# ESA Letter in Fort Collins, CO: The August 12, 2026 Presumption

> Fort Collins is Colorado's third most-rented city, and on August 12, 2026 the state starts presuming an assistance animal is a reasonable accommodation.

- Source: https://supportanimal.com/blog/colorado-emotional-support-animal/fort-collins/
- Publisher: Support Animal (supportanimal.com)
- Updated: 2026-08-07
- License note: informational content; not legal or medical advice.

## Key facts

- Population: 170,924
- Households renting: 48.4%
- Typical pet deposit (as a pet): Capped at $300
- Typical pet rent (as a pet): Capped at $35/mo
- Breed/weight limits common: yes
- Pet fees, deposits, and breed limits with a valid ESA letter: none (FHA reasonable accommodation)

## Close to an even split

Of the 71,768 occupied homes in Fort Collins, 34,727 are rented. That is
48.4% on the 2020-2024 American Community Survey five-year estimate, against
33.8% for Colorado as a whole. Only Boulder, at 52.8%, and Denver, at 51.2%,
rent more. Fort Collins sits third, and close enough to half that the renting
household and the owning household are almost equally common here.

That balance matters. The answer a tenant gets about an animal still depends
on who reads the request, but the statute behind it is the same for every
landlord in town, and what it says changes on one date.

## The date to write down is August 12, 2026

May 19, 2026 is the signing date for House Bill 26-1045; the act takes effect
on August 12, 2026. Its own legislative declaration explains the point: federal
guidance on
assistance animals was rescinded, and Colorado is putting that guidance into
state law so it survives.

Two definitions do most of the work. C.R.S. § 24-34-301(2.5) names the
category: an animal that assists a person with a disability, does work or
performs tasks for them, or provides therapeutic emotional support, is an
assistance animal: service animals and emotional support animals alike.
C.R.S. § 24-34-301(8.5) then defines an emotional support animal as one
providing solely emotional support that eases a symptom or effect of a
disability. Colorado has stopped treating the two as separate arguments in
housing.

## A flat ban is now presumed to be discrimination

The new presumptions sit at C.R.S. § 24-34-502.2(2)(b)(II). Subparagraph (A)
presumes that allowing an assistance animal in housing is a reasonable
accommodation, so long as the landlord has been given a chance to take part in
an interactive accommodation process. Subparagraph (B) goes the other way and
presumes that a complete prohibition on assistance animals in housing is
discriminatory.

Notice what the first one asks of you. The presumption is tied to the landlord
having had that chance. Bringing the animal home and citing the law afterwards
gives it away; a short written request, sent before the animal arrives, keeps
it.

Read C.R.S. § 24-34-501(3.5) alongside them. An accommodation is an exception
or adjustment to a rule, policy, practice or service that a person with a
disability may need for an equal chance to use and enjoy housing, and it
reaches public and common-use spaces, not just the unit. A rule keeping
animals out of the laundry room falls under the same words.

One more point catches Fort Collins renters out. Federal fair housing law
leaves owner-occupied buildings of four units or fewer alone; Colorado's does
not. The duty in C.R.S. § 24-34-502.2(2)(b) reaches a landlord who lives
behind the other door, and the three-or-fewer-units carve-out at
C.R.S. § 24-34-502(1.5)(a) applies only to the source-of-income rules.
Refusing a reasonable accommodation is an unfair housing practice under
C.R.S. § 24-34-502(1)(k), and C.R.S. § 24-34-501(1.3) counts a mental
impairment (any behavioral, mental or psychological disorder), as a
disability.

## How far the landlord's questions may go

Colorado wrote the limits of the landlord's enquiry into the statute rather
than leaving them to argument. Under C.R.S. § 24-34-502.2(2)(b)(II)(C), a
request for reasonable documentation is lawful in itself, and so is a good
faith interactive process; what may be covered is the disability and the
disability-related need, and nothing else. Once either is obvious, the
questions have to stop.

A request for a letter, then, is normal, and its scope is narrow: an animal's
breed, its obedience record and any online listing speak to neither question,
and Colorado issues nothing that would.

## The professional who signs it

Colorado regulates the writer as tightly as the request.
C.R.S. § 12-245-229(3)(a) tells mental health licensees: psychologists,
licensed counsellors, social workers, and marriage and family therapists.
That they may not make the finding unless they have met the patient in person.
They must also be sufficiently familiar with the patient and be legally and
professionally qualified. Physicians work under a different subsection,
C.R.S. § 12-240-144(3)(a), which allows either an in-person visit or
telemedicine.

