Colorado Law
What Repairs Is a Colorado Landlord Responsible For? Deadlines Under the 2024 Habitability Law
By Denver Rental Managers · Updated October 26, 2026 · 9 min read
Summary
Colorado landlords must keep rentals fit for habitation from move-in through the whole tenancy. After a tenant's written notice, you must respond within 24 hours and start repairs within 24 hours for life, health or safety conditions (such as no heat from October to April, no water or a gas hazard) or within 72 hours for other habitability problems. If the problem isn't fixed in 7 or 14 days, the law presumes you failed to act, and tenants can terminate, repair and deduct, sue or use it as an eviction defense.
Key takeaways
- The warranty of habitability (C.R.S. 38-12-503 and -505) covers heat, water, hot water, plumbing, electrical, weatherproofing, locks, pests, mold and code compliance.
- Respond to a tenant within 24 hours of written notice with your plan, estimated start and estimated finish.
- Start work within 24 hours for life, health or safety conditions and within 72 hours for other uninhabitable conditions.
- Failure is presumed if the condition still exists after 7 days (life, health, safety) or 14 days (other conditions).
- Mold tied to dampness requires containment, water shutoff and HEPA filtration within 72 hours.
- Retaliation against a tenant who complains can cost the greater of three months' rent or three times actual damages.
The short version
Colorado's warranty of habitability means a rental must be fit to live in when the tenant moves in and throughout the lease. In 2024, SB24-094 made the law much more specific: it set response deadlines, expanded the list of serious conditions, added relocation duties and strengthened tenant remedies. It took effect May 3, 2024, and later bills have kept it in place and added enforcement.
This guide is general information, not legal advice. For a specific dispute, talk to a Colorado landlord-tenant attorney.
What counts as "uninhabitable"
Under C.R.S. 38-12-505, a rental is uninhabitable if it has mold associated with dampness that would materially interfere with health or safety, or if it substantially lacks any of these:
- Functioning appliances the landlord provided (including any air conditioner the landlord supplies)
- Waterproofing and weather protection of the roof and exterior
- Plumbing and gas facilities in good working order
- Running water at all times and enough hot water for ordinary use
- Heating
- Electrical lighting and wiring in good working order
- Clean common areas, adequate trash receptacles and pest extermination
- Floors, stairs, railings and elevators in good repair
- Working locks
- Compliance with applicable building, housing and health codes
- Radon disclosure as required by state law
A unit that is otherwise unfit for human habitation also qualifies.
Life, health or safety conditions
Some conditions are presumed to materially interfere with the tenant's life, health or safety, and you'd need clear and convincing evidence to prove otherwise. They include:
- Lack of waterproofing or weather protection
- Hazardous gas piping or appliances
- Inadequate running water or hot water
- No functioning heat from October through April
- Hazardous electrical conditions, or loss of electricity caused by the landlord's failure to maintain
- No working locks on exterior doors or openable windows
- No working plumbing or sewage, or sewage, water or moisture entering the unit
- Rodent, vermin or insect infestation
- Inaccessible fire exits
- Defective chimneys or venting on fuel-fired systems
- An inoperable elevator for a tenant who relies on it
These get the fastest deadlines.
The deadlines
The clock starts when you have notice. "Notice" means any writing, including texts, emails, portal requests, messages to your maintenance staff, government notices and even your own written reports. If your lease allows verbal notice, verbal notice counts.
| Step | Life, health or safety | Other uninhabitable conditions |
|---|---|---|
| Contact the tenant with intent to repair, estimated start and estimated completion | Within 24 hours | Within 24 hours |
| Begin remedial action | Within 24 hours | Within 72 hours |
| Failure to remedy is presumed if the condition still exists | After 7 calendar days | After 14 calendar days |
You can rebut the presumption by showing the delay was outside your reasonable control, the tenant unreasonably denied entry or the tenant's own conduct caused the delay. If the tenant refuses entry, the 7- and 14-day clocks pause.
