Colorado Residential Lease Agreement

Required Landlord Disclosures (9)

Colorado landlords must provide certain disclosures before or at the time tenants sign a residential lease agreement. These disclosures include:

1. Lead-based paint disclosure: Federal law requires landlords to disclose known lead-based paint or lead-based paint hazards in most homes or apartments built before 1978. Landlords must also provide the required lead warning statement and EPA-approved pamphlet before the tenant signs the lease (42 U.S.C. § 4852d).
2. Written lease copy: Colorado landlords must provide tenants with a copy of the signed written rental agreement no later than 7 days after the tenant signs it. Landlords may provide an electronic copy unless the tenant requests a paper copy (Colo. Rev. Stat. § 38-12-801).
3. Names and addresses of landlord or authorized agent disclosure: Colorado written rental agreements must include a statement identifying the landlord’s name and address or the landlord’s authorized agent. If that information changes, the new landlord or authorized agent must give written or electronic notice to each tenant within 1 business day or post the updated information in a prominent place on the property (Colo. Rev. Stat. § 38-12-801).
4. Radon gas disclosure: Before a tenant signs a lease, Colorado landlords must give them a signed radon disclosure that includes the required warning statement, any knowledge of radon concentrations, radon test results, mitigation information, and a copy of the most recent Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment radon brochure (Colo. Rev. Stat. § 38-12-803).
5. Income non-discrimination disclosure: Colorado written rental agreements must include a statement that (Colo. Rev. Stat. § 24-34-502(1)) prohibits source-of-income discrimination and requires a non-exempt landlord to accept any lawful and verifiable source of money paid to or on behalf of the tenant, including rental assistance from any federal, state, local, or nonprofit program. This requirement does not apply to landlords with five or fewer single-family rental homes and no more than five total rental units (Colo. Rev. Stat. § 38-12-801).
6. Denver Tenant Rights and Resources Handbook: For rental properties in the City and County of Denver, landlords must provide the Denver Tenant Rights and Resources notice when the lease is signed and when a rent demand is served.
7. Bed bug disclosure: Colorado landlords cannot offer a unit for rent if they know or reasonably suspect that it contains bed bugs. Upon a prospective tenant’s request, the landlord must disclose whether, to the landlord’s knowledge, the unit had bed bugs within the previous 8 months (Colo. Rev. Stat. § 38-12-1005).
8. Warranty of habitability statement: Colorado rental agreements entered into or renewed on or after January 1, 2025, must include a statement in English and Spanish, in at least 12-point boldfaced type, indicating where tenants can deliver written notice of unsafe or uninhabitable conditions. The lease must also include the required safe housing and anti-retaliation statement (Colo. Rev. Stat. § 38-12-503).
9. Fee and total-price disclosure: For leases entered into, renewed, or amended on or after January 1, 2026, Colorado’s price transparency law requires landlords to disclose the total price of the rental up front. Landlords must present it as a single dollar amount that includes rent and all mandatory recurring fees They cannot advertise a lower base rent and list required fees separately (Colo. Rev. Stat. § 6-1-737).

Security Deposit Regulations

Maximum security deposit amount: Colorado landlords cannot require a security deposit worth more than 2 months’ rent for residential properties (Colo. Rev. Stat. § 38-12-102.5).

Receipt of deposit: Colorado law does not require landlords to give tenants written notice after receiving their security deposit.

Deduction tracking: If a landlord withholds any portion of the security deposit, they must provide a written statement listing the exact reasons for the deductions. The statement must accompany the remaining deposit balance, and landlords can send both to the tenant’s last known address. If the landlord provides a written statement and the tenant makes a written request within 14 days, they must also provide any relevant documentation in their possession or control. The list should include:

• Each damage charge: The specific amount withheld for each item
• An explanation for each deduction: A clear reason for why the landlord withheld that amount
• Copies of repair estimates or receipts: Supporting documentation for repair-related deductions when available and requested by the tenant

Returning a tenant’s security deposit: In Colorado, landlords must return a tenant’s security deposit within 30 days after the lease ends or the tenant surrenders the property and the landlord accepts it, whichever occurs later. Landlords can state in the lease, however, that they will return the security deposit within a longer period, up to 60 days (Colo. Rev. Stat. § 38-12-103).

2026 deposit rules: Effective January 1, 2026, landlords cannot withhold any part of a security deposit for normal wear and tear or for damage or defective conditions that existed before the tenancy. Landlords may keep funds only for actual cause such as unpaid rent, unpaid utility or other lawful charges listed in the lease, or necessary repairs (Colo. Rev. Stat. § 38-12-103).

