2021 Changes to Colorado Landlord-Tenant Law, 1121 COBJ, Vol. 50, No. 10 Pg. 22

• Author: BY BURTON A. NADLER, JAVIER MABREY, CAREY DEGENARO, AND ZACH NEUMANN
• Position: Vol. 50, 10 [Page 22]

50 Colo.Law. 22

2021 Changes to Colorado Landlord-Tenant Law

Vol. 50, No. 10 [Page 22]

Colorado Lawyer

November, 2021

REAL ESTATE LAW

BY BURTON A. NADLER, JAVIER MABREY, CAREY DEGENARO, AND ZACH NEUMANN

This article highlights changes to Colorado landlord-tenant law that became effective on October 1, 2021

The 2021 Colorado Legislature substantially reformed residential landlord-tenant law in Colorado. The rights, responsibilities, and activities of residential landlords, their tenants, and even the courts and county sheriffs are affected by the passage of HB21-1121¹ and SB 21-173,² which became effective on October 1, 2021. This article summarizes these bills and explains their impact.

New Landlord and Tenant Rights and Responsibilities

Landlords have increased responsibilities and tenants have corresponding rights under HB 21-1121 and SB 21-173 as to pre-court proceedings, the court process itself, and post-court proceedings.

HB 21-1121

HB 21-1121 amended CRS § 38-12-204 to add subsection (3) and created CRS § 38-12-702 to prohibit a landlord from increasing a tenant's rent more than one time in a 12-month period, regardless of whether the tenancy is a written lease with a set term, month-to-month, or an indefinite arrangement with no written documentation.

HB21-1121 also amended CRS§38-12-701 to state that landlords must give residential tenants who do not have a written rental agreement a 60-day written notice before any rent increase and may not terminate a tenancy to get around this provision.

SB 21-173

SB 21-173 amended CRS § 38-12-102 to make minor changes to the statutory definitions of "landlord," "tenant," "late fees," "normal wear and tear," "security deposits," and other terms. Notably, the statute now explicitly defines a landlord as the management or landlord of a mobile home park as defined under the Mobile Home Park Act. The bill also created CRS § 38-12-105, which substantially impacts a landlord's ability to charge late fees and caps the amount a landlord can charge for a late fee. CRS § 38-12-105(1) governs late fees charged to tenants and mobile homeowners and prohibits landlords and their agents from

■ charging any late fee until the rent is seven days late;

■ charging a late fee in excess of $50 or 5% of the amount of past due rent, whichever is greater;

■ charging any late fee at all, unless it is disclosed in a rental agreement;

■ removing a tenant or initiating a forcible entry and detainer (FED) proceeding because a tenant fails to pay one or more late fees;

■ terminating a tenancy or lease in a mobile home park because of failure to pay one or more late fees;

■ imposing any late fees where the rent is paid by a rent subsidy provider that is...