Lakewood

Colorado enacted statewide ADU preemption through HB24-1152, signed by Governor Jared Polis in May 2024 with effective date 2025-06-30. The act applies to 'subject jurisdictions': municipalities with population at least 1,000 that lie within a Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), and counties containing a census-designated place of at least 40,000 within an MPO. Subject jurisdictions must permit at least one ADU as a use-by-right accessory to any single-unit detached dwelling, with administrative approval (no public hearing) and prohibitions on parking minimums and owner-occupancy mandates. Local governments may continue to set design standards, impact fees (subject to limits), short-term-rental rules, and factory-built-residential standards. The act creates a tiered preemption: local rules that conflict with the floor are void in subject jurisdictions; non-subject (rural) jurisdictions may opt in to gain access to the state's $8M ADU finance program through DOLA's ADU Supportive Jurisdiction certification. The Colorado Common Interest Ownership Act (CCIOA) was simultaneously amended at C.R.S. § 38-33.3-106.5 to void HOA bans on ADUs (see stateHoaPreemption).

Colorado HB24-1152 amended the Colorado Common Interest Ownership Act (CCIOA) to void HOA bans on ADUs. The new C.R.S. § 38-33.3-106.5 prohibits any provision of a Declaration, Bylaw, or Rule from restricting the creation of an ADU as an accessory use to any single-unit detached dwelling. Restrictions adopted before or after the effective date are void as a matter of public policy. The provision applies to all common-interest communities (CCIOA, pre-CCIOA, and limited-expense communities) and is not subject to the small-HOA exemptions in SB24-021. Associations may impose 'Reasonable Restrictions' defined as substantive conditions that do not unreasonably increase cost, effectively prohibit construction, or extinguish the ability to construct an ADU.

Colorado operates one of the most explicit state ADU finance regimes in the country, created by HB24-1152. The Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT) funded an $8 million revolving program; the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority (CHFA) administers loans, interest-rate buydowns, and credit enhancement for participating lenders. The application period opened to lenders in December 2025; ADU finance products become available to eligible Colorado residents in ADU Supportive Jurisdictions in spring 2026, with interest-rate buydowns and credit enhancement reaching borrowers later in 2026. Eligibility is restricted to ADU Supportive Jurisdictions (subject jurisdictions automatically qualify; non-subject jurisdictions must apply to DOLA for certification).

• Accessory Dwelling Unit Finance Program
• Accessory Dwelling Unit Grant Program (ADUG)
• CHFA Homeownership Programs

Colorado operates the most fully-developed state ADU support framework in the country outside California. The Colorado Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) Division of Local Government (DLG) maintains an ADU Toolkit and a guide to providing pre-approved ADU plans, certifies ADU Supportive Jurisdictions, and administers the ADUG grant program for jurisdictions implementing those tools. The framework explicitly funds three local activities: developing pre-approved ADU plans, providing technical assistance to homeowners, and waiving or reducing ADU fees. ~$1.6M flowed through ADUG round 1 (FY2025-2026); round 2 deadline 2026-03-18. The Accessible/Visitable ADU incentive program adds a separate funding track for ADUs designed to ADA-style standards.

• ADU Supportive Jurisdiction Certification
• Pre-Approved ADU Plans Toolkit
• Accessory Dwelling Unit Grant Program (ADUG)
• Incentivize Accessible and Visitable ADUs