Whoever it is, the output is two written findings, not one: a finding on
disability, and a separate finding on the disability-related need for the
animal, or a finding that there is not enough information to say. A current
letter from someone who actually assessed you is the strongest document you
can hold.

## Pet charges, and why an approved animal escapes them

Since January 1, 2024, C.R.S. § 38-12-106 has capped what a Colorado landlord
may add for a pet. The extra deposit stops at three hundred dollars and has to
be refundable. Pet rent has two ceilings (thirty-five dollars a month, or one
and one-half percent of the monthly rent), and the statute takes whichever is
greater. That runs the wrong way from what most tenants expect: thirty-five
dollars is the floor, and a higher rent lifts the lawful figure.

None of it should reach an approved assistance animal, because the animal is
not a pet and waiving the charge is the exception to a policy that
C.R.S. § 24-34-501(3.5) describes.

Weight and breed limits get their own answer. From August 12, 2026,
C.R.S. § 24-34-502(1)(a)(III) settles it: an animal being there is not, by
itself, a direct threat to health or safety, and raises no presumption of
substantial physical damage to the property of others. Only documented,
specific conduct counts. And when the reason offered is
insurance, C.R.S. § 10-4-110.8(16) bars an insurer from refusing or
surcharging a homeowner's or dwelling fire policy over a dog's breed, or even
asking about breed, except whether the dog has been declared dangerous.

## Deposits, and the burden that shifted in 2026

C.R.S. § 38-12-103 was rewritten with effect from January 1, 2026, and it
shifted the work onto the landlord. You get it back within thirty days, or up
to sixty if your lease sets that term. Of the four deductions the section
allows, only one usually reaches an animal: damage past normal wear and tear
that did not predate the tenancy.

If the landlord keeps money, they carry the burden of proving both that the
withholding was proper and what the damage actually cost. Holding one hundred
twenty-five percent or more of the real damages is presumed unreasonable.
Carpet may not be called substantially and irreparably damaged unless it was
replaced with new carpet within the previous ten years, and paint follows a
similar rule. Either side can ask for a walk-through inspection under
C.R.S. § 38-12-103(1.5); a written request obliges the landlord to produce
photographs, invoices, receipts or estimates within fourteen days under
subsection (8); and wrongful retention costs treble damages plus fees and
costs once you give seven days' notice of intent to sue.

## Misrepresentation, and the defence built into it

C.R.S. § 18-13-107.3 makes it an offence to intentionally misrepresent
entitlement to an assistance animal to obtain a housing accommodation, but
only after a written or verbal warning has been given first. The offence has
ranked as a class 2 civil infraction since March 1, 2022. A first fine is
twenty-five dollars; a second, fifty to two hundred; a third or later, one
hundred to five hundred.

The same statute supplies the answer. A written finding made under
C.R.S. § 12-240-144(1)(a) or § 12-245-229(1)(a) is an affirmative defence,
and not having one is expressly not evidence that the offence occurred.

## Where a Fort Collins complaint goes

There is no municipal fair housing office here, and no local filing window to
track. Housing discrimination complaints go to the Colorado Civil Rights
Division, on 303-894-2997 or 720-432-4294 in Spanish. C.R.S. § 24-34-504(1)
gives one year from the unfair housing practice, and the Division says it
cannot extend that deadline for any reason at all.

Start earlier than feels necessary. Filling in intake through CaseConnect is
not the same thing as filing a charge; the charge is drafted and signed after
that step. Once filed, the landlord gets ten days to answer and you get ten
days to reply, and because the Division is a HUD-certified Fair Housing
Assistance Program agency, most housing cases carry a state and a federal
number.

Free help is closer to hand. Colorado Legal Services keeps a Fort Collins
office at 215 W. Oak Street, Suite 800, on 970-493-2891, covering Larimer
County along with Logan, Phillips and Sedgwick out on the northeastern
plains. Its Larimer County eviction clinic runs Thursdays from 9 a.m. to noon
at the Larimer County Justice Center, 201 LaPorte Avenue, and help there is
limited to the courthouse named on your summons and to your court date.
Neighbor to Neighbor works with tenants locally, Housing Catalyst is the
city's housing authority, and Colorado Housing Connects has staffed a
bilingual statewide renter helpline since 2014 on 844-926-6632.

