Colorado Tenant Laws: Deposits, Repairs, and Evictions

Colorado tenant laws, found mainly in Titles 38 and 13 of the Colorado Revised Statutes, give renters a non-waivable right to a habitable unit, cap security deposits at two months’ rent, require a seven-day grace period before any late fee, bar landlords from locking tenants out without a court order, and provide treble-damages remedies when a landlord retaliates or wrongfully withholds a deposit. The sections below walk through what each of those rights covers and how to use them.

What Your Landlord Must Provide

Every residential lease in Colorado carries an implied warranty of habitability under C.R.S. § 38-12-503. You cannot sign that warranty away. A lease clause that tries to waive it is unenforceable.¹

C.R.S. § 38-12-505 lists the specific conditions a rental must meet:¹

Running water and hot water sufficient for normal cleaning and health needs, connected to an approved sewage system.
Functioning heating facilities, maintained in good working order.
A weatherproof roof and exterior walls, with unbroken windows and doors.
Plumbing, gas, and electrical systems that conform to the code in effect when installed and are kept in good working order.
Clean, sanitary common areas, free of accumulated garbage, with pest control when needed.
Working locks on all exterior doors and security devices on windows designed to open.
Sound floors, stairways, elevators, and railings.
No mold associated with dampness that would affect your health or safety.

A unit substantially lacking any of these features is uninhabitable under the statute, and the landlord has breached the warranty.

What To Do When Repairs Are Ignored

C.R.S. § 38-12-507 gives you three distinct ways to respond when a landlord fails to fix a serious problem. You can use more than one.

End the Lease

You can terminate without penalty by delivering written notice that identifies the problem, states your intent to leave, and sets a move-out date at least ten days away. If the landlord fixes the condition before your stated date, the lease continues. If the problem persists, the lease ends on that date and you owe nothing further.²

If the same problem comes back within six months of being fixed, you can terminate with just ten days’ notice, as long as you act within thirty days of the recurrence.²

Repair and Deduct

You can hire a licensed professional to make the repair and subtract the cost from your next rent payment. The standard notice is ten days before you hire someone. If you reasonably believe the condition threatens your life, health, or safety, forty-eight hours is enough. A broken appliance can be replaced after just three days’ notice.²

Use this remedy carefully. If a court later finds you deducted in bad faith, the landlord can recover double the amount you withheld.

Court-Ordered Repairs

You can ask any county or district court for an immediate temporary restraining order forcing the landlord to bring the unit up to standard. This option does not require advance notice to the landlord, which makes it useful when the situation is urgent.²

Security Deposit Rules

Since August 2023, Colorado has capped security deposits at two months’ rent. The limit applies regardless of what the lease says.³

After you move out, the landlord has one month to return the deposit. A written lease can push that deadline out to sixty days, but no further.⁴ If any amount is withheld, you must receive a written statement listing the exact reason for each deduction and any balance owed. Deductions for normal wear and tear are prohibited. Faded carpet from years of ordinary use and minor wall scuffs do not count.

If the landlord willfully keeps money in violation of the statute, you can recover three times the amount wrongfully withheld, plus reasonable attorney fees and court costs. Before you file suit, you must give the landlord at least seven days’ written notice of your intent to sue.⁴ That notice is a prerequisite. Skip it and the treble-damages claim can be dismissed.

Late Fees and the Seven-Day Grace Period

Under C.R.S. § 38-12-105, a landlord cannot charge any late fee unless rent is at least seven calendar days past due.⁵ Even then, the fee is capped at the greater of $50 or 5% of the overdue rent. On $1,800 rent, that works out to a maximum of $90.

Other rules apply. The fee must be disclosed in the lease. A landlord cannot charge interest on a late fee, impose more than one late fee per late payment, or recoup the fee by subtracting it from a future rent payment. And a landlord cannot evict you solely because you failed to pay a late fee. The statute treats late fees as separate from rent, so unpaid late fees alone do not trigger the eviction process.⁵ Any lease clause that violates these rules is void.

How Eviction Actually Works

A landlord who wants to remove you must go through the courts. Colorado’s forcible entry and detainer statutes, starting at C.R.S. § 13-40-101, control the whole process.

For most residential lease violations, including unpaid rent, the landlord serves a written notice giving you ten days to either cure the problem or move out.⁶ If the landlord classifies the violation as “substantial” under C.R.S. § 13-40-107.5, the notice drops to three days with no chance to cure.⁷

If you don’t comply, the landlord files a summons and complaint, and the court sets a hearing. Even after a judgment for the landlord, the court cannot issue a writ of restitution until at least forty-eight hours later, and the sheriff cannot execute that writ until at least ten days after judgment. Tenants receiving Supplemental Security Income, Social Security Disability, or Colorado Works cash assistance get thirty days before the writ can be executed.⁸

Self-help evictions are illegal. Under C.R.S. § 38-12-510, a landlord cannot change the locks, shut off utilities, remove your belongings, or block access to the unit.⁹ Only a sheriff executing a court-issued writ can legally remove you.

Notice To End a Tenancy

How much notice either side must give to end a tenancy depends on how long you’ve been there. C.R.S. § 13-40-107 sets these minimums, and they apply to both landlords and tenants:⁶

One year or longer: at least 91 days’ written notice.
Six months to less than one year: at least 28 days.
One month to less than six months: at least 21 days.
One week to less than one month, or a tenancy at will: at least 3 days.
Less than one week: at least 1 day.

