Denver, CO Development Impact Fees (2026)
Normalized development impact fees, water & sewer connection (tap/SDC) fees, and mitigation fees for Denver, Colorado — per dwelling unit, by category, with links to every official source.
What a single-family home pays in Denver
$36,930 total per unit across 3 fee categories. Fees charged per square foot assume a 2,500 sq ft home.
- Affordable housing$20,000
- Water connection (tap / SDC)$10,450
- Sewer connection (tap / SDC)$6,480
Denver’s $36,930 is close to the Colorado tracked median of $38,504.
Full fee schedule — single-family
Impact / development fees
| Fee (local term) | Basis | Amount | Source · effective |
|---|---|---|---|
Affordable housing Affordable Housing Linkage Fee (single-family/small residential, >1,600 sf unit) — Denver Expanding Housing Affordability (EHA) linkage fee, D.R.M.C. Ch.27 Art.V / Ord. 20220426. Rate from Denver CPD's official Linkage Fee Estimator (rates current as of July 1, 2025; adjusted for inflation each July 1). Applies to single-unit, two-unit, or 9-or-fewer-unit residential buildings where the unit exceeds 1,600 sf GFA. A typical 2,000-2,500 sf single-family home: ~$16,000-$20,000. Paid on GFA (IBC) at building-permit issuance. ADUs are exempt; 10+ unit projects fall under Mandatory Affordable Housing instead. | per sq ft | $8 | City and County of Denver, Community Planning and Development Jul 1, 2025High |
Affordable housing Affordable Housing Linkage Fee (small residential, unit 1,600 sf or less) — Lower linkage-fee tier for dwelling units of 1,600 sf GFA or less (single/two/9-or-fewer-unit buildings). Excluded from total because the >1,600 sf tier is the representative single-family case; included for smaller homes. alternative · not added to total | per sq ft | $5 | City and County of Denver, Community Planning and Development Jul 1, 2025High |
Water & sewer connection fees
| Fee (local term) | Basis | Amount | Source · effective |
|---|---|---|---|
Water connection (tap / SDC) Denver Water System Development Charge (SDC / tap fee) - single family, representative 7,000 sf lot, full 2026 rate — Denver Water one-time tap fee. Single-family SDC = base charge + per-sf charge on PROPERTY/LOT square footage. July 1, 2026 (full phase-in) rate inside Denver: base $3,380 + $1.01/sf for first 22,000 sf (e.g., $3,380 + 7,000 × $1.01 = $10,450, matching Denver Water's published example). Actual fee scales with lot size. Denver Water is a separate enterprise utility serving most of Denver. First SDC increase since 2013; phased in two steps in 2026. | per dwelling unit | $10,450 | Denver Water Jul 1, 2026High |
Water connection (tap / SDC) Denver Water SDC - single family, interim Jan 1-Jun 30 2026 rate (7,000 sf lot) — Interim (step 1) phase-in rate for water-service applications submitted Jan 1-Jun 30, 2026: $3,205 base + 7,000 sf × $0.86 = $9,225 on a 7,000 sf lot. Excluded as the July 1, 2026 full rate is the primary forward-looking figure; included for projects permitting in H1 2026. alternative · not added to total | per dwelling unit | $9,225 | Denver Water Jan 1, 2026High |
Sewer connection (tap / SDC) Sewer connection - Denver SAFE fee (single family) — Denver DOTI 'SAFE' (Sanitary sewer services Availability FEe), Denver's portion of the sewer connection charge, $410/unit. Collected via the Sewer Use & Drainage Permit (SUDP). Effective for all SUDP permits issued/paid on or after Jan 1, 2026. | per dwelling unit | $410 | City and County of Denver, DOTI Jan 1, 2026High |
Sewer connection (tap / SDC) Sewer connection - Metro Water Recovery (METRO) district fee (single family) — METRO fee = the connection charge for Metro Water Recovery District, a SEPARATE regional wastewater treatment district. Collected by Denver DOTI on the SUDP permit but attributable to the regional district. $6,070/unit for single-family/duplex. Combined Denver+Metro sewer connection total for SFR = $6,480/unit. | per dwelling unit | $6,070 | City and County of Denver, DOTI Jan 1, 2026High |
Sewer connection (tap / SDC) Sewer connection total (SAFE + METRO), single family - reference — Combined SFR sewer connection charge (Denver SAFE $410 + Metro Water Recovery $6,070). Excluded from total to avoid double-counting with the two component rows above; shown as the headline single-family sewer connection figure. alternative · not added to total | per dwelling unit | $6,480 | City and County of Denver, DOTI Jan 1, 2026High |
Full fee schedule — multifamily
Impact / development fees
| Fee (local term) | Basis | Amount | Source · effective |
|---|---|---|---|
