Colombia
Renting & Tenant Rights
Last verified August 15, 2026
Written for U.S. passport holders
No Cash Security Deposits
- Colombia's Ley 820 de 2003 (the national urban housing rental law) specifically prohibits landlords from requiring a cash deposit as a guarantee. Instead, landlords can require a rental insurance policy (póliza de arrendamiento), a CD/certificate of deposit (CDT) in the tenant's name, or advance payment of a few months' rent.
- If a landlord asks you for a plain cash deposit as security, that specific arrangement isn't actually what the law contemplates, even though it's still common informal practice.
Rent Increases
- Annual rent increases are capped at the prior year's CPI/IPC (Colombia's consumer price index), not an arbitrary landlord-set number.
Ending a Lease
- If a landlord wants to end the lease at a renewal date rather than continuing it, they must give at least 3 months' written notice before that renewal date, and pay the tenant compensation equal to 3 months' rent, deposited with an authorized entity (Banco Agrario de Colombia).
The Gotcha
The plain-cash-deposit ban is worth knowing specifically because it cuts against what a lot of foreign renters expect coming from countries where a cash deposit is completely normal. If your prospective landlord in Colombia is asking for cash upfront as a 'deposit' rather than one of the legally contemplated alternatives (insurance policy, CDT, or rent prepayment), that's worth a conversation, not just an assumption that it's standard.
Sources
This page was drafted from the primary sources below. Rules change, so check the linked page directly before relying on any of this.
- Ley 820 de 2003 (Régimen de Arrendamiento de Vivienda Urbana) (Departamento Administrativo de la Función Pública, Colombia)