Colorado's ADU Law (HB24-1152), Explained

HB24-1152 is the state law that made accessory dwelling units legal by right across most of urban Colorado. Signed and effective May 13, 2024, it required covered cities to allow one ADU on any single-family lot through a simple administrative approval by June 30, 2025, and it banned the local rules that used to make ADUs impractical. It is the reason Colorado Springs adopted its own ADU ordinance in April 2025. This page explains what the state law requires, who it covers, the grant and loan money it created, and the fine print that news coverage tends to miss, using the official as-enacted bill summary (checked August 2026).

The Colorado State Capitol building in Denver, with its gold dome, under a blue sky
The Colorado State Capitol, where HB24-1152 was passed in 2024. Photo: xiquinhosilva, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.

What the law requires

For covered jurisdictions, the rule since June 30, 2025 is simple: wherever single-family detached homes are allowed, the jurisdiction must allow one ADU per lot as an accessory use, approved through an administrative process. That means no public hearing, no rezoning, and no discretionary vote; if the project meets objective standards, it is approved. The law also prohibits covered jurisdictions from enacting or enforcing local rules that would restrict ADU construction or conversion, which in practice ends three familiar blockers: parking mandates for the ADU (with narrow exceptions), owner-occupancy mandates, and design standards stricter than what applies to the main house. One less-noticed provision extends this to planned unit developments: a PUD's governing ordinance cannot restrict ADU permitting more than the jurisdiction's base ADU rules do.

Who the law covers

"Subject jurisdictions" are defined two ways: any municipality with a population of 1,000 or more inside a metropolitan planning organization area, and the portion of a county that is both inside a census-designated place of 40,000 or more and inside an MPO area. Colorado Springs, at roughly half a million people inside the Pikes Peak Area MPO, is squarely covered. Most unincorporated county land is not, which is why the rules change at the city line; the narrow county-side prong depends on census-designated-place boundaries, so specific addresses outside city limits need a check with county planning rather than an assumption.

The money: grants, loans, and the certification catch

The law created two funding streams, and both run through a status called the "ADU supportive jurisdiction": a local government that not only complied with the law but adopted at least one strategy to actively encourage ADUs, and was certified by the state Department of Local Affairs. For certified jurisdictions, the law funded a $5 million grant program (for pre-approved ADU plans, technical assistance, and waiving or reducing fees) and directed $8 million to the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority for lending programs that help low- and moderate-income borrowers build ADUs: credit enhancement for affordable loans, interest-rate buydowns, and down-payment assistance.

The catch for local readers: these benefits follow certification, and as of August 2026 Colorado Springs is not on DOLA's certified list (nearby Monument is, as are Fort Collins, Boulder, and about thirty others). The list updates regularly. Until the city certifies, Springs homeowners rely on ordinary financing; our cost guide covers those routes, including the federal rules that now let expected ADU rent count toward mortgage qualifying.

The HOA provision almost nobody reads correctly

The law does contain an HOA override: in a certified supportive jurisdiction, an HOA prohibition on ADUs, or restrictive design and dimension standards, is void as a matter of public policy, subject to a reasonable-restriction exception. Read the condition carefully. The override applies only where the jurisdiction is certified, and Colorado Springs currently is not. So inside the city today, HOA covenants still matter, the city does not enforce or override them, and a homeowner in a covenant-restricted neighborhood should resolve that question before designing anything. If the city later earns certification, ADU bans in local HOA covenants would largely stop being enforceable. That is a real reason to watch the certification list.

Factory-built and modular ADUs

The law also directed the state to develop model public-safety code requirements for factory-built structures used as ADUs, anticipating that modular and prefabricated units would carry much of the volume. Locally that fits what the city already allows: tiny homes and prefabricated units can serve as detached ADUs in Colorado Springs on a permanent foundation, while RVs and mobile homes cannot.

How Colorado Springs implemented it

The city's answer to the law is Ordinance #25-45, adopted April 8, 2025: ADUs by right on any single-family detached property citywide, with size, height, setback, and design standards, a short list of required documents, and a 14-day public notice. The full local rules, including the ones that surprise people (the short-term rental ban and the owner-residency affidavit at permitting), are in our plain-English ordinance guide, and the step-by-step permitting process is in our PPRBD permit walkthrough.

Frequently asked questions

Does HB24-1152 override my HOA's ban on ADUs?

Only in jurisdictions certified by the state as "ADU supportive," where the law voids HOA prohibitions and restrictive design standards as a matter of public policy (subject to a reasonable-restriction exception). Colorado Springs is not on the certified list as of August 2026, so inside the city, HOA covenants still operate, and the city does not enforce or override them. If the city certifies later, that answer changes.

Does the law give homeowners money to build an ADU?

Indirectly, and only in certified supportive jurisdictions: the law funded $8 million in CHFA lending programs (affordable loans, interest-rate buydowns, down-payment assistance) for low- and moderate-income borrowers there, plus $5 million in grants to those local governments for fee waivers and pre-approved plans. Colorado Springs residents cannot use these yet because the city is not certified. Standard financing routes still apply anywhere.

Does HB24-1152 apply in unincorporated El Paso County?

Generally no. The law binds municipalities of 1,000 or more inside a metropolitan planning organization area, and portions of counties only where they fall within a census-designated place of 40,000 or more inside an MPO area. Whether any specific unincorporated address qualifies depends on those census boundaries, so check with El Paso County Planning before assuming ADU rights outside city limits.

When did the law take effect?

It was signed and took effect May 13, 2024, and the core obligations bound covered jurisdictions on June 30, 2025: from that date they must allow one ADU per single-family lot through administrative approval and may not enforce the restrictive local rules the law prohibits.

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