Submit a Complaint

Community Development Offices - System Update on November 25 & 26, 2024

The Larimer County Community Development Department (Building, Planning, Code Compliance) will conduct a system update on November 25 & 26. This update also affects groups outside of Community Development, including the Weeds District and Engineering. The Online Customer Portal is part of this update and will not be available. No inspections or permitting will take place online. Inspections will be performed on Monday, November 25. Staff on call will be available, but we cannot initiate new permits, code cases or zoning files or look up information regarding existing permits, code cases or zoning files, etc. Thank you for your understanding and we apologize for any inconvenience.

LANDLORD/TENANT DISPUTES: 

If this is a tenant/landlord dispute, we are unable to provide assistance in these matters as they are civil in nature.  There is a free legal clinic at the Fort Collins Old Town Library that may be able to offer some assistance on the 1st Friday of the month (2:00-3:30 PM).  There is limited space and it is a 1st come, 1st service basis with a paper sign up sheet. 

For more information about the free legal clinic, please call (970) 221-6740. 

MOBILE HOME PARK OVERSIGHT PROGRAM:  Mobile home owners, mobile home park owners, and mobile home park managers can submit complaints for dispute resolution through the Department of Local Affairs, instead of taking issues to court, which can be costly.   Visit the Mobile Home Park Oversight Program website for more information.

COMPLAINTS HANDLED BY OTHER DEPARTMENTS: 

OTHER DISPUTES:

  1. Try to make contact with the responsible person.  Describe your perception of the problem and how it affects you,  Then discuss possible solutions. 
  2. Confirm whether the situation is a violation of County regulations. https://www.larimer.gov/codecompliance
  3. If you cannot resolve the issue, submit a complaint to the Code Compliance Section.  (refer to the "Submit a Complaint (Unincorporated Larimer County)" tab below)
  Expand All   Collapse All

Navigate to the Larimer County Assessor Property Search. 

  • Enter the property form with the address or parcel number (You do not need to fill in the entire form to return search results).

Once the property record generates, select it to open the specific property details.

  • Hover over the question mark next to Tax District.
  • The information provided will include either "City:.." and the name of the Town or City jurisdiction or "City: Outside City Limits"

 

Tax Number Jurisdiction Example

Tax Number Jurisdiction Example

 

Before submitting a complaint, please check if the property is in Unincorporated Larimer County. If the property is outside of Unincorporated Larimer County, you will need to contact the appropriate city or town. For more details, refer to the "How to Determine if the Violation is in City Limits or Unincorporated" tab above. If the property is not listed as "Outside City Limits" in the Assessor's Tax District Number, please use the correct form for the City or Town instead.

Any County citizen may make a complaint alleging one or more code violations. You may submit a written complaint in one of the following ways:

Online Complaint Form 

Complaint Form Pdf (159.61 KB)

In person at our office(s) located at 200 West Oak, Suite 300, Fort Collins or in Estes Park at 1600 Brodie Street
 

In most cases, yes. Code Compliance staff does not voluntarily release this information, but if asked, the information is subject to the Colorado Open Records Act. A complaint form is considered a public record subject to disclosure pursuant to state law.

Under limited circumstances a Commissioner may accept an anonymous complaint. Those circumstances being:

  • When the complainant is experiencing a perceived or actual threat from the owner or operator of the property for which they want to file a complaint.

and

  • If the land use or building(s) on the property are a high priority Code Compliance Case type which would include:
    • Health and safety issues with a building, property, floodplain (e.g., people living in RVs and not sure where waste is going), or
    • An illegal use or expansion of commercial business.

Due to the Colorado Open Records Act, Larimer County may not be able to guarantee anonymity. If you have determined based on the above circumstances an anonymous complaint is your only route to submit a complaint, please note the following instructions to assist in the ability to keep your complaint anonymous.

  • If you choose to proceed with the anonymous complaint process, a phone call to the Commissioner for your district is the suggested route. Commissioner Information & Contact
  • Email communication may be subject to the Colorado Open Records Act.

When making an anonymous complaint, be prepared to provide the following information:

  • For anonymous complaint follow up purposes (seen by the Commissioner only)
    • Name, phone number and address, the concern, and why you feel threatened.
  • For Code Compliance research and violation follow up purposes:
    • What is the address of the property?
    • Describe in detail the possible Land Use Code, Building, or other violation.
    • Is the property accessible and is the violation visible from a public road (i.e., No private road, gates)?

Your complaint will be acknowledged, generally within 24 business hours of receipt. The complaint will be assigned to the appropriate Code Compliance staff member who will, depending on the Code Compliance Priority Ratings assigned, review records on file and begin an investigation. If the basis of the complaint is determined to be justified, a Code Compliance case will be initiated and staff will work to bring the property into compliance via enforcement tools available.

Complaints against Contractors can be filed with the Larimer County Building Department.

  • In person at our office located at 200 West Oak, Suite 300, Fort Collins
  • File Online

Contact Code Compliance

200 W. Oak Street, Suite 3100
Fort Collins, CO 80521
(970) 498-7683 
 Office Hours: 8am - 4:00pm, Monday - Friday
Department Directory