A Colorado landlord changed the locks on a non-paying tenant last spring and thought he'd solved his problem. By the time the case was over, he owed three months' rent, attorney fees, and a court judgment that followed him to his next property purchase.
Colorado's landlord-tenant laws got significantly more restrictive in 2026. Two major bills, HB25-1090 and HB25-1249, took effect January 1 and changed what you can charge, what you can deduct, and what you can put in a lease. Add those to existing prohibitions on self-help evictions and retaliation, and the list of things that can trigger serious financial penalties has gotten longer.
Here's what Colorado landlords cannot do in 2026, and what actually happens when they try.
1. Perform a Self-Help Eviction
This one gets landlords in more trouble than any other item on this list.
A self-help eviction is any action a landlord takes to remove a tenant without going through the court process: changing locks, removing belongings, cutting off utilities, removing doors. All of it is illegal in Colorado. Every single version.
It doesn't matter if the tenant is three months behind on rent. It doesn't matter if they've caused damage. It doesn't matter if they told you they were leaving and then didn't. You go through the court process. Full stop.
If you don't, you're looking at actual damages, statutory penalties, and attorney fees. The tenant can stay in the property while the case plays out, and they will likely get a judgment against you even if you eventually win the underlying eviction. Colorado courts take this seriously because the alternative (landlords who feel they can physically remove tenants) creates real safety issues. The law is clear and the penalties are real.
The formal eviction process in Colorado starts with a written notice (the timeline depends on the violation), then a summons and complaint filed with the court, then a hearing. It's not fast. But the self-help shortcut costs more than the delay.
2. Retaliate Against a Tenant for Exercising Their Rights
Retaliation is prohibited under Colorado law, and the definition is broader than most landlords realize.
Protected tenant actions include: reporting a habitability issue to the city or county, contacting a building inspector, organizing with other tenants, or exercising any other right under Colorado law.
Prohibited retaliatory actions include: raising rent, reducing services, threatening eviction, or actually filing an eviction within a suspicious timeframe after a tenant takes a protected action.
When a tenant reports a habitability issue to the city and then gets a non-renewal notice two weeks later, that's not a coincidence in the eyes of a Colorado judge. The timing alone can constitute retaliation. Courts look at the sequence of events.
The practical lesson: document everything. If you have a legitimate business reason for a non-renewal or rent increase that happens to coincide with a tenant complaint, you need paper showing that reason existed before the complaint. "I was already planning to raise rents" is not a defense when you issued the notice the week after they called the health department.
3. Discriminate Based on Source of Income
Colorado prohibits discrimination based on source of income in rental housing. That includes housing vouchers (Section 8), veterans' benefits, Social Security, and any other lawful income source.
If you own more than five rental units (including single-family homes), you're required to include a specific disclosure in your lease explaining that state law prohibits source-of-income discrimination.
Denver has been one of the most active enforcement environments in the state for this. Rejecting a housing voucher applicant without a documented, non-discriminatory reason is not a gray area anymore. The enforcement teeth are real, and the cases are getting decided.
The standard that protects you: apply your screening criteria consistently to all applicants. Income requirements, credit minimums, rental history standards. If the voucher applicant meets your criteria, you have no legal basis to reject based on payment method. If they don't meet the criteria, document specifically why.
Screening criteria must also be disclosed in writing at the time of advertising or before collecting any application fee, per Colorado's PTSR statute. More on that in the lease section below.
4. Charge Fees That Are Now Prohibited Under HB25-1090
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If you're not sure your current lease reflects Colorado's 2026 fee rules, that's worth fixing before your next renewal. Contact Sheepdog to talk through what compliance looks like for your property.
HB25-1090 banned a specific list of fees that were common in lease agreements. Starting January 1, 2026, you cannot charge tenants for:
- Property taxes (the landlord's obligation, not the tenant's)
- Common area maintenance (same)
- Payment processing fees, unless you offer a free payment method as an alternative
- Late fees on non-rent charges (you can charge late fees on rent; not on other fees)
- Services billed by a third party above the 2% or $10/month cap, whichever is less
- Services you didn't actually provide
- Habitability compliance costs (inspections, repairs required by law are the landlord's cost)
The penalty for violating this law is the tenant's actual damages plus 18% annual compound interest. That's not a small number on a lease that runs a year or two.
