The most expensive mistake a Colorado landlord can make costs three times the money in dispute. Keep any part of a security deposit willfully and wrongfully, and C.R.S. § 38-12-103 lets the tenant collect treble damages plus attorney fees and court costs. A $2,000 deposit held back without a defensible, documented reason can turn into a $6,000 judgment with your name on it, and starting January 1, 2026 the documentation rules get stricter. So start where the money is.

Deposits in Colorado: capped at two months, returned in one

Since August 7, 2023, the deposit is capped at two monthly rent payments (C.R.S. § 38-12-102.5, added by SB 23-184). The site's older quick-reference note of "no statutory cap" described the pre-2023 world; that era is over. On a $1,800 unit you may hold at most $3,600, counting anything that functions as a deposit regardless of what the lease calls it.

Return the deposit, or an itemized statement of what you kept and why, within one month of the tenant surrendering the unit. Your lease can stretch that to a maximum of 60 days if the clause is actually written in it (C.R.S. § 38-12-103). Miss the deadline and you forfeit the right to withhold anything; withhold willfully and wrongfully and you're into treble-damages territory.

HB 25-1249 rewrites the fine print for leases in effect on or after January 1, 2026. Normal wear and tear gets a statutory definition, and you can no longer charge for carpet replacement or repainting absent substantial damage beyond it that didn't preexist the tenancy. You must offer a mutually convenient walk-through inspection before the tenant surrenders the unit, and if the tenant asks for backup (photos, invoices, reports), you have 14 days to produce it. Tenants must give you 7 days' notice before suing for treble damages, which is your window to cure. Deposit software helps here; Rentari tracks the one-month clock and stores the itemization evidence per tenancy.

Notice rules: raising rent, ending tenancies, entering the unit

Rent increases take at least 60 days' written notice, and you get one increase per 12-month period no matter how the tenancy is structured (C.R.S. §§ 38-12-701, 38-12-702). You can't dodge the limit by terminating and re-renting to the same tenant at a higher rate.

Ending a tenancy got a major overlay in April 2024. HB 24-1098 requires cause to evict or non-renew most tenants who have been in place 12 months or more. No-fault grounds (demolition or conversion, substantial repairs, owner or family move-in, withdrawal to sell, a tenant's refusal of a reasonable new lease, or three or more rent payments over ten days late) require 90 days' written notice before the lease expires. Exempt: owner-occupied properties of one to three units and their adjacent units, short-term rentals, employer housing, mobile home lots, and tenants under 12 months.

Entry is the odd gap: Colorado has no general entry-notice statute, so your lease controls, and 24 hours' notice remains the professional default. Two specific rules do exist. Bed bug inspections take 48 hours' advance notice (C.R.S. § 38-12-1004), and entry to fix a habitability problem takes at least 24 hours' written notice stating date, time, and estimated duration (C.R.S. § 38-12-503). Compare Montana, which puts a flat 24-hour rule in statute for every non-emergency entry.

Late fees: a seven-day grace period and a hard cap

Colorado is one of the few states with a true statutory late-fee formula (C.R.S. § 38-12-105). No fee until rent is at least seven calendar days late. The fee tops out at the greater of $50 or 5% of the overdue amount, it must be disclosed in the lease, and you may charge it only once per late payment. You can't evict over unpaid late fees alone, can't deduct them from a later rent payment to manufacture a shortfall, and each violation costs you a $50 penalty plus potential damages. Arizona, by contrast, only asks that a fee be "reasonable" and in the lease; Idaho has no statutory cap at all.

There is no rent control anywhere in the state. C.R.S. § 38-12-301 preempts local rent caps on private housing, so the 60-day notice and the once-a-year rule are the only brakes on pricing. From January 1, 2026, though, HB 25-1090 requires every advertised rent to be a single total price including mandatory fees, and it bans passing through common-area maintenance and similar markups as separate line items on residential leases.

The Colorado eviction path, step by step

Nonpayment starts with a written demand for compliance or possession, the JDF 99 form most landlords know as the 10-day notice (C.R.S. § 13-40-104(1)(d)). Lease violations get the same 10-day demand under subsection (1)(e). Two shorter tracks exist: 5 days for an "exempt residential agreement" (you own five or fewer single-family rental homes and said so in the lease) and 3 days for employer-provided housing.

If the demand expires unmet, you file a forcible entry and detainer action in county court; only a court order and the sheriff can remove a tenant. Lockouts, utility shutoffs, and hauling possessions to the curb are illegal self-help, and since HB 24-1098 a court will also ask whether you had cause in the first place. Serve the right notice for the right track, because a defective notice restarts the whole clock. Current statute text for the entire landlord-tenant article sits at Colo. Rev. Stat. Title 38, Article 12.

Habitability after SB 24-094, radon, and the disclosure list

The 2024 rewrite of the warranty of habitability (SB 24-094, amending C.R.S. § 38-12-503) put response clocks on landlords: act within 24 hours on emergencies like no heat, no running water, a gas leak, or sewage backup, and within 7 days (14 for work needing licensed contractors) on other uninhabitable conditions, or a court presumes you breached. Remedies now include rent reduction, repair costs, lease termination, and in displacement cases comparable temporary housing. Document every repair request and response time.

Disclosures to have on file: the radon disclosure with the state health department's brochure, signed before the lease (C.R.S. § 38-12-803; skipping it is itself a habitability breach); the late-fee terms in the lease; bed bug history for the past eight months on request (C.R.S. § 38-12-1005); and the federal lead-paint pamphlet and disclosure form for pre-1978 housing. Colorado-ready lease and notice templates are in the forms library, and the one-page numbers live on the Colorado quick-reference sheet.

What changed in 2023 through 2026

  • August 7, 2023: SB 23-184 capped deposits at two months' rent and barred income requirements above 200% of rent in screening.
  • April 19, 2024: HB 24-1098 made Colorado a for-cause eviction state, including 90-day notice for no-fault nonrenewals.
  • May 2024: SB 24-094 rebuilt the warranty of habitability with 24-hour emergency response duties and burden-shifting presumptions.
  • January 1, 2026: HB 25-1249 tightened deposit deductions (wear-and-tear definition, walk-through, 14-day documentation); HB 25-1090 required total-price rent advertising and banned junk-fee pass-throughs.

Colorado landlord FAQ

Can I still set any deposit amount I want?

No. Two monthly rent payments is the ceiling (C.R.S. § 38-12-102.5), counting pet deposits and anything else refundable that secures performance. Above that, the excess is uncollectible.

How big can my late fee be?

The greater of $50 or 5% of the past-due amount, only after rent is seven days late, and only if the lease discloses it (C.R.S. § 38-12-105). One fee per late payment, and unpaid late fees alone can't support an eviction.

Do I need a reason to non-renew a lease now?

Usually yes. After 12 months of tenancy, HB 24-1098 requires cause, and the no-fault grounds (sale, demolition, major repairs, family move-in, repeated late payment) come with a 90-day notice. Owner-occupied one-to-three-unit properties and a few other categories are exempt.

How long do I have to return a deposit?

One month after surrender, or up to 60 days if your lease says so (C.R.S. § 38-12-103). Send an itemized statement for anything withheld; willful wrongful retention risks treble damages plus attorney fees.

Is any Colorado city allowed to impose rent control?

No. State law preempts local rent control on private residential property (C.R.S. § 38-12-301). Your practical limits are the 60-day increase notice, one increase per year, and the market.

General information for Colorado landlords, not legal advice. The General Assembly has amended these statutes every year since 2021, so check the current text of the cited sections or talk to a Colorado landlord-tenant attorney before relying on a number here.