Renting in Colombia: the rules

A home lease in a Colombian town or city is governed by Ley 820 de 2003 (the urban housing lease law) and, for anything it does not cover, by the Civil Code (arts 8 and 9). The law is national, so it is the same in Bogotá (Distrito Capital) and Medellín (Antioquia). It has not been amended since 2003, apart from its procedural articles, which were repealed when the Código General del Proceso (General Code of Procedure) took over from 1 January 2014 (Secretaría del Senado consolidated text, updated 15 October 2026).

A lease can be verbal or written. Either way the parties must agree at least on their names and ID numbers, the home and any parts shared with others, the rent and how it is paid, any extra services, the term, and who pays the utilities (art. 3). The term is whatever the parties agree; if none is stated, it is one year (art. 5). The law sets no minimum. At the end of each term the lease renews itself on the same conditions and for the same length, as long as both sides have kept their obligations and the tenant accepts the lawful rent increase (art. 6); unless written notice is given in time by authorised post (see Notice), renewal is automatic (arts 22 and 24). The law distinguishes an individual lease, a mancomunado lease (two or more tenants jointly liable), a compartido lease (part of a home shared with the landlord or other tenants) and a contrato de pensión (a room with services for less than a year, which either side can end with 10 days' notice and no compensation) (art. 4). Landlords and tenants are jointly liable to each other (art. 7).

When the lease is written, the landlord must give the tenant and any codeudor a copy with original signatures within 10 days; if not, the city can fine the landlord three months' rent at the tenant's request (art. 8.3). In a building under propiedad horizontal (the condominium regime) the landlord must also hand over a copy of the building's rules (art. 8.4). Every lease must give an address for notices for the landlord, the tenant and each codeudor or fiador (art. 12). Leases are not registered with any authority.

Cash deposits are banned. In a home lease the landlord may not demand depósitos en dinero efectivo (cash deposits) or any other caución real (security over property, such as a mortgage or pledge) to secure the tenant's obligations, and may not get round the ban indirectly, through a third person, in a separate document or under another name (art. 16). Bogotá's housing secretariat says it sanctions landlords who demand deposits against damage in money, bills of exchange, term deposits (CDT) or invoices (Secretaría Distrital del Hábitat, ABC de arrendadores, as of 2026-10). Complaints about illegal deposits go to the city (art. 33), which can fine up to 100 monthly minimum wages (art. 34). The one deposit the law allows is a guarantee for the utility companies, capped at two billing periods of charges, which the landlord passes on to the utility so that the property is not liable for the tenant's bills (art. 15).

What takes the deposit's place is a personal guarantee, which the law allows: Ley 820 itself refers to codeudores (co-signers) and fiadores (guarantors) (arts 8 and 12). Agencies (inmobiliarias) usually ask for one or two codeudores with income and often with property, or for approval by an aseguradora or afianzadora (insurer or guarantee company) from which the owner buys a póliza de arrendamiento (rent guarantee policy). The insurer studies the applicant's credit history and bank and commercial references; a 2018 guide in Portafolio, a business daily, put the basic policy at about half a month's rent a year, or 2% to 6% of the rent monthly, and said the applicant pays for the study (Portafolio, 29 September 2018; prices not rechecked). Whether the study fee or the policy can be charged to the tenant is disputed: a press report in October 2025 said Ley 820 does not allow it (El País, 16 October 2025), but it cited no ruling, the law does not name these charges, and we found no official decision either way (as of 2026-10).

With no deposit held, there is nothing to return at the end. Disputes are about damage, unpaid utilities and unpaid building fees: the landlord can recover utility bills and building fees paid on the tenant's behalf through an executive (fast-track debt) claim against the tenant and the codeudores, using the paid bills and the lease (art. 14).

The parties set the starting rent, but it may not be more than 1% a month of the commercial value of the home (or the part let), and for this rule the commercial value cannot be put at more than twice the current avalúo catastral (cadastral value) (art. 18). In effect, monthly rent is capped at 2% of the cadastral value. Rent may be set in a foreign currency and paid in pesos at the official market exchange rate of the date the obligation arose, unless another date or rate is agreed (art. 19).

Increases are capped nationally. After each 12 months at the same rent, the landlord may raise it by no more than 100% of the change in the consumer price index in the previous calendar year, and the new rent must still respect the 1% rule (art. 20). DANE, the statistics office, put inflation for 2025 at 5.10% (DANE, CPI December 2025, published January 2026), so a rise due in 2026 may not exceed 5.10%. The cap for rises due in 2027 will be DANE's inflation figure for 2026, published in January 2027; until then it is not known (as of 2026-10). The cap is a ceiling, not an entitlement. The landlord must tell the tenant the amount and the date by authorised post or by the personal-notice method written into the lease; without that, the rise cannot be enforced against the tenant, but a tenant who has paid it cannot claim it back for lack of notice (art. 20).