If these fees are in your current lease, the relevant clauses are void. They're not enforceable even if the tenant signed them. A landlord who charges them anyway and then tries to use them as a basis for a deposit deduction is creating liability on top of a void clause.
5. Advertise Rent Without Disclosing the Total Price
HB25-1090 also requires that all rental advertisements display the total monthly price to rent the unit. You can't show "$1,800/mo" in the listing and then add a "$150 admin fee" separately.
HB25-1090 means your Zillow listing showing "$1,800/mo" with a separate "$150 admin fee" is now a disclosure violation. The total price has to be in the ad.
The only things excluded from the "total price" are actual utilities. Everything else has to be folded into what you advertise as the monthly rent.
This has operational implications for property managers who use software that breaks out fees. The listing platforms need to show the all-in number. Failing to do so isn't just a technical violation. It's the kind of thing that comes up in dispute resolution when a tenant claims they didn't know what they'd be paying.
6. Keep a Security Deposit for Normal Wear and Tear
This one existed before 2026, but HB25-1249 significantly expanded the definition of "normal wear and tear" and added real penalties for violations.
Under the updated law, normal wear and tear includes "deterioration, damage, or uncleanliness that occurs based upon the use for which a rental unit is intended or reasonably and typically used, without negligence, carelessness, accident, or abuse."
That's a meaningful expansion. Light carpet staining from normal foot traffic. Wall scuffs from furniture. Paint fading from sunlight. These are now explicitly covered.
What's NOT covered: uncleanliness that makes the unit "substantially less clean" than at move-in. The landlord's burden is to show the condition change, with documentation. Photos from move-in and move-out are no longer optional. They're your defense.
7. Charge for Carpet or Paint Under the New Rules
HB25-1249 created specific rules for carpet and paint deductions that are more restrictive than what most landlords are used to:
Carpet: You cannot charge for carpet replacement unless the damage is "substantial and irreparable" and exceeds normal wear and tear. And here's the number that catches people: if the carpet hasn't been replaced in the last 10 years, you cannot charge for it at all, regardless of condition.
If you put carpet in a unit in 2013 and a tenant moves out in 2026, you're not getting any carpet money from the security deposit. The law is explicit.
Paint: Similar standard. Charges only for "substantial damage" beyond normal wear. Standard scuffs, fading, and the handprint near the light switch that every tenant leaves? Not chargeable.
If you have actual cause for a deduction, you can only retain "the minimum amount necessary" to address the specific damaged area, not a whole-room or whole-unit repaint.
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Staying current with the new standards is one of the things a professional property manager handles on your behalf. The documentation requirements alone have changed significantly. Reach out to Sheepdog if you want to understand how to run move-outs compliantly under the 2026 rules.
8. Use a Lease with an Automatic Cleaning Fee Clause
The automatic cleaning fee clause (the kind that says something like "tenant agrees to pay $300 for professional cleaning upon move-out regardless of condition") became void on January 1, 2026.
The automatic cleaning fee clause shows up in roughly half the DIY leases we've encountered. It became void on January 1, 2026. If your lease still has it, it's not enforceable. Worse, using it as a basis for a deduction creates liability.
Under HB25-1249, cleaning deductions are only allowed if the unit is left "substantially less clean" than it was at move-in. The standard cleaning clause that pre-empts this analysis is gone.
This is one of the main reasons downloaded lease templates from 2020 or 2021 are now land mines. They were designed under a different legal framework. Using them exposes you to disputes on clauses you can't enforce, which undermines your ability to collect on legitimate deductions.
9. Withhold a Security Deposit Without Proper Documentation
Colorado's security deposit return deadline is 30 days after tenancy ends (or 60 days if the lease specifies it). If you miss the deadline or fail to provide a proper written statement of deductions, you lose the right to keep any portion of the deposit.
If a tenant demands documentation for your deductions (photos, invoices, inspection reports), you have 14 days to produce it. If you can't, your deductions are effectively unenforceable.
The penalty for wrongfully withholding: up to three times the amount improperly withheld, plus attorney fees.
