Housing, Not Harassment: What the ITPA Means for Immigrant Tenants

In 2020, the Immigrant Tenant Protection Act (or ITPA) was enacted by the state legislature to provide tenants in Colorado protections regardless of their immigration or citizenship status. 

Under this law a landlord is not permitted to: 

• Request information regarding a tenant’s immigration or citizenship status;*

• “Disclose or threaten to disclose information regarding or relating to the immigration or citizenship status of a tenant to any person, entity, or immigration or law enforcement agency;”

• Harass or intimidate a tenant based on their attempt to exercise their rights under this law;

• Influence a tenant to move out of a dwelling based on their immigration or citizenship status;

• Deny a prospective tenant’s rental application based on their citizenship or immigration status.

In January 2025, the Colorado American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) sued on behalf of a family living in Aurora, Colorado, under the act. John Doe, et al. v. Schwalb, et al. asserts that the landlord violated the ITPA by threatening to report the couple and their children to law enforcement if they did not vacate the unit that day, along with other abusive behaviors. The ACLU filed a motion for a temporary restraining order (TRO) which asked the court to immediately enjoin the landlord’s violations of the ITPA. The Court granted this, ordering the landlord to cease any threats to use the family’s immigration status to try force them to vacate their home, as well as to stop any further harassment or intimidation of the tenants.

The ITPA exists alongside other landlord-tenant legislation and is meant to complement existing rights and protections for both landlords and tenants. For example, a landlord can still bring an eviction action for violation of the lease or nonpayment of rent; tenants are also entitled to protections (e.g. having a home fit for human habitation, notice requirements for eviction actions, and due process) before an eviction judgment is entered. There can be penalties for a landlord who violates the ITPA such as a fine for a violation and potential damages for harm suffered because of the violation.

If you think your landlord has violated any part of the ITPA, please contact the Colorado Poverty Law Project. Our intake form is available online here, our services are always free, and we do not have any immigration status requirements.

*A landlord can request information or documentation necessary to determine or verify the financial qualifications of a prospective tenant, provided the landlord requests the same information or documentation of all prospective tenants regardless of immigration or citizenship status. In other words, a landlord can require a social security number on a rental application but only if the landlord uniformly requires a social security number for all prospective tenants.