Affordable housing Affordable Housing Linkage Fee (multifamily, unit >1,600 sf) — Same linkage-fee rate applies to multi-unit dwellings of 9 units or fewer; per-unit GFA over 1,600 sf = $8.00/sf, 1,600 sf or less = $5.00/sf. NOTE: projects of 10+ dwelling units are NOT charged the linkage fee; they are subject to Denver's Mandatory Affordable Housing (MAH) requirement (income-restricted units or alternative payment) instead. | per sq ft | $8 | City and County of Denver, Community Planning and Development Jul 1, 2025High |
Water & sewer connection fees
| Fee (local term) | Basis | Amount | Source · effective |
|---|---|---|---|
Water connection (tap / SDC) Denver Water SDC - multifamily, per-unit marginal rate (over 8 units), full 2026 rate inside Denver — Multifamily SDC inside Denver is tiered (July 1, 2026 rates): first two units = $12,350 combined; next 6 units = $2,710/unit; over 8 units = $2,170/unit. Per-unit cost therefore declines with building size. Value shown is the marginal per-unit rate for larger buildings; small buildings pay substantially more per unit due to the first-two-unit base. Outside Denver rates are higher. | per dwelling unit | $2,170 | Denver Water Jul 1, 2026High |
Sewer connection (tap / SDC) Sewer connection - multi-residential 3/4" tap (2.0 SFRE), total — For commercial/mixed-use/multi-residential 3+ unit buildings, the sewer connection charge is based on domestic water meter (tap) size and Single-Family Residence Equivalents (SFRE). Base 3/4" tap = 2.0 SFRE = $820 SAFE + $12,140 METRO = $12,960 total. Larger taps scale up (1" = $31,104; 2" = $129,600). Excluded from total (meter-size variant; per-building not per-unit). alternative · not added to total | per meter | $12,960 | City and County of Denver, DOTI Jan 1, 2026High |
Coverage & caveats
Denver is a home-rule city/county. Its PRIMARY residential development charge is the Affordable Housing Linkage Fee (Expanding Housing Affordability ordinance, D.R.M.C. Ch. 27 Art. V / Ord. 20220426), assessed on gross floor area (GFA, per IBC) at building-permit issuance. Rates here are taken directly from Denver CPD's official Linkage Fee Estimator spreadsheet, which states "Fee rates and map are up to date as of July 1, 2025; Fee Rates change each year on July 1." Residential: $5.00/sf for dwelling units of 1,600 sf or less, $8.00/sf for units over 1,600 sf (threshold based on TOTAL unit size, not scope of work). For an ~2,000-2,500 sf single-family home the >1,600 sf rate ($8.00/sf) applies → ~$16,000-$20,000. IMPORTANT EXEMPTIONS: (1) New detached/attached ADUs do NOT trigger the linkage fee. (2) Residential projects of 10 or more dwelling units are subject to the Mandatory Affordable Housing (MAH) requirement (build income-restricted units or pay an alternative/buyout), NOT the linkage fee — so the per-unit linkage fee shown applies to small residential (single, two-unit, or 9-or-fewer-unit buildings). WHAT DOES NOT EXIST IN DENVER: Denver has NO citywide transportation/road impact fee, NO parks impact fee, NO school impact fee (Colorado does not authorize school impact fees and Denver does not levy one), and NO citywide fire/police or drainage impact fee. The one exception is the GATEWAY IMPACT FEE (Ord. 863, Series 2000), which applies ONLY within the ~4,500-acre Gateway/Green Valley Ranch area of far-NE Denver and funds arterial roads, fire stations, regional parks/trails and regional drainage; it is geographically limited (not citywide) and current per-unit amounts were not verifiable, so it is excluded from the fee rows and noted here. WATER (Denver Water, a separate enterprise serving most of Denver): one-time System Development Charge (SDC / tap fee). Single-family SDC = base charge + per-square-foot charge based on PROPERTY/LOT square footage (confirmed: $3,380 base + 7,000 sf × $1.01 = $10,450, matching Denver Water's own published example of a 7,000-sf-lot home). SDCs were raised effective 2026 (first increase since 2013) in a two-step phase-in: Jan 1-Jun 30, 2026 (interim) then July 1, 2026 (full). I used the July 1, 2026 figures as primary. SEWER (collected by Denver DOTI via the Sewer Use & Drainage Permit): the connection charge has two parts per the 2026 Sewer Permit Fees schedule — a Denver "SAFE" (Sanitary sewer services Availability FEe) of $410/unit and a "METRO" fee of $6,070/unit that funds Metro Water Recovery (a SEPARATE regional wastewater district), total $6,480/unit for single-family. There is also a flat $425 SUDP permit application fee (administrative, not a capacity charge; noted but excluded from total). Storm-drainage charges in Denver are an ongoing utility bill, not a one-time development connection fee. Some properties outside Denver Water's service area or in fringe areas may be served by separate water/sanitation districts with their own tap fees.