The landlord must give a written receipt for each payment (art. 11). If the landlord refuses to accept the rent, the tenant can pay it into an entity authorised by the government within five business days and notify the landlord by authorised post, which keeps the tenant from falling into arrears (art. 10). Complaints about an increase above the cap, a rent above the 1% rule, a missing receipt or a missing copy of the lease go to the city, not to a court: in Bogotá the Secretaría Distrital del Hábitat, in Medellín the Secretaría de Seguridad y Convivencia (arts 32–33; see Disputes). There are no rent-control zones or reference rents.

Every notice under Ley 820 is written and sent through the servicio postal autorizado (an authorised postal service), so keep the certified copy. Without timely written notice, the lease renews automatically for the same term (arts 22 and 24). The parties can end the lease by agreement at any time (art. 21).

The tenant can leave at the end of the initial term or of any renewal with at least three months' notice, without giving a reason and without paying anything (art. 24.5). To leave earlier, during the initial term or a renewal, the tenant gives three months' notice and pays compensation of three months' rent, deposited with the city authority within the three months before the leaving date (arts 24.4 and 25). If the landlord refuses to take the keys back, the city authority can arrange a provisional handover (art. 24). The tenant can also end the lease if the landlord cuts off utilities or falls behind on bills in the landlord's charge, repeatedly disturbs the tenant's use of the home, or ignores rights given by law or contract (art. 24.1–3).

The landlord cannot end a lease at will during the initial term. The landlord can ask for termination if the tenant does not pay the rent or the lawful increase on time; does not pay utilities (causing disconnection) or building fees in the tenant's charge; sublets, assigns or changes the use without express consent; repeatedly disturbs the neighbours or uses the home for crimes; alters or damages it without consent; or breaks the building rules (art. 22.1–6). During a renewal, the landlord can end the lease with three months' notice and compensation of three months' rent (arts 22.7 and 23). At the end of the initial term or a renewal, with three months' notice, the landlord can also end it to live there for at least a year, to demolish or carry out works that need the home empty, or to hand it over to a buyer; for these grounds the notice must come with a guarantee, in money, from a bank or from an insurer, worth six months' rent in the tenant's favour, to secure that the ground is actually carried out within six months (art. 22.8 a–c). Once a lease has run for at least four years, the landlord can end it at the end of a term without a reason by paying compensation of 1.5 months' rent (art. 22.8 d). A tenant who is owed compensation cannot be removed before it is paid or secured (art. 26).

Only a judge can order an eviction, in a proceso de restitución de inmueble arrendado (repossession claim) under the Código General del Proceso, art. 384. If the claim is for unpaid rent, utilities or building fees, the tenant is not heard until paying the amount claimed into the court or showing the landlord's receipts for the last three periods, and must keep paying rent into the court while the case runs; when the only ground is unpaid rent, the case is decided in a single instance, with no appeal. The landlord can ask for the tenant's goods to be seized to secure the debt, and if the home is found empty or abandoned, the judge can hand it back provisionally (CGP art. 384).

The landlord must hand over the home on the agreed date in good condition of service, safety and sanitation, with the agreed services and fittings, and keep them working (art. 8.1–2). The tenant must pay the rent on time, look after the home, and repair at their own cost damage beyond normal wear and ageing that comes from misuse or their own fault (art. 9.1–2). If the tenant pays for necessary repairs that are the landlord's (reparaciones indispensables no locativas), the tenant may deduct the cost from the rent, up to 30% of each month's rent until it is repaid, unless the lease says otherwise (art. 27).

Utilities and building fees are paid as the lease says (art. 9.3). The administración (the building's monthly fee) is owed to the building by the owner, and an occupant such as a tenant is jointly liable for ordinary fees (Ley 675 de 2001 art. 29); many leases include it in the rent, others charge it separately, so check which. Not paying utilities so that the service is cut, or not paying building fees that are in the tenant's charge, is a ground for termination (art. 22.2).

Utility prices depend on the estrato (socio-economic band, 1 to 6) of the property, which is printed on the bill. Under the public utilities law, estratos 1 to 3 are subsidised (up to 15% of the average cost in estrato 3, more in 1 and 2), estrato 4 pays the cost, and estratos 5 and 6 pay a solidarity surcharge capped at 20% of the service's value (Ley 142 de 1994 arts 89, 99 and 102). The same consumption therefore costs more in a flat in estrato 5 or 6 than in estrato 3; ask for a recent bill before signing.