The notice must expire at the end of the rental period. If you pay rent on the first and you’re on a month-to-month, your written notice has to reach the landlord at least 21 days before the end of the current month for termination to take effect when that month closes.

Rent Increases

Colorado prohibits local rent control. C.R.S. § 38-12-301 declares residential rent regulation a matter of statewide concern, and no city or county can cap what landlords charge.⁴ Voluntary affordability agreements between a municipality and a developer are the only exception.

During a fixed-term lease, a landlord cannot raise your rent unless the lease specifically allows it. Once the lease converts to month-to-month, the landlord must give the same termination notice period (21 days for most month-to-month arrangements) before any new rate takes effect. There is no statutory limit on the size of the increase.

Retaliation Is Prohibited

C.R.S. § 38-12-509 bars a landlord from punishing you for complaining about habitability problems, joining a tenants’ association, or exercising any right under the habitability statutes.¹⁰ Prohibited acts include raising rent, reducing services, filing or threatening an eviction, refusing to renew the lease, harassment, and tacking on new fees.

You do not have to prove retaliation was the only reason for the landlord’s decision. If your protected activity was a motivating factor, that is enough.¹⁰

Remedies are substantial. A tenant who proves retaliation can recover three months’ rent or three times actual damages, whichever is greater, plus attorney fees and costs, and may terminate the lease. Retaliation can also be raised as an affirmative defense in an eviction, including a nonpayment case where the nonpayment resulted from a retaliatory rent increase.¹⁰

Early Termination for Domestic Violence

If you are a victim of domestic violence or domestic abuse and fear imminent danger, C.R.S. § 38-12-402 lets you break your lease early. You must give the landlord written notice that you are a victim and provide either a police report from the prior sixty days or a valid protection order.¹¹

After you move out, your only remaining financial obligation is one month’s rent, payable within ninety days. The landlord can offset that against your security deposit, and the deposit can be applied against it.

Early Termination for Military Orders

Active-duty servicemembers and their dependents can terminate a residential lease early under the federal Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, 50 U.S.C. § 3955. Qualifying events include orders for a permanent change of station, deployment of 90 days or more, or entry into active duty.¹²

Deliver written notice with a copy of your orders by hand, private carrier, certified mail with return receipt, or electronic means. The lease ends 30 days after the next rent due date following your notice. No early termination fee is allowed, though you remain responsible for rent through the termination date and for damage beyond normal wear and tear.¹²

Landlord Entry and Your Privacy

Colorado has no statute setting a specific notice period before a landlord enters your unit. Entry rights come from the lease. If the lease has an access clause, those terms govern. If the lease is silent, the landlord has no automatic right to come in.

Emergencies are the exception. A landlord can enter without notice for an immediate threat such as flooding, a gas leak, or a fire, and can enter when you have asked for a specific repair. Entry beyond those limits may violate the common law covenant of quiet enjoyment.

Fair Housing and Required Disclosures

The federal Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. § 3604, applies to every residential rental in Colorado. Landlords cannot refuse to rent to you, set different terms, or provide lesser services because of race, color, religion, sex (including gender identity and sexual orientation), national origin, familial status, or disability.¹³

Disability protections include reasonable accommodations for assistance animals. If you have a disability-related need for one, the landlord must allow it despite a no-pet policy, and cannot charge a pet deposit or pet rent. A landlord may ask for documentation of the need when it isn’t obvious, but cannot require any kind of “registration” or “certification.”

If a landlord denies your application based on a credit report or background check, federal law requires an adverse action notice under 15 U.S.C. § 1681m. The notice must identify the reporting agency and inform you of your right to dispute the report’s accuracy.

For housing built before 1978, federal law requires lead-paint disclosures before you sign. Under 42 U.S.C. § 4852d, the landlord must give you the EPA’s “Protect Your Family From Lead In Your Home” pamphlet, disclose any known lead-based paint or hazards, share all available lead inspection reports, and include a signed Lead Warning Statement in or attached to the lease.¹⁴ Limited exceptions apply, including short-term rentals of fewer than 100 days, housing certified lead-free, and some senior or disability housing where no child under six resides.¹⁵

1
Justia. Colorado Code 38-12-505 – Uninhabitable Residential Premises
2
Justia. Colorado Code 38-12-507 – Breach of Warranty of Habitability
3
Justia. Colorado Code 38-12-102.5 – Security Deposit Limitations
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Justia. Colorado Code 38-12-103 – Return of Security Deposit
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Justia. Colorado Code 38-12-105 – Late Fees
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Justia. Colorado Code 13-40-104 – Unlawful Detention Defined
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Justia. Colorado Code 13-40-107.5 – Substantial Violation
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Justia. Colorado Code 13-40-122 – Writ of Restitution After Judgment
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Justia. Colorado Code 38-12-510 – Removal or Exclusion of Tenant
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Justia. Colorado Code 38-12-509 – Retaliation Prohibited
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Justia. Colorado Code 38-12-402 – Protection for Victims of Domestic Violence
12
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 50 USC 3955 – Termination of Residential or Motor Vehicle Leases
13
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 3604 – Discrimination in the Sale or Rental of Housing
14
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 4852d – Disclosure of Information Concerning Lead
15
US EPA. Real Estate Disclosures About Potential Lead Hazards