks. If someone walks out without paying, the bartender still hands you the whole bill.
Colorado Law on Roommate Clause
Start here: Colorado has no roommate statute. No state law forces a landlord to let you add, swap, or remove a roommate, and none caps what they charge to do it — your lease is the entire rulebook.
Where Colorado law does step in
Joint and several liability is fully enforceable here. If rent is $2,400 and two of your three roommates disappear, the property manager can sue you alone for the full amount and leave you to chase the others.
Screening fees are regulated. Colorado's Rental Application Fairness Act (C.R.S. 38-12-901 et seq.) limits an application fee to the actual cost of the background and credit check, requires the same fee for every applicant, and requires the landlord to account for what the money covers.
Your deposit is one deposit for one apartment, no matter how many people signed. Under C.R.S.
38-12-103 it comes back with an itemized statement within one month of the tenancy ending, or up to 60 days if the lease spells that out — not on the day one roommate moves out.
If a landlord wrongfully keeps it, you send a 7-day written notice of intent to sue, and willful retention exposes them to treble damages plus your attorney fees. Confirm current deadlines in the Colorado landlord-tenant statutes before you file anything.
Colorado Tenant Protections
Your security deposit must be returned with itemized deductions within one month, or up to 60 days only if your lease says so (C.R.S. 38-12-103).
An incoming roommate's application fee cannot exceed the landlord's real screening cost, and every applicant must be charged the same amount. A documented victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking can end a lease early under C.R.S. 38-12-402.
What's Specific to Denver
Denver has no ordinance covering roommate clauses, swap fees, or joint liability — that is pure lease law here. What Denver did change is occupancy: the 2021 Group Living Amendment scrapped the old two-unrelated-adults rule and now permits up to five unrelated adults in a home in most residential zones.
State law went further in 2024, barring Colorado cities from setting occupancy limits based on how residents are related to each other. Your landlord can still write a lower cap into the lease, though — that law restrains city hall, not the leasing office.
Real Denver numbers: a two-bedroom in Capitol Hill, Baker, or Berkeley runs roughly $1,800-$2,600, screening runs $35-$75 per adult, and most property managers charge $100-$300 to process a mid-lease roommate change. Check that your building holds a Denver Residential Rental License too — every long-term rental in the city has needed one since January 1, 2024.
Red Flags to Watch Out For
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Swap fee with no ceiling
Denver leases bury roommate-change charges of $100-$300, and no Colorado law caps them. Pin the exact number down in writing before anyone gives notice.
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Departing roommate never released
Adding a new person does not subtract the old one. Without a signed release naming you, you stay liable for the full rent through the end of the term.
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Guest becomes occupant in days
Many Denver contracts flip a visitor into an unauthorized resident after 7 to 14 nights, which counts as a lease violation and gives the landlord cause to act.
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Whole lease re-signed at market rent
Some offices require every tenant to sign a brand-new agreement when one leaves, which quietly resets your rent to today's asking price instead of amending the existing term.
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Second deposit for the same unit
Roommates normally buy each other out privately, because under C.R.S. 38-12-103 the landlord settles the deposit when the tenancy ends, not when names change.
Your Rights as a Denver Tenant
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One deposit, one itemized statement
It comes back within one month of the tenancy ending — up to 60 days only if your lease says so — with every deduction listed in writing.
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Screening fee tied to real cost
Colorado's Rental Application Fairness Act limits what an incoming roommate pays to the actual cost of the check, charged identically to every applicant.
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Sue a roommate who stiffs you
Covering their share is not a gift. Colorado small claims court handles roommate debts up to $7,500 with no lawyer required.
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Early exit after domestic violence
C.R.S. 38-12-402 lets a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking end the lease early with notice and evidence such as a police report or protection order.
What To Do — Step by Step
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1
Search the lease for three words
Open the PDF and find occupant, assignment, and sublet. Those clauses decide whether a roommate change is allowed at all.
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2
Ask the leasing office by email
Request the roommate-change process, the fee, and the forms in writing. Email, never a phone call — you want the answer timestamped.
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3
Run the incoming roommate through screening
They submit a full application and pay the fee. Ask what that fee actually covers, since Colorado ties it to the landlord's real screening cost.
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4
Demand a signed lease amendment
It must name who is added, who is released, and the date liability shifts. Anything verbal releases nobody.
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5
Settle the deposit between roommates
The incoming person buys out the one leaving on move-out day, because the property manager holds that money until the whole tenancy ends.
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6
Sign a one-page roommate agreement
Cover rent split, deposit shares, utilities, and notice required to leave. It gets filed nowhere, but it wins cases in Denver County Court small claims.