An inmobiliaria that manages a home is paid by the owner under a contrato de administración (management contract), which the city supervises (art. 33). Ley 820 sets no rule on agency fees to tenants; see Deposits for the dispute over study fees. Insurance is not required of a tenant by law.

Colombia has no municipal address registration of the kind Spain or Germany has, and the landlord does not have to provide anything for one. Ley 820 asks only that the lease names and identifies the parties (art. 3); it does not say which ID. Colombians use the cédula de ciudadanía (national ID card). A foreigner who holds a visa valid for more than three months, other than a V (visitor) visa, must apply in person to Migración Colombia for a cédula de extranjería (foreigner's ID card) within 15 calendar days of entering Colombia or of being granted the visa in Colombia; it is valid for as long as the visa (Migración Colombia, answer of 20 May 2026). Visitors identify themselves with their passport. Venezuelans regularised under the temporary protection statute hold a Permiso por Protección Temporal (PPT, temporary protection permit), which counts as an ID document (Decreto 216 de 2021 art. 11, as cited by the Health Ministry's Resolución 1178 de 2021).

No law forbids a visitor from signing a lease, but the insurer's or agency's study looks at Colombian credit history and references (see Deposits), which newcomers usually lack, so many start with a furnished let or ask a Colombian codeudor. A let of 30 days or more is an ordinary lease under Ley 820, whatever the platform calls it; a let of under 30 days is tourist lodging under the tourism law (Ley 2068 de 2020 art. 37), with no Ley 820 protection. Tourist-lodging providers must keep a guest register (Tarjeta de Registro de Alojamiento) and report foreign guests to Migración Colombia through its SIRE system (Ley 2068 art. 22; Alcaldía de Medellín, 13 October 2026). We found no rule requiring an ordinary landlord to report a foreign tenant.

A tenant may not sublet or assign the lease without the landlord's express permission. If the tenant does, the landlord can end the lease and take the home back, or sign a new lease directly with the people actually living there, in which case the old lease ends; either step is notified to the tenant in writing (art. 17). Unauthorised subletting, assignment or change of use is also a ground for termination (art. 22.3). Anyone who, as owner or as sublessor, holds more than five leases must register with the city as a landlord (art. 28; see For landlords).

Letting the home, or a room, for periods of under 30 days counts as vivienda turística (tourist housing) under the tourism law, and anyone letting more than one property that way is presumed to be a tourism provider (Ley 2068 de 2020 art. 37). That needs a tourism registration and, in a condominium building, authorisation in the building's registered rules (see For landlords), so a tenant who lists the flat on a short-let platform without the owner's written consent risks the lease as well as fines. Bogotá's housing secretariat warned in May 2025 that coliving is not a separate kind of lease: lodging for under 30 days is a hospedaje (lodging) contract supervised by the trade and tourism ministry, while a coliving room let for longer is a compartido lease or a contrato de pensión under Ley 820, and the label cannot be used to avoid the law (Secretaría Distrital del Hábitat, 6 May 2025). A common problem is a 'sublet' offered by someone who is not the tenant: ask to see the main lease and the landlord's written consent.

A private owner letting one or a few homes does not need a licence, but must follow Ley 820: no cash deposit, a copy of the lease to the tenant within 10 days, a receipt for each payment, increases no higher than last year's inflation, and notice by authorised post. A matrícula de arrendador (landlord registration) with the city is required, in municipalities of more than 15,000 people, for anyone whose main business is letting homes (their own or other people's) or acting as an agent between landlords and tenants, for any owner or sublessor with more than five leases, and it is presumed for anyone letting more than ten properties in the same municipality. Registered landlords must show their registration number in every advert and are supervised by the city, which can fine up to 100 monthly minimum wages (COL$175,090,500 in 2026) and suspend or cancel the registration (arts 28–34).

In Bogotá the registration is handled by the Subdirección de Prevención y Seguimiento of the Subsecretaría de Inspección, Vigilancia y Control de Vivienda (housing inspection office) of the Secretaría Distrital del Hábitat, with the chamber of commerce certificate, the model lease and management contracts and a list of the homes; registered landlords file a report on their homes and leases by 20 March each year and report changes within 15 business days (Secretaría Distrital del Hábitat, ABC de arrendadores; Resolución 927 de 2021). In Medellín it is handled by the Secretaría de Seguridad y Convivencia, free of charge, within 8 business days, and must be filed within 10 days of starting the business (Alcaldía de Medellín, as of 2026-10).

