Colorado landlords
Is Your Lease Template Actually Colorado-Compliant?
Colorado's landlord-tenant rules have changed several times in the last two years. A DIY draft, a canned form, or a template downloaded from a generic legal-forms site can carry clauses that are already out of date — or unenforceable.
Generic templates age out of Colorado law fast
Most independent landlords are working from a template that was correct when they got it — a DIY draft, something an attorney wrote years ago, or a form pulled from a national legal-forms site built for a different state entirely. Colorado has passed several landlord-tenant changes recently (deposit caps, prohibited clauses, non-renewal notice rules), and a template does not update itself. LeaseCheck reads your whole template and flags exactly which clauses are out of step with current Colorado law.
What LeaseCheck checks here
- ✓ Prohibited provisions (jury-trial waivers, one-way attorney-fee clauses)
- ✓ Security deposit amount vs. the current one-month cap
- ✓ Late fee amount, grace period, and "additional rent" language
- ✓ Notice-period language for renewals and non-renewals
- ✓ Habitability and repair-notice language
- ✓ Move-out and damage-assessment language
Example findings
Jury-Trial Waiver Clause
High riskColorado bars jury-trial-waiver clauses in residential leases, except at an eviction hearing. A blanket waiver clause is unenforceable and can undermine confidence in the rest of the lease if challenged.
Why it matters:
Does the dispute-resolution section waive a jury trial for any claim beyond eviction?
Two-Month Deposit Requirement
High riskThe security deposit cap dropped to one month's rent effective January 1, 2026. A template still requiring two months is charging more than the law allows.
Why it matters:
What is the exact deposit amount required, and how does it compare to one month's rent?
Not just a flag — a fix
Security Deposit Clause
Your original clause
Tenant shall pay a security deposit equal to two (2) months' rent.
Recommended replacement
Tenant shall pay a security deposit not to exceed one (1) month's rent, consistent with C.R.S. § 38-12-102.5.
Colorado capped security deposits at one month's rent effective January 1, 2026 (HB25-1249); a two-month deposit clause is no longer enforceable.
Frequently asked questions
My template came from an attorney originally — do I still need this? +
Laws change and templates age even when the original drafting was solid. A compliance check is a second look at whether your current version still holds up, not a judgment on the original drafting.
What if my template is for a different state? +
That is exactly the pattern this catches most often — national legal-forms sites are not written for Colorado-specific requirements like the deposit cap or the prohibited-provisions statute.
Do I get anything besides a list of problems? +
Yes. Alongside the compliance report, LeaseCheck produces a recommended, corrected version of your template with the flagged clauses rewritten — that is the core of what you get.