Colorado Real Estate Law
Renting, owning in an HOA, and buying or selling: the Colorado rules landlords, tenants and homeowners meet most often, with the statute each one comes from.
Checked September 26, 2026. The dates below tell you which rule applied when.
Landlord-Tenant Law in Colorado
Six rules, five of them new or rewritten since 2023
Security deposits: two months’ rent, back in 30 days
A deposit may not exceed two months’ rent (C.R.S. § 38-12-102.5, effective August 7, 2023). It must be returned within 30 days after the lease ends or the tenant moves out, whichever is later, or within up to 60 days if the lease says so (§ 38-12-103). HB25-1249, effective January 1, 2026, replaced “one month” with “thirty days” and added protections: retention only for unpaid rent, utilities or other lawful lease charges and for repairs beyond normal wear and tear; keeping 125% or more of the actual damages is presumed bad faith; the burden of proof is on the landlord; and tenants have walk-through inspection rights.
For-cause eviction and non-renewal since April 19, 2024
HB24-1098 added C.R.S. §§ 38-12-1301 to 1303. For most residential tenancies a landlord may not terminate, decline to renew, or file an eviction without a statutory cause: a fault ground (nonpayment, a substantial or material lease violation, a repeat violation, or a nuisance) or a no-fault ground (demolition or conversion, substantial repairs or renovation, or occupancy by the owner or a family member), each no-fault ground requiring at least 90 days’ written notice with documentation. Exempt: short-term rentals, owner-occupied properties under four units, certain mobile-home-park situations, tenancies under 12 months, and unknown occupants.
Unpaid rent: a 10-day demand
Before an eviction for nonpayment, a standard residential tenant gets 10 days’ written notice demanding payment or possession (C.R.S. § 13-40-104(1)(d)). The period is 3 days for nonresidential or employer-provided housing and 5 days under an “exempt residential agreement,” which a landlord with five or fewer single-family rental units may use by giving notice in the lease. No lease may waive the notice.
Warranty of habitability, overhauled in 2024
C.R.S. §§ 38-12-503 and 505, rewritten by SB24-094 (effective May 3, 2024), require a landlord to begin remedial action within 24 hours for a condition that materially interferes with life, health or safety, and within 72 to 96 hours for an uninhabitable condition or environmental hazard (for mold, containment within 96 hours and then full remediation); to answer a habitability notice within 24 hours (72 hours after an environmental disaster); and in qualifying cases to provide a comparable unit or hotel room at no cost. “Uninhabitable” means actionable mold or dampness, or a substantial lack of any of 14 listed essentials such as heat, running water, plumbing, electricity, weatherproofing and safe locks. Leases signed on or after January 1, 2025 must carry a bilingual English and Spanish notice of these rights, and § 38-12-509 protects tenants from retaliation.
Lease clauses that are void
HB23-1095, codified at C.R.S. § 38-12-801 and effective August 7, 2023, bars penalty or liquidated-damages clauses tied to eviction notices, one-way attorney-fee clauses, jury-trial waivers, class- and collective-action waivers, and waivers of the covenants of good faith and fair dealing and quiet enjoyment. The Colorado Fair Housing Act, C.R.S. § 24-34-501 and following, prohibits housing discrimination.
Radon disclosure before signing
SB23-206, codified at C.R.S. § 38-12-803 and effective August 7, 2023, requires a signed disclosure before the lease is signed: the state-mandated radon warning, any known test results or mitigation history, and the state’s radon brochure. If the landlord fails to disclose, or fails to make a reasonable mitigation effort within 180 days of notice of a reading of 4 pCi/L or more, the tenant may void the lease under § 38-12-507, except that since January 1, 2026 this remedy no longer covers leases of one year or less. Sellers have a parallel duty under § 38-35.7-112.
HOAs: the Common Interest Ownership Act and HB22-1137
Condominiums, planned communities and their homeowners’ associations are governed by the Colorado Common Interest Ownership Act, C.R.S. § 38-33.3-101 and following: creation by declaration, governance, assessments, meetings and owner protections. HB22-1137, effective August 10, 2022, put hard limits on fines, collections and foreclosure:
- Fines for a single violation are capped at $500 in total, and daily fines are prohibited (C.R.S. § 38-33.3-209.5).
- A 30-day written cure notice is required before any fine, and two consecutive 30-day cure periods before legal action; health or safety violations get a 72-hour cure window.
- An association may not foreclose over fine debt at all.
- Referral to collections requires a recorded majority vote of the board and a prior delinquency notice.
- Before foreclosing on assessment debt the association must offer an 18-month payment plan with installments of at least $25, forfeited only after three or more missed payments (§ 38-33.3-316.3).