Single-family represented by the >1,600 sf linkage-fee tier (typical 2,000-2,500 sf home). Denver Water SF SDC uses July 1, 2026 rates applied to a representative 7,000 sf lot ($10,450), matching Denver Water's own published example; the interim Jan 1-Jun 30 2026 figure (~$9,225) and the per-sf rate components are included as excluded reference rows. Multifamily SDC is tiered (first two units combined, then per-unit); a representative per-unit value is hard to express as a single number, so the per-unit marginal rate is shown. Sewer METRO portion is attributable to the separate Metro Water Recovery district.
Sources
8 official sources · 10 high-confidence figures.
- 1Affordable Housing Linkage Fee Estimator (official CPD spreadsheet)City and County of Denver, Community Planning and Development · fee schedule · effective Jul 1, 2025 · retrieved Jun 16, 2026
- 2Fees to connect to Denver Water's system to increaseDenver Water · municipal webpage · effective Jan 1, 2026 · retrieved Jun 16, 2026
- 3System Development Charges (SDCs) for 2026Denver Water · fee schedule · effective Jan 1, 2026 · retrieved Jun 16, 2026
- 4System Development Charges (SDCs) for 2026 - multifamily scheduleDenver Water · fee schedule · effective Jul 1, 2026 · retrieved Jun 16, 2026
- 52026 Sewer Permit Fees (SUDP) - Department of Transportation & InfrastructureCity and County of Denver, DOTI · fee schedule · effective Jan 1, 2026 · retrieved Jun 16, 2026
- 6Affordable Housing Linkage Fee - GFA Calculation GuideCity and County of Denver, Community Planning and Development · government report · effective Jun 6, 2024 · retrieved Jun 16, 2026
- 7Scope of the Gateway Impact Fees (Gateway/Green Valley Ranch area only)City and County of Denver · ordinance · effective Oct 1, 2000 · retrieved Jun 16, 2026
- 8DOTI Consolidated Fee Schedule (SUDP application fee $425)City and County of Denver, DOTI · fee schedule · effective Jan 1, 2024 · retrieved Jun 16, 2026
Denver impact fees — FAQ
- How much are development impact fees in Denver, CO for a single-family home?
- As of 2026-06-16, total development fees for a single-family detached home in Denver are about $36,930 per unit — roughly $20,000 in impact/development fees plus $16,930 in water/sewer connection fees. Figures are normalized from official sources; verify with the jurisdiction before relying on them.
- What are the impact fees per multifamily unit in Denver, CO?
- Total development fees for a multifamily unit in Denver are about $10,170 per unit as of 2026-06-16.
- Are impact fees in Denver the same as building permit fees?
- No. Impact fees (and water/sewer connection fees) fund off-site capital — roads, parks, schools, utilities — and are charged per new dwelling unit. Building permit and plan-review fees are separate and are not included here.
- How often do Denver's impact fees change?
- Most jurisdictions adopt fees by ordinance and escalate them annually (often by a construction cost index), with occasional mid-year updates. Always confirm the current adopted schedule with the jurisdiction. ImpactFeeAtlas last verified Denver on 2026-06-16.