CHAPTER 13 - § 13.5 • TENANT'S RIGHTS

• Jurisdiction: Colorado

§ 13.5 • TENANT'S RIGHTS

§ 13.5.1—Quiet Enjoyment

Unless otherwise provided in the lease, the tenant has the right to quiet enjoyment and full possession of the premises to the exclusion of the landlord. Rutherford v. Scarborough, 472 P.2d 721 (Colo. App. 1970). The following are situations in which the tenant is denied the right to quiet enjoyment.

Landlord's Trespass

Unless otherwise agreed, the landlord may only enter the premises to (1) demand rent, (2) make emergency repairs, or (3) assert a lien. The tenant's remedy for the landlord's trespass is to seek damages or to rescind the lease, or both.

Landlord's Title Is Defective

In the event that another party claims an interest in the premises superior to the rights of the tenant (i.e., another tenant), the tenant's remedy is to (1) require the landlord to solve the problem, (2) rescind the lease, or (3) seek damages.

Duty to Repair

The landlord has no implied duty to make repairs within the premises unless the lease specifically so provides. If the landlord has agreed to make repairs and fails to do so, the tenant may make the repairs after notice to the landlord and deduct the cost of those repairs from the rent. Shanahan v. Collins, 539 P.2d 1261 (Colo. 1975). The landlord has a duty to maintain that portion of the property outside the premises under his or her control (i.e., hallways and parking areas). Kopke v. AAA Warehouse Corp., 494 P.2d 1307 (Colo. App. 1972).

Constructive Eviction

The landlord constructively evicts the tenant when, by his or her actions, the landlord so materially interferes with the tenant's right to quiet enjoyment that the tenant is forced to move from the premises through no fault of the tenant. Radinsky v. Weaver, 460 P.2d 218 (Colo. 1969); H&K Automotive Supply Co. v. Moore & Co., 657 P.2d 986 (Colo. App. 1982). The tenant must abandon the premises within a reasonable time after the landlord's actions constituting constructive eviction. Eskanos & Supperstein v. Irwin, 637 P.2d 403 (Colo. App. 1981). The tenant's measure of damages is the loss of the rental value of his or her lease plus all other direct and proximate losses that resulted from eviction.

§ 13.5.2—Residential Warranty of Habitability

See Grimm, "Colorado Implied Warranty of Habitability for Residential Tenancies: An Overview," 38 Colo. Law. 59 (May 2009).

Every residential landlord is deemed to warrant that the residential premises is fit for human habitation. C.R.S. § 38-12-503. C.R.S. §§ 38-12-501 through -511 set forth the duties of the landlord and the tenant, the terms under which the tenant can assume the responsibility for some of the elements of habitability, the tenant's remedies if the warranty is breached, the landlord's defenses to a breach, and certain residential...