Colorado landlord-tenant law lives mostly in Title 38 of the Colorado Revised Statutes, and it sets the rules both sides have to follow on security deposits, habitability, rent increases, late fees, retaliation, and eviction. Local ordinances can add to those rules, but state law is the floor. Several tenant protections have been strengthened in recent years, so a lease signed today operates under tighter standards than one from a decade ago.
Leases and Required Disclosures
Oral leases are enforceable in Colorado for terms of one year or less. Anything longer has to be in writing to hold up in court. Once you move in or once rent is paid and accepted, a landlord-tenant relationship exists whether or not paper changed hands.
Before a lease is signed, two disclosures are mandatory. For any building constructed before 1978, federal law requires the landlord to share what they know about lead-based paint hazards and hand over the EPA pamphlet “Protect Your Family From Lead in Your Home.”1US EPA. Lead-Based Paint Disclosure Rule (Section 1018 of Title X) And under C.R.S. § 38-12-803, Colorado requires a written radon disclosure covering whether testing has been done, any test results on file, concentrations found, and any mitigation systems installed. The tenant signs to confirm receipt.2FindLaw. Colorado Code 38-12-803 – Disclosure – Elevated Radon – Definition
Application Fees and Screening
Under C.R.S. § 38-12-903, an application fee can only cover the actual cost of processing your application or the landlord’s average processing cost across multiple applications. Different applicants for the same unit have to be charged the same amount.3Justia. Colorado Code 38-12-903 – Rental Application Fee – Limitations
The landlord has to give you either a disclosure of what the fee will cover or an itemized breakdown of actual costs, plus a receipt. Any unused portion has to be returned within twenty calendar days. You can skip the fee entirely by providing a portable tenant screening report you already own and can reuse across applications.
Security Deposits
Colorado does not cap how much a landlord can collect as a security deposit. What state law does control is what happens after you leave. Under C.R.S. § 38-12-103, the landlord has one month after the lease ends or you surrender the unit, whichever is later, to return the deposit in full or send a written statement itemizing the deductions and the remaining balance. A lease can extend that window, but never past sixty days.4Justia. Colorado Code 38-12-103 – Return of Security Deposit
Miss the deadline without the written accounting, and the landlord forfeits the right to keep any part of the deposit. Willfully withholding a deposit in violation of the statute exposes the landlord to triple the wrongfully withheld amount plus the tenant’s attorney fees and court costs. Before you file, you have to give the landlord at least seven days’ written notice of your intent to sue.4Justia. Colorado Code 38-12-103 – Return of Security Deposit
Rent Increases and Late Fees
If you rent without a written lease, the landlord has to give at least sixty days’ written notice before raising the rent, and cannot terminate the oral tenancy as a workaround to skip that notice.5Justia. Colorado Code 38-12-701 A written fixed-term lease locks in the rent for the term; any increase takes effect at renewal.
Late fees are capped by C.R.S. § 38-12-105. Rent has to be at least seven calendar days overdue before any late fee can be charged, and the fee cannot exceed the greater of $50 or five percent of the past-due amount.6FindLaw. Colorado Code 38-12-105 – Late Fees Charged to Tenants and Mobile Home Owners Landlords cannot charge interest on late fees, deduct a late fee from a rent payment, or impose one more than 180 days after the rent was originally due. Lease provisions that violate these rules are void.
The Warranty of Habitability
Every residential lease in Colorado carries an implied warranty of habitability under C.R.S. § 38-12-503. The landlord guarantees the unit is fit for habitation at move-in and keeps it that way throughout the tenancy.7Justia. Colorado Code 38-12-503 – Warranty of Habitability – Notice – Landlord Obligations
C.R.S. § 38-12-505 defines what counts. A unit fails the standard if it has mold associated with dampness (beyond minor surface moisture on fixtures designed to get wet) or if it substantially lacks any of the following:8Justia. Colorado Code 38-12-505
- A waterproof roof, intact exterior walls, and unbroken windows and doors
- Running water at all times, hot water sufficient for basic hygiene, and a working sewage connection
- Functioning heating and electrical systems that met applicable codes at installation
- Working appliances that conformed to code at installation
- Locks on all exterior doors, security devices on openable windows, and sound floors, stairways, and railings
- Appropriate extermination in response to rodent, insect, or other pest infestations
- Clean, sanitary common areas free of accumulated trash
- No building, housing, or health code violations that threaten life, health, or safety
Repair Timelines
To trigger the landlord’s duty to repair, send written or electronic notice describing the specific condition. The landlord has 24 hours to respond with a plan and estimated timeline. Work has to begin within 24 hours for conditions that materially threaten life, health, or safety, and within 96 hours for conditions that make the unit uninhabitable but aren’t immediate emergencies, as long as your notice gave permission to enter.7Justia. Colorado Code 38-12-503 – Warranty of Habitability – Notice – Landlord Obligations
What You Can Do If the Landlord Fails to Act
Under C.R.S. § 38-12-507, you have three main remedies. You can terminate the lease without penalty by giving ten to sixty days’ written notice identifying the condition, your intent to leave, and your vacate date (at least ten days out). If the same condition recurs within six months of being fixed, you can terminate again with ten days’ notice.9Justia. Colorado Code 38-12-507 – Breach of Warranty of Habitability – Tenant Remedies
You can also hire a licensed professional to make the repair and deduct the cost from rent. That takes at least ten days’ advance written notice of your intent to hire, or 48 hours if the condition threatens life, health, or safety. The contractor cannot be a relative, the estimate has to be consistent with industry standards, and you have to provide a receipt afterward.9Justia. Colorado Code 38-12-507 – Breach of Warranty of Habitability – Tenant Remedies
For a broken or malfunctioning appliance, you can replace it and deduct the cost from rent after at least three days’ notice. The replacement has to be of comparable quality to the original.
