Colorado landlord tenant law: the rules a landlord meets

Colorado security deposit law

Most you can take

2 months’ rentC.R.S. § 38-12-102.5

Back to the tenant within

30 daysC.R.S. § 38-12-103(1)The lease may extend this to no more than 60 days.

Rent and late fees

Late fee

5% or $50, as the statute words itC.R.S. § 38-12-105Greater of $50 or 5% of the past-due rent, only if disclosed in the rental agreement.

Grace period before a fee

7 daysC.R.S. § 38-12-105

Colorado rent increase laws and rent control

Notice before a rent increase

60 daysC.R.S. §§ 38-12-701(2)(a), 38-12-702, 38-12-30160 days' written notice applies to a residential tenancy with no written agreement; a written lease sets its own terms. Rent may be raised only once in any 12 months, and counties and cities may not control private residential rent.

Rent control

Local rent control bannedC.R.S. §§ 38-12-701(2)(a), 38-12-702, 38-12-301

Entering the property: notice to the tenant

Notice before you enter

No statute sets thisNo statute sets this

Ending a tenancy and eviction notices

Ending a month-to-month tenancy

21 daysC.R.S. §§ 13-40-107(1), 38-12-1303After a tenant has lived there 12 months, the landlord needs cause to end the tenancy, and a no-fault ending needs 90 days' written notice.

Unpaid rent

10 daysC.R.S. § 13-40-104(1)(d); C.R.S. § 38-12-1303“10-day demand for compliance or possession”Paying in full within the period stops itThe demand is in the alternative, pay or deliver possession; 5 days for an exempt residential agreement (a single-family home whose landlord owns five or fewer) and 3 days for employer-provided housing. Since April 2024 a landlord also needs one of the listed causes to evict.

Another breach of the lease

10 daysC.R.S. § 13-40-104(1)(e), (1)(e.5), § 13-40-107.5“10-day demand for compliance or possession”The tenant can fix the breach within the periodFor a material breach the tenant may comply within ten days; a repeat of the same breach allows a 10-day notice to terminate with no cure, and a substantial violation (such as a violent or drug felony on the premises) allows a 3-day notice to quit.

Lockouts and shutoffs

Banned: lockouts and utility shutoffsC.R.S. § 38-12-510

The Colorado eviction process, step by step

Disclosures a Colorado lease has to carry

• Before the lease is signed, give the tenant a radon warning, what the landlord knows about radon tests and mitigation at the property, and the state health department's radon brochure, with the tenant signing to acknowledge receipt. (C.R.S. § 38-12-803)
• A late fee may be charged only if it is disclosed in the rental agreement. (C.R.S. § 38-12-105)