The triple-damages provision on security deposits isn't theoretical. We've seen landlords lose cases because they couldn't produce a single receipt for the deductions they made. Documentation isn't optional. It's the only thing standing between a legitimate deduction and a triple-damages judgment.
The practical standard: photograph the property at move-in with timestamped photos. Have the tenant acknowledge condition. Photograph again at move-out. Collect invoices for every repair charged. Return the deposit within 30 days with a written itemization. That process is what makes deductions defensible.
What These Laws Mean for Your Lease Right Now
If you're on a lease that was written before January 1, 2026, a few things are worth knowing:
The void clauses don't invalidate the entire lease. They just mean those specific provisions can't be enforced. But using a void clause as the basis for an action (like a deposit deduction) creates new liability.
For any new lease or renewal after January 1, 2026, you need updated language that reflects:
- Total price disclosure requirements (HB25-1090)
- No automatic cleaning fee clause
- Updated wear-and-tear and deposit deduction language
- Screening criteria disclosure (PTSR)
- Source-of-income disclosure if you own more than 5 units
Using a professionally maintained lease that's updated for current Colorado law isn't optional anymore. It's the baseline. At Sheepdog, our lease is maintained by a partnership with Denver's largest landlord attorney, specifically so it reflects what's actually enforceable today, not what worked in 2022.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a Colorado landlord lock out a tenant for not paying rent?
No. Changing locks, removing belongings, cutting utilities, or taking any other action to physically remove a tenant without a court order is illegal in Colorado. This is called a self-help eviction and it triggers separate penalties beyond whatever the underlying lease dispute involves. The formal eviction process, while slower, is the only legal path.
What fees can a Colorado landlord legally charge in 2026?
As of January 1, 2026, landlords can charge rent, legitimate late fees on rent (not on other charges), actual utility costs, and other fees specifically listed in the lease that aren't prohibited by HB25-1090. Prohibited charges include property taxes, CAM fees, payment processing fees (unless a free option exists), and excessive utility markups above 2% or $10/month.
Can a landlord in Colorado charge for carpet cleaning at move-out?
Only if the carpet was damaged beyond normal wear and tear and the damage was not pre-existing. Carpets 10 years old or older cannot be charged against a deposit regardless of condition. Automatic cleaning fee clauses are now void under HB25-1249.
What is the penalty for wrongfully withholding a security deposit in Colorado?
A tenant can seek up to three times the amount wrongfully withheld, plus attorney fees. The landlord must return the deposit within 30 days (or 60 if the lease specifies) and must provide documentation within 14 days if the tenant requests it. Missing either deadline can forfeit the right to any deductions.
Can Colorado landlords reject applicants on Section 8 or housing vouchers?
Generally, no. Colorado prohibits source-of-income discrimination. Landlords who own more than five rental units are required to include a specific disclosure in leases acknowledging this prohibition. Applicants must be evaluated against your stated screening criteria, which must be disclosed in writing. Rejecting a voucher holder who meets your criteria creates significant legal exposure.
What counts as retaliation under Colorado landlord-tenant law?
Any adverse action (rent increase, service reduction, eviction notice, non-renewal) taken because a tenant exercised a legal right, such as reporting a habitability issue, contacting a building inspector, or organizing with other tenants. Courts look at timing. An adverse action taken shortly after a protected tenant action is presumed retaliatory. The landlord must show a legitimate, pre-existing business reason.
Does HB25-1090 apply to existing leases or only new ones?
The banned fees are void whether they appear in new or existing leases. A landlord cannot charge a fee prohibited by HB25-1090 even if the tenant signed a lease containing that clause. The advertising requirement (total price disclosure) applies to all current listings.
Can a landlord in Colorado raise rent during a lease term?
For leases of one year or less, fees and charges (excluding utilities) cannot be increased by more than 2% during the lease term. Rent increases between lease terms are not subject to the same restriction, but landlords must comply with all notice requirements and cannot raise rent in a retaliatory context.
Managing properties under Colorado's evolving legal framework takes real attention. The laws keep moving. If you want a professional team handling your Denver rental in full compliance with 2026 requirements, contact Sheepdog Property Management to talk through what that looks like for your situation.
