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The Screening Report You Didn't Request Could Still Be the One You Must Accept
A rental applicant hands you a credit and background report from a screening company you've never used, generated three weeks earlier, and already paid for out of pocket. Do you have to accept it in place of your usual process? Under Colorado law, the answer is often yes, provided the report checks every statutory box. As fourth-quarter leasing activity picks up across Metro Denver and South Metro Denver, C.R.S. § 38-12-902 quietly shapes how every application gets reviewed, priced, and documented. PMI Elevation, part of a franchise system with two decades of property management experience, helps local owners apply Colorado's resident screening rules correctly so a busy leasing season does not turn into a compliance problem.
Key Takeaways
No fees on qualifying reports: If an applicant provides a compliant Portable Tenant Screening Report, you cannot charge a rental application fee or a fee to access it.
The report must be recent: A PTSR only qualifies if it was generated within the last 30 days.
Specific content is mandatory: Compliant reports must include identity and contact information, employment and income verification, last-known address, and credit, rental, and criminal history checks.
Subsidy applicants get extra protection: Tenants using a housing subsidy cannot be required to provide a credit score or credit history section.
Disclosure and verification still matter: Your listings need the required statutory disclosure, and you retain the right to confirm a report's authenticity before relying on it.
Understanding the Portable Tenant Screening Report Law
Colorado's Rental Application Fairness Act, enacted through House Bill 23-1099 and refined in later sessions, created the framework now codified at C.R.S. § 38-12-902. A Portable Tenant Screening Report, or PTSR, is a consumer report an applicant obtains directly, at their own request and expense, from a consumer reporting agency. Once an applicant hands you one that meets the statutory criteria, Colorado law treats it the same as a report you would have ordered yourself. For landlords used to running every applicant through a single in-house vendor, that shift matters most during high-volume leasing periods. Fourth-quarter turnover across South Metro Denver often brings a wave of transferring professionals and lease-end move-outs, and a meaningful share of those applicants will likely arrive with a PTSR already in hand.
What C.R.S. § 38-12-902 Requires for Your Fourth-Quarter Applicants
The statute lays out several specific obligations worth building into your leasing workflow before the next application lands on your desk.
No Application Fees on Qualifying Reports
Once a prospective tenant submits a PTSR that satisfies the statutory requirements, you cannot charge them a rental application fee or a separate fee to review the report. This holds even if your standard process runs every other applicant through a paid screening vendor. Charging a fee anyway, even by accident through a bundled application cost, creates exposure you can avoid simply by training leasing staff to recognize a qualifying report on sight.
The 30-Day Recency Rule
A PTSR only qualifies if it was generated within the previous 30 days. An applicant who hands you a report from two months earlier has not met the statutory bar, so you are not required to treat it as a substitute for your own screening. Checking the report's generation date should be one of the first things your team confirms during intake.
What a Compliant Report Must Include
To count as a qualifying PTSR, the document needs to show the applicant's name and contact information, employment and income verification, last-known address, and credit, rental, and criminal history checks that comply with applicable consumer reporting law. A report missing any of these pieces does not meet the statutory definition, and you can request additional information or fall back on your own tenant screening process instead.
Direct Submission and Your Right to Verify
Applicants can submit a PTSR straight to you rather than routing it through a third-party portal, which speeds up the review timeline considerably. That convenience does not strip away your protections. You still have the right to confirm the report's authenticity directly with the issuing consumer reporting agency before making a leasing decision, and that step matters most when application volume rises and the temptation to skip verification grows.
Your Fourth-Quarter Landlord Compliance Checklist
A few practical steps keep your Metro Denver rental listings compliant heading into the fall leasing push.
Update Your Listing Disclosures
Colorado law requires a specific bolded statutory disclosure on your listings stating that you accept PTSRs and cannot charge related fees. Review every active listing across your property management portfolio before fourth-quarter applications start arriving, and confirm the disclosure language matches the current statutory wording rather than an outdated version carried over from a prior lease cycle.
Know the Housing Subsidy Exemption
Under House Bill 25-1236, applicants using a housing subsidy are exempt from providing a credit score or credit history section as part of their PTSR. Screening these applicants the same way you would a conventional renter risks a violation, so leasing staff need a clear process for recognizing subsidy-based applications and adjusting the required documentation accordingly.
Require a No-Material-Change Attestation
Because a PTSR can be up to 30 days old, ask every applicant to sign a brief attestation confirming that nothing material, such as a job loss or a new eviction filing, has changed since the report was generated. This one-page step protects your decision-making without adding meaningful cost or delay to the application process.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I still run my own background check if an applicant provides a PTSR?
You cannot charge for a duplicate check once a qualifying PTSR is submitted, but you retain the right to verify that report's authenticity with the issuing agency, and you can still run your standard screening process on any applicant who does not submit a qualifying report.
What happens if I charge a fee by mistake?
The Rental Application Fairness Act allows for statutory penalties and attorney fees, though landlords who cure a violation within seven calendar days of receiving notice can limit their exposure significantly. Training staff to recognize a qualifying PTSR before fees are collected is the simplest way to avoid the issue altogether.
Does this law apply to every rental property in Metro Denver?
Yes, the law applies broadly to residential rental agreements across Colorado, including properties throughout Metro Denver and South Metro Denver. If you are unsure whether a specific property or lease type falls outside the statute, a quick conversation with your property manager can confirm before your next listing goes live.
Stay Ahead of Every Application This Fall, Not Behind It
Portable Tenant Screening Reports are becoming a routine part of Colorado's leasing process, and landlords who update their disclosures, verify report authenticity, and understand the subsidy exemption will move through fourth-quarter applications faster and with far less legal exposure. PMI Elevation manages this process daily for owners throughout Metro Denver and South Metro Denver, pairing local expertise with the resident screening guarantees built into every managed lease. If you would rather hand off PTSR compliance and the rest of your leasing season, contact us or call 720.744.0790 to schedule a consultation.