## What Fort Collins landlords can and cannot do

**Cannot:**
- Cannot operate a complete prohibition on assistance animals, which C.R.S. § 24-34-502.2(2)(b)(II)(B) presumes to be discriminatory from August 12, 2026
- Cannot treat the mere presence of an assistance animal as a direct threat to health or safety, or presume it will cause substantial physical damage to the property of others, under C.R.S. § 24-34-502(1)(a)(III)
- Cannot refuse to make reasonable accommodations in rules, policies, practices or services where necessary to afford a person with a disability equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling, under C.R.S. § 24-34-502.2(2)(b)
- Cannot rely on the small-landlord and owner-occupied exemptions that exist under federal law, because Colorado's disability provisions carry no equivalent, the three-or-fewer-units carve-out at C.R.S. § 24-34-502(1.5)(a) applies only to the source-of-income rules
- Cannot charge a pet deposit or pet rent for an approved assistance animal, because waiving that charge is an exception to a policy within the definition of reasonable accommodation at C.R.S. § 24-34-501(3.5)
- Cannot take more than a three-hundred-dollar refundable pet deposit, or more than thirty-five dollars a month or one and one-half percent of rent, whichever is greater, for an ordinary pet under C.R.S. § 38-12-106
- Cannot justify a breed restriction by pointing at its insurer, since C.R.S. § 10-4-110.8(16) bars an insurer from pricing or refusing a policy on dog breed and from asking about breed at all
- Cannot keep any part of a deposit without a written statement of the exact reasons within thirty days, and cannot charge for carpet replacement across a unit where the carpet was not replaced within the previous ten years, under C.R.S. § 38-12-103
- Cannot place a lien on the animal itself for unpaid rent, under C.R.S. § 38-20-102(3)(a)

**Can:**
- May request reasonable documentation supporting the claim of disability or the disability-related need, and may run a good faith interactive process, without that being discrimination, unless the disability or the need is obvious, under C.R.S. § 24-34-502.2(2)(b)(II)(C)
- May act on documented, specific conduct of the animal that poses a direct threat to health or safety or causes substantial physical damage to property
- May hold a tenant responsible for damage the animal actually causes, provided it exceeds normal wear and tear, did not preexist the tenancy, and is substantiated with the photographs, invoices or estimates C.R.S. § 38-12-103(8) requires on request
- May ask for a walk-through inspection at the end of the tenancy, as may the tenant, under C.R.S. § 38-12-103(1.5)

## How to get an ESA letter in Fort Collins

1. **Check that you qualify**, Answer a short screening about how your condition affects daily life in Fort Collins. No diagnosis paperwork needed up front. (About 5 minutes: free)
2. **Connect with a licensed professional**, You are matched with a provider licensed for Colorado clients who reviews your situation in a telehealth evaluation. (Telehealth evaluation)
3. **Complete your evaluation**, The professional evaluates whether an emotional support animal alleviates symptoms of a condition recognized in the DSM-5. Honest evaluations, not everyone qualifies. (Most of Our Applicants Qualify)
4. **Receive your signed letter**, Your letter arrives on the professional's letterhead with their license number: the documentation Colorado landlords may lawfully request. (Typically within days of approval)
5. **Send it to your landlord**, Submit the letter with a short reasonable-accommodation request. Pet fees, pet deposits, and breed limits no longer apply to your animal in Fort Collins. (Protection under FHA + state law)

## Conditions that can qualify for an ESA

No fixed government list exists. A licensed professional evaluates whether an animal alleviates symptoms of a DSM-5-recognized condition, commonly:

- Generalized anxiety disorder
- Major depressive disorder
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Panic disorder
- Social anxiety disorder
- Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
- Bipolar disorder
- Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
- Phobias with housing impact
- Chronic stress affecting daily function

## Housing help in Fort Collins

- [Colorado Civil Rights Division, Housing Discrimination](https://ccrd.colorado.gov/housing-discrimination) (state agency)
- [Colorado Legal Services](https://www.coloradolegalservices.org/get-help/) (legal aid)
- [Housing Catalyst](https://www.housingcatalyst.com/) (housing authority)
- [Neighbor to Neighbor](https://www.n2n.org/) (tenant help)

## Frequently asked questions

### My Fort Collins lease says no animals at all. Is that the end of it?

No. From August 12, 2026, C.R.S. § 24-34-502.2(2)(b)(II)(B) treats a complete prohibition of assistance animals in housing as presumed discriminatory. A blanket no-animals clause is still a rule, and C.R.S. § 24-34-501(3.5) defines a reasonable accommodation as an exception or adjustment to a rule, policy, practice or service. Ask in writing for that exception, and give the landlord a real chance to respond, because C.R.S. § 24-34-502.2(2)(b)(II)(A) attaches its presumption to a landlord who has had an opportunity to engage in an interactive process.

