Colorado Room Rental Agreement
As the house hacking trend gains popularity, renting out a room for extra income doesn’t feel so strange to most people anymore. Becoming a landlord no longer means owning multiple buildings — it might just mean opening up your home to a new investment opportunity.
A Colorado room rental agreement works similarly to a lease agreement for a full residential unit and should be constructed in much the same way. In this guide, we’ll review the key information a landlord should know when opening their home to a new renter.
Colorado Room Rental Laws
As with fixed-term and month-to-month leases, a Colorado room rental agreement must follow all state landlord-tenant laws and include the same disclosures when tenants sign the lease.
Types of Room Rental Agreements
A Colorado room rental agreement can take a few different forms, depending on what works best for both the tenant and the landlord.
Verbal agreement: A simple verbal agreement skips ink and paper—it’s essentially a handshake deal. These agreements offer little to no recourse if things go south, so TurboTenant does not recommend them.
Fixed-term lease: A fixed-term lease sets a specific start and end date and gives landlords peace of mind by clarifying how long the tenant will stay and pay rent.
Month-to-month lease: Month-to-month leases continue as long as both parties agree and end only with proper notice. People often call these tenants “tenants-at-will” because the arrangement offers flexibility.
The type of contract you choose for your Colorado room rental agreement depends on how you want to manage your rental. If you want long-term stability, a fixed-term lease may be best. A month-to-month lease might make more sense if you’d rather keep things flexible.
Colorado Lease Agreements
Learn MoreTurboTenant's Colorado lease agreement forms the backbone of a solid landlord-tenant relationship.
Colorado Month-to-Month Lease Agreement
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Required Landlord Disclosures
- Lead-based paint: Federal law requires landlords to inform tenants of any known presence of lead-based paint or related hazards in units built before 1978.
- Income non-discrimination: Landlords with five or more rental properties may not discriminate against tenants based on their source of income (CRS § 38-12-801).
- Bed bugs: If requested, Colorado landlords must provide new tenants with a report of any bed bug contamination in the unit within the past eight months (CRS § 38-12-1005).
- Radon gas: Colorado landlords must disclose the dangers of radon gas, including any test results, known concentrations, existing mitigation systems, or related activities (CRS § 38-12-803).
- Landlord contact information: Colorado landlords must list the name, address, and contact information for themselves or the person authorized to manage the property. If that person moves or changes their phone number, the landlord must notify the tenant within 1 business day (CRS § 38-12-801).
- Reporting unsafe/uninhabitable conditions: Starting on January 1, 2025, Colorado law requires landlords to include information in the lease—written in both English and Spanish—on how tenants can report unsafe or uninhabitable conditions in the rental unit (SB24-094).
- Denver Tenant Rights and Resources handbook: Landlords must provide this handbook to tenants in Denver as part of the lease agreement.
TurboTenant includes each disclosure with each room rental agreement.
Security Deposits
Maximum security deposit: Colorado landlords may not charge more than 2 months’ rent for a security deposit (CRS § 38-12-102.5).
Security deposit receipt: Colorado landlords do not have to provide a receipt for the security deposit.
Deduction tracking: If a landlord deducts funds from the security deposit for repairs or damage beyond normal wear and tear, they must give the tenant an itemized receipt and return any remaining balance (CRS § 38-12-103).
Security deposit return: Landlords must return the security deposit within 30 days of tenant move out, unless the lease allows up to 60 days (CRS § 38-12-103).
Pet deposits: Colorado landlords may charge a refundable pet deposit of up to $300 per household (HB23-1068).
Rent Payment Regulations
Late rent fees: As part of a room rental agreement, Colorado landlords can charge up to $50 or 5% of the overdue rent amount, whichever is greater (CRS § 38-12-105).
Right to withhold rent: Colorado law prohibits tenants from withholding rent for repairs.
Grace period: Colorado law gives tenants a 7-day grace period for late rent payments before the landlord can charge a late fee (CRS § 38-12-105).
Pet rent: Colorado landlords may charge pet rent of $35 per month or 1.5% of the monthly rent, whichever is higher (HB23-1068).
Rent Payment Increase Rules
Rent payment increase frequency: As part of a room rental agreement, Colorado landlords can raise the rent only once per year and must provide at least 21 days’ notice for month-to-month tenants (CRS § 13-40-107).
Rent payment increase maximum: Colorado has no rent control laws, so landlords may raise rent as they see fit.
Rent control/stabilization: Colorado does not have rent control or rent stabilization.
Room Rental Agreement Breaches
Failure to pay: Once a rent payment is late (after the 7-day mandatory grace period), Colorado landlords can issue a 10-day notice to pay or quit (CRS § 13-40-104(1)(d)).
Lease violations: If a tenant violates the lease, the landlord can issue a 10-day Notice to Cure or Quit, giving the tenant a chance to fix the issue (CRS § 13-40-104(1)(e)).
Lease abandonment: If a tenant leaves early without proper cause, they may be liable for the remaining rent on the lease.
Self-help evictions: Colorado landlords cannot remove a tenant on their own. If there’s a lease in place, landlords must follow the legal eviction process. Self-help evictions are illegal.
Ending a Room Rental Agreement
A room rental agreement functions much the same as a lease for a full rental unit, meaning the same rules apply when ending the agreement.
Month-to-month: To end a Colorado room rental month-to-month agreement, either party must provide 21 days’ notice (CRS § 13-40-107).
Fixed-term: A fixed-term lease ends on the specified date, unless the tenant qualifies for early termination (see below).
Room abandonment: Colorado treats abandoning a room the same as abandoning a full rental unit. The same rules and penalties apply.
Tenant’s right to terminate: If a tenant meets a qualifying condition, they may end the lease early without penalty. Qualifying reasons include uninhabitable living conditions, entering active military duty, landlord harassment, domestic violence, or tenant death.
Landlord Room Access Laws
Immediate access: Colorado landlords may immediately enter the tenant’s unit in emergencies.
Landlord harassment: If a landlord repeatedly enters the tenant’s room without notice, they could be liable for harassment, which may give the tenant grounds to break the lease.
Advance notice: Colorado law does not specify how much notice a landlord must give, but the notice must be reasonable. 24-48 hours’ advance notice is considered best practice.
Agreement Renewal/Termination
Required renewals: Colorado landlords must renew a fixed-term lease when it ends unless one of six specific exceptions applies.
Required notice: If the landlord does not plan to renew the lease, the required notice depends on the length of the tenancy:
- 1 year or longer: 90 days’ notice
- Between 6 and 12 months: 28 days’ notice
- Between 1 and 6 months: 21 days’ notice
- 1 week to 1 month (or a tenancy at will): 3 days’ notice
Room Rental Agreement Colorado FAQs
What to include in a Colorado room rental agreement?
For a room rental agreement, Colorado landlords should follow all applicable landlord-tenant laws, clearly state whether the lease is fixed-term or month-to-month, and outline all expectations regarding the rights and responsibilities of both landlord and tenant.
How do I legally rent out a room?
Legally renting out a room in Colorado requires following all local laws, obtaining any necessary permits, and signing a room rental agreement to ensure all parties understand the terms.
How do you make a Colorado room rental agreement?
Landlords can find a printable PDF room rental agreement template on the TurboTenant website, eliminating the need to create a custom agreement from scratch.