Landlord’s Access to Property

Advance notice: Colorado law does not specify how much notice landlords need to give before entering a rental property. For bed bug inspections or treatment, landlords must provide reasonable written or electronic notice at least 48 hours before entry unless the rental agreement states a different minimum notice period (Colo. Rev. Stat. § 38-12-1004).

Immediate access: Colorado law does not require landlords to give advance notice before entering a property in emergencies, such as leaks, structural problems, fires, or similar urgent issues.

Landlord harassment: Failure to provide notice before entering a tenant’s property, especially as part of a pattern of intrusive behavior, could support a tenant’s claim that the landlord interfered with their right to quiet enjoyment. Repeated intrusions may give the tenant grounds to sue the landlord, depending on the facts.

Rent Payment Laws

Grace period: Colorado law gives tenants a 7-day grace period before landlords can charge late fees. After those 7 calendar days, a landlord can charge late fees, but only if the rental agreement discloses them (Colo. Rev. Stat. § 38-12-105).

Late rent fees: Colorado landlords may charge late fees only if the rental agreement discloses the late fee. Landlords cannot charge a late fee until rent remains unpaid for at least 7 calendar days after the due date, and the fee cannot exceed $50 or 5% of the past-due rent, whichever is greater (Colo. Rev. Stat. § 38-12-105).

Tenant’s right to withhold rent: Depending on the issue and required notice, Colorado tenants may be able to terminate the rental agreement, deduct repair costs from rent, or seek other legal remedies. Tenants should not withhold rent without following Colorado’s habitability process, because the details and timing matter (Colo. Rev. Stat. § 38-12-507).

Breach of Rental Agreement

Missed rent payment: If a Colorado tenant does not pay rent, the landlord must serve a written demand before filing an eviction case. For most residential tenancies, the demand must give the tenant 10 days to pay the overdue rent or move out before the landlord can proceed in court (Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-40-104, § 13-40-106).

Lease violation: The first step a Colorado landlord can take when a tenant violates the lease is to issue a written demand clearly stating the violation and the required remedy or action. For most standard residential leases, the notice must give the tenant 10 days to comply or move out before the landlord can file an eviction case (Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-40-104, § 13-40-106).

Self-help evictions: Landlords cannot remove or exclude a tenant from a dwelling without using the court process, except in limited circumstances allowed by law (Colo. Rev. Stat. § 38-12-510).

Lease abandonment: A Colorado tenant who moves out before the lease ends may remain responsible for rent until the lease expires or the landlord finds a new tenant. If the landlord re-rents the property before the original lease term ends, the original lease ends when the new tenancy begins. The landlord may still recover actual damages from the tenant where allowed by law.

Prohibited lease clauses: Colorado lease agreements cannot include certain prohibited clauses. Those include: unreasonable liquidated damages tied to lease violations or eviction notices, certain one-way fee-shifting clauses, waivers of jury trials, class-action waivers, or clauses that require tenants to pay the landlord’s attorney fees except as allowed by law (Colo. Rev. Stat. § 38-12-801).

Ending a Lease

Month-to-month: Colorado landlords and tenants must give written notice before ending or failing to renew a periodic tenancy. The required notice depends on the length of the tenancy. For example, a tenancy of 1 month or longer but less than 6 months requires at least 21 days’ notice, while a tenancy of 6 months or longer but less than 1 year requires at least 28 days’ notice (Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-40-107, § 38-12-1303).

Fixed-term: Colorado tenants can only break a fixed-term lease early under certain circumstances, including active-duty military service, the landlord’s breach of the rental agreement, or an uninhabitable property when the tenant follows Colorado’s habitability process. Some leases include early termination clauses, giving either party an out in certain circumstances (Colo. Rev. Stat. § 38-12-507).

Property abandonment: If a tenant leaves personal property at their former residence, the landlord should make reasonable efforts to notify the tenant before disposing of it. Colorado law presumes certain property abandoned after at least 30 days, and the landlord may need to provide at least 15 days’ notice by registered or Certified Mail before selling or disposing of it (Colo. Rev. Stat. § 38-20-116).

Renewing a Lease

Required renewals: Colorado limits when covered landlords can refuse to renew or terminate certain residential tenancies. Landlords should review Colorado’s cause-based termination rules before declining renewal, because exemptions and specific notice requirements may apply (Colo. Rev. Stat. § 38-12-1303).

Required notice: In Colorado, the notice period required for landlords to give tenants when ending or not renewing a tenancy depends on the length of the tenancy (Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-40-107):

• 1 year or longer: 91 days’ notice
• 6 to 12 months: 28 days’ notice
• 1 to 6 months: 21 days’ notice
• 1 week to 1 month, or a tenancy at will: 3 days’ notice