### Can a Fort Collins landlord add pet rent or a pet deposit for my ESA?

Not once the animal is approved as an assistance animal, because dropping the charge is the exception to a policy described in C.R.S. § 24-34-501(3.5). The caps in C.R.S. § 38-12-106 are aimed at pets: three hundred refundable dollars of additional deposit, and monthly pet rent of thirty-five dollars or one and one-half percent of the rent, whichever is greater. Read that last word carefully. The statute takes the larger of the two numbers, so a higher rent lifts the lawful pet-rent ceiling instead of holding it down.

### The building has a weight limit and a breed list. Do those apply to me?

They are rules, so they are exactly what an accommodation request asks the landlord to set aside under C.R.S. § 24-34-501(3.5). From August 12, 2026, C.R.S. § 24-34-502(1)(a)(III) adds a rule about presence: an assistance animal that is simply there is not a direct threat to health or safety, and no substantial physical damage to the property of others may be presumed from it. What a landlord may still weigh is documented, specific conduct by your animal. If the answer you get blames the insurance carrier, C.R.S. § 10-4-110.8(16) forbids an insurer from refusing or surcharging a homeowner's or dwelling fire policy over a dog's breed, and forbids it from asking about breed except whether the dog has been declared dangerous.

### What is my Fort Collins landlord allowed to ask me for?

Reasonable documentation of two things: that you have a disability, and that your need for the animal relates to it. C.R.S. § 24-34-502.2(2)(b)(II)(C) says a housing provider does not discriminate solely by requesting that, or by running a good faith interactive process, unless the disability or the need is already obvious. Questions that stray outside those two points (your diagnosis in detail, your animal's training, its breed, or a listing on some website) are outside what the statute supports. No Colorado agency registers or certifies assistance animals, so nothing on offer online can satisfy a documentation request.

### Who can write my letter if I live in Fort Collins?

A licensed professional who has genuinely assessed you, and Colorado splits the rule by profession. Under C.R.S. § 12-245-229(3)(a), a mental health licensee (psychologist, licensed counsellor, social worker, or marriage and family therapist) must have met you in person before making the finding, and must be sufficiently familiar with you and legally and professionally qualified. C.R.S. § 12-240-144(3)(a) lets a physician meet you in person or by telemedicine. Either way, you need a written finding on disability plus a separate written finding on the disability-related need for the animal.

### My landlord kept the deposit over my animal. What does Colorado give me?

C.R.S. § 38-12-103, in its rewritten form since January 1, 2026, puts the burden on the landlord to show that the withholding was not wrongful and to prove the actual damages. A retention at or above one hundred twenty-five percent of those damages carries a presumption that it unreasonably exceeds them. As for carpet, it cannot be deemed substantially and irreparably damaged at all unless new carpet was laid in the ten years before your tenancy ended. A written request forces the landlord to hand over photographs, inspection reports, receipts, invoices or estimates within fourteen days, and wrongful retention carries treble damages, attorney fees and costs after you give seven days' written notice that you intend to sue.

### Where do I complain, and is there free help in Fort Collins?

Fort Collins has no fair housing office of its own, so a housing discrimination complaint goes to the Colorado Civil Rights Division, which can be reached on 303-894-2997 or 720-432-4294 in Spanish. C.R.S. § 24-34-504(1) bars the claim after one year, and submitting intake through CaseConnect does not count as filing the charge, so leave time. For free local help, Colorado Legal Services sits at 215 W. Oak Street, Suite 800, on 970-493-2891, covering Larimer, Logan, Phillips and Sedgwick counties, and its Larimer County eviction clinic runs Thursdays from 9 a.m. to noon at the Larimer County Justice Center, 201 LaPorte Avenue. Neighbor to Neighbor works with Fort Collins tenants locally, Housing Catalyst is the city's housing authority, and Colorado Housing Connects staffs a bilingual statewide renter helpline on 844-926-6632.

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Get evaluated by a licensed provider: https://my.supportanimal.com/qualify?sa_source=blog&sa_medium=blog&sa_campaign=esa-guides&sa_content=markdown&ref=blog&sa_term=colorado-emotional-support-animal%2Ffort-collins