Colorado’s new “total price” law and Zillow’s Total Price feature are about to change how rent is advertised in Central Park and across the state. For renters, this means fewer surprise fees; for landlords, it means rethinking how you structure and present your rental pricing online. 

Hopefully this blog post helps explain it so people that are self-managing their rentals can get into compliance. If you’re self-managing and need assistance we’d love to help! In addition to helping people buy and sell homes, we manage rentals in and around Denver’s Central Park neighborhood. Learn more on the property management section of our website or set up a chat with me here at your convenience. 

The New Colorado Total Price Law

Colorado’s HB25‑1090, the “Protections Against Deceptive Pricing Practices Act,” took effect January 1, 2026 and applies to rental housing. The law requires any advertised rent to clearly show a single “total price” that includes all mandatory, non‑government charges tied to occupancy. 

• Landlords and property managers may no longer advertise a low base rent and then tack on unavoidable fees like trash, amenities, or required parking fees later in the process. 
• The Division of Real Estate and the Attorney General both stress that the total price must be clear, conspicuous, and more prominent than any lower teaser price. 

How Zillow’s Total Price Feature Fits In

Since Zillow is the primary platform where most tenants find rentals, it’s important that we understand how rental properties show up on Zillow to make sure they’re in compliance with the new law. 

Zillow has rolled out a new “Total price” display that lines up with these transparency rules, in the spirit of helping landlords comply with the new law. When a housing provider turns this feature on and supplies full fee data, Zillow shows an all‑in monthly amount marked with a “Total Price” badge and checkmark across search results, listing pages, emails, and alerts. 

• Zillow defines Total Price as base monthly rent plus all fixed, required monthly fees—for a standard 12‑month lease—excluding variable usage‑based utilities and optional services. 
• Listings that do not send complete fee data are labeled “Fees may apply,” signaling to renters that the advertised price may not reflect everything they will have to pay. 

For Central Park renters, that badge is a shortcut to “what will this really cost me each month?” and for compliant landlords it becomes a visible trust signal. 

Here is an example of the “Total Price” display we’re talking about this post:

What Must Be Included in the “Total Price”

Under Colorado law and Zillow’s Total Price design, any charge that every tenant MUST pay, every month, to live in the home belongs in the total price. In practice, that usually means: 

• Base monthly rent (the core lease amount). 
• Flat, mandatory monthly utility bundles charged by the landlord (for example, a set water/sewer/trash/recycling fee that is not billed directly by the utility company). 
• Required monthly recycling fees, pest‑control fees, “resident benefit package” fees, technology or billing fees, and similar recurring charges that every household must pay. 
• Required monthly parking or amenity fees when they are not truly optional—such as a building where each unit must lease a parking space or pay for amenities. 

Legally, these amounts need to be rolled into the advertised total or clearly represented such that the total price is the primary number renters see. Zillow’s Total Price accomplishes this by calculating one combined monthly figure and then itemizing the components in the Costs & Fees breakdown. 

What Can Be Broken Out Separately

Not every possible cost has to sit inside the Total Price, and both Colorado and Zillow recognize important exceptions. These can be listed separately, as long as they’re clearly disclosed: 

• Variable usage‑based utilities that are billed by third‑party providers (for example, electricity or gas where the tenant pays the bill directly and the amount depends on their usage). 
• Optional recurring services, where the tenant makes a meaningful choice, such as:
• Optional parking (if not required for every tenant).
• Optional storage units.
• Optional internet or cable packages.
• Pet‑related costs when they only apply to some households, such as:
• Pet rent
• Pet deposits 
• One‑time fees, like application fees (where allowed), move‑in fees, or key fob fees, which can be highlighted separately but must still be disclosed clearly. 

Zillow’s interface separates these as “optional” or “may vary with usage,” so renters can see what is required versus what depends on their choices or consumption. That breakdown is where landlords can explain, for example, that electricity is separately metered or that pet fees applies only if the household has a pet. 

What This Means For Landlords In 2026

The combination of HB25‑1090 and Zillow’s Total Price display will materially change how Colorado landlords market their homes.

• Landlords, regardless of size of rental portfolio, should audit their fee structures now—identifying which monthly charges are truly mandatory and moving those into the total price, while cleaning up or eliminating “junk” fees that cannot be justified. 
• Marketing materials, websites, and syndication feeds should be updated so that the primary advertised price is “rent plus all required monthly fees,” with optional and variable items clearly itemized but not hidden. 
• On Zillow specifically, enabling the Total Price feature and providing complete fee data will both support legal compliance and signal to renters that the listing is transparent and aligned with Colorado’s new consumer‑protection standards. 

For renters, this shift should mean far fewer frustrating surprises at the lease‑signing stage and a clearer sense of which homes truly fit within a monthly budget. For landlords and property managers who embrace the change early, it is an opportunity to stand out as candid, compliant, and consumer‑friendly in a market that is rapidly moving away from hidden fees.

If you’d like help managing a property in or around Central Park we’d love to help. You can set up your exploratory call here. We’re always low pressure, with a focus on adding value and establishing long term, successful relationships.