Colorado Landlord Lease Compliance: What Changed and What to Check

If your lease template has not been reviewed in the last two years, it is very likely out of date. Colorado has passed several landlord-tenant changes in that window — a lower security deposit cap, a new list of prohibited clauses, a revised late-fee cap, and new non-renewal notice requirements — and none of them update a template automatically. This guide is a plain-English overview of what changed, so you know what to check before your next lease, renewal, or move-out.

This is educational information, not legal advice, and it is not a substitute for review by a licensed attorney for your specific situation. It is a starting point for knowing what to look for.

The security deposit cap dropped to one month

Effective January 1, 2026, Colorado caps a security deposit at one month’s rent (HB25-1249, C.R.S. § 38-12-102.5) — down from the prior two-month allowance. If your template still requires two months, it is asking for more than the law allows. See Colorado Security Deposit Rules for Landlords for the return-timeline and itemization requirements that go with the cap.

Certain clauses are flatly prohibited

C.R.S. § 38-12-801 bars two clause types outright in residential leases: jury-trial-waiver clauses (except at an eviction hearing) and one-way attorney-fee clauses that only award fees to the landlord. Both are common in older or generic templates, and both are unenforceable as written. This is the single most common finding in a template that has not been reviewed recently.

Late fees have a specific cap and grace period

Late fees are capped at the greater of $50 or 5% of monthly rent, require a seven-day grace period before they apply, and cannot be labeled “additional rent” (C.R.S. § 38-12-105). A flat $100 late fee, or one that applies the day rent is due, is out of step with the current rule. See Colorado Late Fee Rules for Landlords for the specifics.

Non-renewal and rent increases have new timing rules

Rent generally cannot be increased more than once every 12 months (C.R.S. § 38-12-702). And under HB24-1098, many non-renewals now require a qualifying reason and up to 90 days’ notice (C.R.S. § 38-12-1301 et seq., § 38-12-1303) — a flat “30 days, any reason” non-renewal clause no longer covers every tenancy it used to. See Colorado Lease Renewal Compliance Checklist.

Repair and move-out language matters more than it looks

Tenants generally have a right to repair-and-deduct after 24 hours’ notice for an emergency habitability issue or 96 hours’ for a non-emergency one, with no dollar cap on the deduction (C.R.S. § 38-12-507). And at move-out, only damage beyond normal wear and tear may be deducted from the deposit, with a written, itemized statement required — “landlord’s sole discretion” language is exactly the phrasing most likely to be challenged. See Move-Out & Damage Liability Guide.

The bottom line

None of these changes require rewriting your business — they require rewriting specific clauses. The deposit cap, the prohibited-provisions list, the late-fee cap, and the non-renewal notice rules are the four places a template most often falls behind, and they are exactly what a compliance check looks for. If you want to know where your own template stands, a Lease Compliance Report checks it clause by clause and hands back a corrected version — not just a list of problems.

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.