Colorado · Repairs · Updated Oct 2026
Colorado tenant repair rights
What a landlord in Colorado must keep in repair, how to ask for repairs, whether you can repair and deduct or withhold rent, and the protection against retaliation.
Short answer
The landlord must keep the unit fit for human habitation for the whole tenancy (warranty of habitability).
- Repair and deduct
- Allowed (with conditions)
- Withholding rent
- Not allowed
- Notice before entry
- No statute
Repairs in Colorado
- The landlord's duty
- The landlord must keep the unit fit for human habitation for the whole tenancy (warranty of habitability). The landlord breaks it if the unit is uninhabitable or has a condition that materially interferes with your life, health or safety, and after written notice the landlord does not start repairs within 24 hours (life, health or safety) or 72 hours (other habitability problems) and finish within a reasonable time. For life-health-safety problems, you can ask for a comparable unit or hotel room at no cost within 24 hours. C.R.S. §§ 38-12-503, 38-12-505.
- How to ask for repairs
- Give written notice in the way your lease or the landlord usually uses (text, email, maintenance portal all count if that is how you normally communicate). The landlord must contact you within 24 hours and start repairs within 24 hours (life, health or safety) or 72 hours (other habitability problems). If the problem is still there after 7 days (life-health-safety) or 14 days (other), the law presumes the landlord failed. You can also end the lease with 10 to 60 days' written notice if it is not fixed. C.R.S. §§ 38-12-503, 38-12-507.
- Repair and deduct
- Yes (since May 3, 2024). Give the landlord at least 10 days' written notice (48 hours if the problem threatens life, health or safety) that you will hire a licensed or qualified professional who is not your relative. If the landlord does not fix it in that time, you may hire the professional and deduct the cost from one or more rent payments, then give the landlord the receipt. For a broken appliance, you can replace it with a comparable one after 3 days' written notice and deduct the cost. Deducting in bad faith can cost you double. C.R.S. § 38-12-507(1)(c).
- Withholding rent
- No general rent-withholding right outside repair-and-deduct, but a breach of habitability is a defense to eviction for nonpayment, and you do not need to post a bond or pay into court to raise it. If the court finds a breach, the rent is presumed reduced to $0 (life-health-safety problems) or 50% (other problems) for the time it was not fixed. C.R.S. § 38-12-507(2)-(3).
- Law
- C.R.S. §§ 38-12-503, 38-12-505, 38-12-507
Landlord entry in Colorado
No general statute on landlord entry; check your lease. For repairs of habitability problems, the landlord must give at least 24 hours' written notice with the date, time and expected length of the visit, except when the problem is an imminent threat to life, health or safety or would cause serious damage. You may reasonably refuse the time offered and propose another. C.R.S. § 38-12-503(6).
Retaliation in Colorado
The landlord may not raise rent, cut services, end or refuse to renew your lease, sue or threaten to evict you, harass you, or charge fees because you made a good-faith complaint about conditions (to the landlord, a nonprofit or a government agency), joined a tenants' association, or used your habitability rights. You only need to show your complaint was a 'motivating factor.' Damages: three months' rent or three times your actual damages, whichever is greater, plus attorney fees, and you may end the lease. It is also a defense to eviction. The statute sets no presumption period. C.R.S. § 38-12-509.
Get repairs made, step by step
- Write down the problem and take dated photos or video.
- Ask in writing and keep a copy. In Colorado: Give written notice in the way your lease or the landlord usually uses (text, email, maintenance portal all count if that is how you normally communicate).
- Give the landlord the time the rule allows, and let them in to do the work with proper notice.
- If nothing happens, call your local housing or code inspector and talk to legal aid before you stop paying any rent.
- Keep paying rent unless the rule above lets you withhold it and you follow its steps exactly.
Repair request letter for Colorado
Ask your landlord in writing to fix the problem by a date. A written, dated request is the first step in almost every state, and it is proof that the landlord knew. Check the problems, add dates, then download the letter as PDF or Word (or copy it). Sign it, keep a copy and photos, and send it in a way you can prove.
Where to get free help in Colorado
Questions about repairs in Colorado
How do I ask my landlord for repairs in Colorado?
Give written notice in the way your lease or the landlord usually uses (text, email, maintenance portal all count if that is how you normally communicate). The landlord must contact you within 24 hours and start repairs within 24 hours (life, health or safety) or 72 hours (other habitability problems). If the problem is still there after 7 days (life-health-safety) or 14 days (other), the law presumes the landlord failed. You can also end the lease with 10 to 60 days' written notice if it is not fixed. C.R.S. §§ 38-12-503, 38-12-507.
Can I repair and deduct the cost from rent in Colorado?
Yes (since May 3, 2024). Give the landlord at least 10 days' written notice (48 hours if the problem threatens life, health or safety) that you will hire a licensed or qualified professional who is not your relative. If the landlord does not fix it in that time, you may hire the professional and deduct the cost from one or more rent payments, then give the landlord the receipt. For a broken appliance, you can replace it with a comparable one after 3 days' written notice and deduct the cost. Deducting in bad faith can cost you double. C.R.S. § 38-12-507(1)(c).
Can I withhold rent for repairs in Colorado?
No general rent-withholding right outside repair-and-deduct, but a breach of habitability is a defense to eviction for nonpayment, and you do not need to post a bond or pay into court to raise it. If the court finds a breach, the rent is presumed reduced to $0 (life-health-safety problems) or 50% (other problems) for the time it was not fixed. C.R.S. § 38-12-507(2)-(3).
How much notice does a landlord need to enter in Colorado?
No general statute on landlord entry; check your lease. For repairs of habitability problems, the landlord must give at least 24 hours' written notice with the date, time and expected length of the visit, except when the problem is an imminent threat to life, health or safety or would cause serious damage. You may reasonably refuse the time offered and propose another. C.R.S. § 38-12-503(6).
Can my landlord retaliate if I complain in Colorado?
The landlord may not raise rent, cut services, end or refuse to renew your lease, sue or threaten to evict you, harass you, or charge fees because you made a good-faith complaint about conditions (to the landlord, a nonprofit or a government agency), joined a tenants' association, or used your habitability rights. You only need to show your complaint was a 'motivating factor.' Damages: three months' rent or three times your actual damages, whichever is greater, plus attorney fees, and you may end the lease. It is also a defense to eviction. The statute sets no presumption period. C.R.S. § 38-12-509.
More for Colorado renters
- All Colorado tenant rights
- Security deposit: Colorado
- Eviction: Colorado
- Guide: how to get your landlord to make repairs
- Landlord entry notice by state
Repairs in nearby states
- Colorado Revised Statutes 2024, Title 38 (Office of Legislative Legal Services, uncertified printout)
- Colorado Revised Statutes 2024, Title 13 (forcible entry and detainer, Art. 40)
- Colorado Division of Real Estate: HB25-1249 Summary
- Colorado Judicial Branch: Self-Help Forms
- Colorado Legal Services
- HB25-1249 as signed (Colorado General Assembly)
- HB25-1168 as signed (Colorado General Assembly)
- HB25-1090 as signed (Colorado General Assembly)
Last checked: Oct 2026.