Colorado Landlord Law Checklist (2026): Free Printable

Colorado changed more landlord law between 2021 and 2026 than in the previous twenty years. Just-cause eviction, deposit caps, late fee limits, source-of-income protection and city rental licenses all arrived in that window. Most of the owners who call us are out of compliance on at least one item without knowing it.

This checklist covers the rules that carry real penalties. Enter your email and we will unlock it here, with a print button. We will also send you a note when Colorado changes one of these rules, which it does most years.

1. Before you advertise

Confirm whether your city requires a rental license or registration. Denver and Boulder both license and inspect. City-by-city guide.

Write your screening criteria down before the first inquiry: income multiple, credit threshold, rental history, background limits. Apply the same criteria to every applicant.

Check HOA covenants for rental restrictions, minimum lease terms and registration requirements. HOA rules.

Confirm your insurance is a landlord policy, not a homeowner policy, and that it includes loss of rent. Landlord insurance.

Price against comparable homes that actually leased in the last 60 days, not listing prices. How to price a rental.

2. Screening and applications

Charge the same application fee to every applicant and use it only for the actual cost of screening. Refund or itemize anything unused.

Accept a portable tenant screening report if the applicant offers one that meets the statutory requirements, instead of charging your own fee.

Never refuse an applicant because of a housing voucher or other lawful source of income. Apply your income multiple to the tenant's share of rent only. Source of income rules.

Respect the look-back limits on rental history and criminal background, and send a written adverse-action notice to anyone you decline. Screening guide.

Treat assistance animals as a reasonable accommodation, not a pet. No pet fee, deposit or pet rent for them. Service animals and ESAs.

3. The lease and required disclosures

Use a Colorado-specific lease, not a national template. What the lease must contain.

Remove any clause that waives the warranty of habitability, shifts your statutory duties to the tenant, or charges fees the statute does not allow. These clauses are void and can expose you.

Include the required disclosures: radon, lead-based paint for pre-1978 homes, bed bug history where applicable, and the identity and address of the owner or agent authorized to receive notices.

Cap the security deposit at the state limit and state the return period in the lease. Anything over 30 days must be written in, and it can never exceed 60 days.

Keep pet deposits and pet rent inside Colorado's statutory caps. Pet policy guide.

Set the entry-notice period in writing, with the reason and a time window required for every non-emergency entry. Right of entry.

State the grace period and late fee in the lease. Colorado requires a grace period and caps the fee both as a flat amount and as a share of rent. Late fee rules.

Require renters insurance with liability coverage and ask to be listed as an additional interest. Renters insurance.

4. Move-in

Complete a signed, dated, photographed move-in inspection with the tenant before keys change hands. Timestamp every photo. Inspection guide.

Give the tenant a receipt for the deposit and hold it as a fiduciary. Under Colorado's 2026 rules the deposit legally belongs to the tenant.

Deliver a copy of the signed lease and every disclosure, and keep proof of delivery.

Confirm utilities are transferred and smoke and carbon monoxide detectors are installed and tested.

5. During the tenancy

Respond to written habitability complaints inside the statutory window, measured in hours to days for anything affecting health or safety. Your contractor's schedule is not a defense. Habitability.

Raise rent no more than once in any 12-month period, never mid-lease unless the lease provides for it, and only with the required written notice. Rent increase rules.

Log every entry: notice given, date, time, who attended and why.

Never charge a late fee before the grace period ends, never evict for late fees alone, and never treat a late fee as rent.

Follow a seasonal maintenance schedule. Hail, freeze and irrigation issues are the expensive ones in Colorado. Maintenance calendar.

6. Ending a tenancy

Identify a qualifying just cause before you serve a non-renewal or termination. At-will non-renewal of residential tenancies is largely gone in Colorado. Just cause overview.

Use the right notice for the reason: commonly a 10-day demand for unpaid rent, and 21 days plus just cause to end a month-to-month tenancy. Which notice applies.

Serve the notice correctly and document how and when. Do not accept any payment after serving unless you intend to restart the process.

No self-help, ever. No lock changes, utility shut-offs or removing belongings, even with no written lease. The court process.

Do the move-out inspection against the move-in report, item by item. Normal wear and tear is not deductible.

Return the deposit, with a written itemized statement for any deduction, within 30 days or the longer period written in your lease. Missing the deadline forfeits your right to withhold anything, and wrongful withholding can cost three times the amount plus attorney fees. Deposit rules.

7. Records to keep for every property

Signed lease and every disclosure, with proof of delivery.

Screening criteria, each application, and each adverse-action notice.

Move-in and move-out reports with photos.

Every notice served, with the method and date of service.

Rent ledger, deposit receipt and the deposit return statement.

Maintenance requests and your response times.

City rental license or registration and inspection reports.

The Colorado landlord law checklist