- An owner who proves a violation may recover up to $25,000 plus fees, suing within five years; small-claims courts hear HOA disputes up to $7,500 (§ 13-6-403).
Two 2024 bills followed: HB24-1152 (effective May 13, 2024) bars HOA governing documents from prohibiting an accessory dwelling unit on a single-family lot (§ 38-33.3-106.5), and HB24-1233 (effective August 7, 2024) tightened the collection-notice mechanics.
Buying and Selling Property in Colorado
The purchase contract is a form, not a statute
Most Colorado sales use the Contract to Buy and Sell Real Estate published by the Colorado Real Estate Commission. Its inspection, loan, appraisal, title and survey deadlines are fill-in-the-blank terms negotiated in each transaction, and the Commission revises the form periodically. No statute fixes those dates; the deadlines that bind you are the ones in your own contract.
Disclosures with a legal source
Two disclosures have a clear statutory basis. Radon: C.R.S. § 38-35.7-112 requires sellers to disclose radon information, mirroring the lease rule in § 38-12-803. Lead-based paint in housing built before 1978: a federal requirement under 42 U.S.C. § 4852d and EPA and HUD rules, applying in Colorado as it does nationwide rather than as a Colorado law.
Water rights run separately from land
Colorado follows the prior-appropriation doctrine, rooted in Article XVI, § 6 of the Colorado Constitution: first in time, first in right. Water rights can be owned and sold separately from the land, a new well may need an augmentation plan, surface-water and groundwater rights are treated differently, and conservation easements can restrict what a parcel may be used for.
Colorado Real Estate Law at a Glance
| Rule | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Security deposit amount | No more than two months’ rent, since Aug. 7, 2023 | C.R.S. § 38-12-102.5 |
| Security deposit return | 30 days; up to 60 if the lease specifies | C.R.S. § 38-12-103 (HB25-1249) |
| Bad-faith presumption | Landlord keeps 125% or more of actual damages | C.R.S. § 38-12-103 (HB25-1249) |
| Demand for unpaid rent | 10 days (3 nonresidential or employer-provided; 5 exempt residential) | C.R.S. § 13-40-104(1)(d) |
| No-fault termination notice | At least 90 days, with documentation | C.R.S. §§ 38-12-1301 to 1303 (HB24-1098) |
| Habitability response | 24 hours for life, health or safety; 72 to 96 hours if uninhabitable | C.R.S. § 38-12-503 |
| Radon mitigation window | 180 days after notice of a reading of 4 pCi/L or more | C.R.S. § 38-12-803 |
| HOA fine cap | $500 per violation; no daily fines | C.R.S. § 38-33.3-209.5 |
| HOA payment plan before foreclosure | 18 months, installments of $25 or more | C.R.S. § 38-33.3-316.3 |
| HOA owner remedy | Up to $25,000 plus fees; suit within 5 years | HB22-1137 |
What Changed Recently
Eight effective dates since 2022, oldest first
Free statute websites still show the pre-2026 text of § 38-12-103; use the enrolled HB25-1249.
August 10, 2022
HB22-1137 capped HOA fines, banned foreclosure for fines, and required cure notices, a board vote before collections and an 18-month payment plan.
August 7, 2023
Three laws took effect: the two-months’-rent deposit cap (§ 38-12-102.5), HB23-1095 voiding one-sided lease clauses (§ 38-12-801), and SB23-206 radon disclosure (§ 38-12-803).
April 19, 2024
HB24-1098 took effect on signature: most residential tenancies can be ended or not renewed only for a statutory cause, with 90 days’ notice for no-fault grounds.
May 3, 2024
SB24-094 rewrote the warranty of habitability: 24-hour and 72-to-96-hour response deadlines and a 14-item definition of “uninhabitable.”
May 13, 2024
HB24-1152 barred HOA governing documents from prohibiting an accessory dwelling unit on a single-family lot (§ 38-33.3-106.5).
August 7, 2024
HB24-1233 refined HB22-1137’s collection notices: no physical posting, two contact methods beyond certified mail, phone contact allowed.
January 1, 2025
Leases signed from this date must include the bilingual English and Spanish habitability notice under SB24-094.
January 1, 2026
HB25-1249 took effect (30-day deposit return, narrowed retention grounds, 125% bad-faith presumption, burden of proof on the landlord); the radon void-lease remedy stopped applying to leases of one year or less.
Colorado Real Estate Law FAQs
Short answers, with the statute each one rests on
Related Pages
This page is general information about Colorado law, not legal advice for your situation, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. The facts here were checked on September 26, 2026.
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