Every Fine and Penalty Colorado Landlords Can Face (2026 Roundup)

Every compliance rule on this site has a real penalty attached if it’s violated. This page collects them in one place — a reference, not a new explanation. Each links to the full article covering that rule.

Security deposits

• Wrongful withholding — up to 3x (treble) the wrongfully withheld amount, plus the tenant’s attorney fees, once the tenant has given the required 7-day notice of intent to sue.
• The 125% presumption — retaining 125% or more of actual, documented damages is presumed unreasonable, shifting the burden onto the landlord to prove otherwise. See The 125% Rule and a real-numbers example.
• Missing itemized statement — failing to provide a timely, written itemized statement of deductions forfeits the right to withhold anything at all, regardless of whether the underlying damage was real.

Junk fees and pricing (HB25-1090)

• 18% annual interest on any prohibited amount not returned within 14 days of a written demand.
• Treble damages on top of that interest.
• A statutory penalty of $100–$1,000 per violation, plus possible Colorado Attorney General enforcement. See Colorado’s Junk Fee Ban.

Rental application fees (HB19-1106)

• Triple the application fee charged, plus court costs, for charging more than actual processing cost, failing to itemize, or missing the 20-day refund window. See Rental Application Fees.

Source-of-income discrimination (HB25-1240)

• A statutory minimum of $5,000 in damages if a court finds a violation.
• Escalating caps for landlords with a discriminatory-practice history: up to $10,000 with no prior violation, up to $25,000 with one prior violation in the preceding 5 years, up to $50,000 with two or more in the preceding 7 years. See Colorado’s Source-of-Income Law.

Lead-based paint disclosure (federal)

• A federal civil penalty in the tens of thousands of dollars per violation for skipping the required disclosure on a pre-1978 property — the exact figure adjusts periodically for inflation. See Lead-Based Paint Disclosure.

Radon disclosure (SB23-206)

• Not a fine, but a real remedy: a tenant can void the lease and vacate if the landlord fails to disclose or fails to mitigate an elevated reading within 180 days of notice — though as of January 1, 2026, this specific remedy no longer applies to leases of one year or less. See Colorado’s Radon Disclosure Requirement.

Eviction process errors

• Not a statutory penalty, but a real cost: a defectively served notice gets a case dismissed and restarts the entire notice period, commonly turning a $5,000–$10,000 eviction into a much larger one. See What a Botched Eviction Notice Actually Costs You.

What this list doesn’t include

This covers the penalties and remedies specifically documented elsewhere on this site — it isn’t a complete catalog of every possible landlord-tenant liability in Colorado, and figures like the lead-paint federal penalty adjust over time. Confirm current amounts before relying on a specific number in a real dispute.

The bottom line

None of these figures are hypothetical, and none of them require unusual bad luck — they’re the standard consequence written into the statute for the specific rule involved. See Why Lease Compliance Is Good Business for how these numbers compare to the cost of catching a gap early, or start with a Lease Compliance Report.

LeaseCheck for Landlords is an educational lease-compliance screening tool. It is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice. Colorado rental laws change; confirm specifics for your situation with a licensed attorney.