Tax: rental income is declared in the cédula general (general schedule) of income tax, where the costs and expenses tied to it can be deducted (Estatuto Tributario art. 336.4). Individuals pay progressive rates from 0% on the first 1,090 UVT of taxable income (COL$57,087,660 in 2026) up to 39% above 31,000 UVT (ET art. 241); the UVT, the tax unit, is COL$52,374 for 2026 (DIAN Resolución 000238 of 15 December 2025). Letting a home to live in is excluded from VAT (ET art. 476.15).

Short lets of under 30 days are tourist housing (Ley 2068 de 2020 art. 37), not leases. Nationally they need a Registro Nacional de Turismo (RNT, national tourism register) entry for each unit, made through the chambers of commerce and renewed every year before 31 March; in a condominium building, the unit must be authorised for tourist lodging in the building's rules, registered at the land registry, or by the owners' assembly (Decreto 1836 de 2021, art. 2.2.4.1.2.2.8; trade ministry answer of 11 May 2026). Building administrators must report unauthorised or unregistered short lets to the Superintendencia de Industria y Comercio (SIC), or face a fine of up to three minimum wages (Ley 1558 de 2012 art. 34, as amended by Decreto 2106 de 2019). Providers must also keep a guest register, hold liability insurance for guests and third parties, and pay the tourism levy of 2.5 per thousand of operating income; platforms must take down adverts without an active RNT (Ley 2068 arts 22, 32, 36 and 38). Changes are pending: the trade ministry republished a draft decree for comments until 11 July 2026 that would require a separate RNT per unit, proof of the building's authorisation and new duties for platforms (El Colombiano, 6 July 2026); as of October 2026 it had not been issued, and one report says it would apply from 1 January 2028 (vivienda.com.co, 17 July 2026). Until it is issued, the current rules apply.

Medellín adds local rules. Under its current land-use plan (POT, Acuerdo 48 de 2014) the city says a short let must be in a zone of medium or high mixed use, with a building licence compatible with lodging and a fire-safety certificate (Alcaldía de Medellín, 21 August 2026); between 2024 and 2026 it inspected 408 short lets and temporarily closed 105 (Alcaldía de Medellín, 25 September 2026). The POT revision, Proyecto de Acuerdo 104 de 2026, would allow new tourist housing only in high-mixed-use zones and some transit-oriented zones (Alcaldía de Medellín, 13 October 2026). It passed its first debate in committee on 19 October 2026 and goes to the full council in early November 2026 (Minuto30, Telemedellín, October 2026); until it is approved and published, it is a proposal. In Bogotá we found no city-specific short-let regime beyond the national rules (as of 2026-10).

Ley 820 gives the supervision of home leases to the city, not to a national body: in Bogotá to the Alcaldía Mayor, in other municipalities to the mayor's office (art. 32). The city deals with a missing copy of the lease, illegal deposits, missing receipts, increases above the cap or rents above the 1% rule, the deposits made when a lease is ended early with compensation, and complaints against agencies and registered landlords; it can fine, but it cannot evict or award damages (arts 33–34). Its fines can be challenged only by asking the same office to reconsider (art. 34). In Bogotá the office is the Subsecretaría de Inspección, Vigilancia y Control de Vivienda of the Secretaría Distrital del Hábitat (citizen-service window at Carrera 13 No. 52-13, Chapinero, or online through its Ventanilla Única de la Construcción). In Medellín it is the Secretaría de Seguridad y Convivencia, through its Subsecretaría de Gobierno Local y Convivencia, which in May 2026 reported 25 complaints, 17 sanctions and the cancellation of an agency's registration in one case, working with the city's consumer protection inspectorate and with the national prosecutor's office (El Colombiano and Blu Radio, 25 May 2026).

Money claims and evictions go to the civil courts (Código General del Proceso art. 384; see Notice). Conciliation is free before conciliadores en equidad (community conciliators), public servants with conciliation powers, public conciliation centres and university law clinics; private centres charge fees (Ley 2220 de 2022 art. 8). University consultorios jurídicos (law clinics), where supervised law students act, give free legal services to the people the law defines as beneficiaries and can represent them in civil cases up to a value limit (Ley 2113 de 2021 arts 2, 7 and 9).

The Superintendencia de Industria y Comercio (SIC), the consumer authority, comes into renting mainly through tourist lodging: building administrators report unauthorised short lets to it, and it can fine tourism providers (Ley 1558 art. 34; Ley 2068 art. 30). For an ordinary lease the route is the city office above. Colombia has no national tenants' union with a formal advisory role. If you suspect a fraudulent agency, check that it has a city registration number, which it must show in its adverts (art. 31).