When the Landlord Can Enter Your Unit
Colorado does not have a general statute setting a minimum notice period for routine landlord entry. Instead, entry rights come from the lease, which typically allows access at reasonable times with reasonable notice for repairs and inspections. If the lease is silent on entry, you have exclusive use of the property and are not required to let the landlord in, though refusing in that scenario shifts liability to you for damage that goes unrepaired. In genuine emergencies, like a burst pipe or fire, the landlord can enter without notice regardless of what the lease says.
Two statutory exceptions exist. For bed bug inspections or treatment, C.R.S. § 38-12-1004 requires at least 48 hours’ written or electronic notice unless the lease sets a different minimum.10Justia. Colorado Code 38-12-1004 – Bed Bugs – Access to Dwelling Unit and Personal Belongings – Notice – Costs And when entering to make a required habitability repair, the landlord has to provide the date, time, and estimated duration of entry.7Justia. Colorado Code 38-12-503 – Warranty of Habitability – Notice – Landlord Obligations Outside those contexts, your lease controls.
Retaliation Protections
Under C.R.S. § 38-12-509, a landlord cannot retaliate against you for making a good-faith complaint about habitability or safety (to the landlord, a government agency, or a nonprofit), joining a tenants’ association, or exercising any remedy available under the habitability statutes.11Justia. Colorado Code 38-12-509
Retaliation includes raising rent, cutting services, refusing to renew the lease, threatening or filing an eviction, harassing you, or adding new fees. You don’t have to prove retaliation was the only reason; it only has to be a motivating factor. A tenant who proves retaliation can recover up to three months’ rent or triple actual damages, whichever is greater, plus attorney fees and costs, and may terminate the lease. Retaliation can also be raised as a defense in an eviction, including one based on nonpayment of a retaliatory rent increase.11Justia. Colorado Code 38-12-509
Eviction
A Colorado landlord cannot simply tell you to leave. Evictions have to go through the courts in a Forcible Entry and Detainer action, and the process starts with a written notice whose length depends on the reason.
Notice
For nonpayment of rent, violation of a material lease term, or conduct that disturbs other tenants or constitutes a nuisance, the landlord has to serve a ten-day written notice demanding payment, cure, or possession.12Justia. Colorado Code 13-40-104 – Demand for Compliance or Right to Possession A second violation of the same lease term can be met with a ten-day notice that terminates the tenancy outright with no chance to cure. These notice periods cannot be waived in a residential lease.
Court and Lockout
If you don’t resolve the issue or move out within the notice period, the landlord can file a complaint. You’ll get a summons with a court date, and both sides present evidence to a judge. If judgment goes against you, the court still cannot issue the writ of restitution (the order authorizing physical removal) until at least 48 hours after judgment. For most residential tenants, the sheriff cannot execute the writ until at least ten days after judgment. If you receive Supplemental Security Income, Social Security Disability, or cash assistance through Colorado Works, the waiting period extends to thirty days.13Justia. Colorado Code 13-40-122 – Writ of Restitution After Judgment
Only the county sheriff’s office can carry out the physical lockout. A landlord who changes locks, removes belongings, or shuts off utilities to force you out is conducting an illegal self-help eviction, and Colorado courts can award damages and injunctive relief.
Early Lease Termination Rights
Victims of domestic violence or domestic abuse can break a lease early under C.R.S. § 38-12-402. You have to give written notice that you are a victim and provide either a police report filed within the prior sixty days or a valid protection order, and you have to be leaving because of fear of imminent danger to yourself or your children.14Justia. Colorado Code 38-12-402 – Protection for Victims of Domestic Violence A tenant who terminates this way owes up to one month’s rent after vacating, payable within ninety days, and the landlord can offset that against the deposit. The obligation applies only if the landlord has documented damages from the early termination equal to at least one month’s rent.
Active-duty service members have separate protections under the federal Servicemembers Civil Relief Act. If you signed the lease before entering active duty and will serve at least 90 days, or you signed during active duty and then received PCS or deployment orders for more than 90 days, you can terminate early.15Military OneSource. Military Clause: Terminate Your Lease Due to Deployment or PCS Deliver written notice with a copy of your orders by hand, certified mail, or a private carrier like FedEx or UPS. The lease ends 30 days after the next monthly rent payment is due. Be careful about signing anything that waives SCRA rights.