Entry: give 24 hours' written notice before entering to make repairs, except for imminent threats or active serious damage like a burst pipe.
Mold
For mold associated with dampness, you must within 72 hours of notice install containment, stop any active water source and install HEPA air filtration. Within a reasonable time after that, you must dry or remove affected materials, test after remediation and reassemble the area in a way that prevents a recurrence. Minor mold on surfaces that normally get wet, like a shower, is excluded.
Relocation
For a life, health or safety condition, if the tenant asks, you must provide a comparable unit or a hotel room at no cost within 24 hours. It must be within 5 miles (up to 10 if it's much cheaper) with the same number of beds. After 48 hours, you must also provide a kitchen or a per diem at the state employee rate. The tenant still owes rent.
If the repair is outside your control, the hotel obligation is capped at 60 days, and you can end it by written notice that also lets the tenant terminate without penalty and returns the full deposit.
Tenant remedies
If you fail to meet your obligations, a tenant can:
- Terminate the lease with written notice.
- Repair and deduct the cost from rent after advance written notice: 10 days, or 48 hours for life, health or safety conditions. The work must be done by a licensed or qualified professional who isn't a relative, and the tenant must give you the receipt. A tenant who deducts in bad faith owes double damages.
- Replace a broken landlord-supplied appliance and deduct after 3 days' notice.
- Sue for damages, including lost rental value, attorney fees and potentially punitive damages.
- Seek an injunction to force the repair.
- Raise habitability as a defense in an eviction, with no bond required.
Lease clauses that waive these rights are void.
Retaliation
You can't retaliate against a tenant who complains to you, a government agency or a third party, organizes with other tenants or uses these remedies. Retaliation includes raising rent, cutting services, threatening eviction, refusing to renew and charging fees. The tenant only has to show the complaint was a motivating factor. Damages are the greater of three months' rent or three times actual damages, plus attorney fees.
Since August 6, 2025, counties and cities can also bring civil actions to enforce the habitability law (SB25-020), and the Attorney General can act on a pattern of violations.
What your lease must say
Since January 1, 2025, every Colorado residential lease must include, in 12-point bold type, a statement of the tenant's right to a habitable home and the ban on retaliation. It must also give a mailing or delivery address and an email address or portal for repair notices, in English and Spanish.
Keep records of habitability notices and your responses for the tenancy plus three years. A tenant can request them, and you must provide them within 10 days.
Cooling and air conditioning
Colorado doesn't require landlords to provide air conditioning, and Denver's housing regulation doesn't set a cooling standard. But if you provide an AC unit, it's an appliance you must maintain. And since 2024, you can't ban a tenant's portable cooling device unless it would violate code, damage the premises, break the manufacturer's safety guidelines or exceed electrical capacity. Any restrictions must be disclosed in writing.
A landlord's repair playbook
- Make reporting easy. A portal or one email address, listed in the lease, that you check daily.
- Acknowledge every request within 24 hours, in writing, with a plan and dates.
- Triage. Treat heat, water, gas, electrical, sewage, locks and leaks as same-day.
- Line up vendors in advance, including after-hours HVAC and plumbing.
- Document everything: request, response, entry notice, invoices and before-and-after photos.
- Follow up until it's closed, and confirm with the tenant in writing.
- Budget for maintenance. Many owners reserve a percentage of rent each month for repairs.
How to get help
Colorado's repair deadlines are short, so the manager you hire needs a reliable system. Look for one that takes requests at any hour, acknowledges them quickly, uses licensed vendors and keeps a complete record for every request. Ask how they bill vendor work and whether you can see the original invoices.
We'll match you with vetted, licensed Denver managers. Free, no obligation. Get matched free, or see what to look for in maintenance and inspections and our winter guide.
Sources
This guide is general information for Colorado landlords, not legal advice. Laws change; confirm current requirements with the Colorado Division of Real Estate or a licensed attorney before acting.
