Warranty of Habitability in Colorado

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1 Colo. Rev. Stat. § 38-12-505(1)

A residential premises is deemed uninhabitable if:

(a) There is mold that is associated with dampness, or there is any other condition causing the residential premises to be damp, which condition, if not remedied, would materially interfere with the health or safety of the tenant, excluding the presence of mold that is minor and found on surfaces that can accumulate moisture as part of their proper functioning and intended use;

(b) It substantially lacks any of the following characteristics:

(I) Functioning appliances that conformed to applicable law at the time of installation and that are maintained in good working order;

(II) Waterproofing and weather protection of roof and exterior walls maintained in good working order, including unbroken windows and doors;

(III) Plumbing or gas facilities that conformed to applicable law in effect at the time of installation and that are maintained in good working order;

(IV) Running water at all times and hot water in an amount necessary for the tenant to perform all ordinary activities related to maintaining cleanliness and health, furnished to appropriate fixtures and connected to a sewage disposal system approved under applicable law;

(V) Functioning heating facilities that conformed to applicable law at the time of installation and that are maintained in good working order;

(VI) Electrical lighting, with wiring and electrical equipment that conformed to applicable law at the time of installation, maintained in good working order;

(VII) Common areas and areas under the control of the landlord that are kept reasonably clean, sanitary, and free from all accumulations of debris, filth, rubbish, and garbage and that have appropriate extermination in response to the infestation of rodents, vermin, pests, or insects;

(VIII) Appropriate extermination in response to the infestation of rodents, vermin, pests, or insects throughout a residential premises, including compliance with all requirements under part 10 of this article 12;

(IX) An adequate number of appropriate exterior receptacles for garbage, waste, and rubbish, in good repair and scheduled to be serviced and emptied at sufficient intervals to ensure containment and proper disposal of all trash, waste, and rubbish;

(X) Floors, stairways, elevators, and railings maintained in good repair;

(XI) Locks on all exterior doors and locks or security devices on windows designed to be opened that are maintained in good working order;

(XII) Compliance with all applicable building, housing, and health codes, the violation of which would constitute a condition that materially interferes with the life, health, or safety of the tenant;

(XIII) Compliance with applicable standards from the American National Standards Institute, or its successor organization, and all applicable provisions of building, fire, health, and housing codes for the remediation and cleanup of a residential premises following an environmental public health event;

(XIV) Remediation in compliance with article 18.5 of title 25 if the residential premises was used as an illegal drug laboratory, as defined in section 25-18.5-101 (8), involving methamphetamine.

(XV) Compliance with all requirements in section 38-12-803; or

(XVI) Compliance with all requirements related to cooling devices established in subsection (7) of this section; or

(c) It is otherwise unfit for human habitation.

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2 Colo. Rev. Stat. § 38-12-505(4)

There is a rebuttable presumption that the following conditions at a residential premises materially interfere with a tenant’s life, health, or safety pursuant to section 38-12-503 (2)(a)(II):

(a) Lack of waterproofing and weather protection for the roof, exterior walls, exterior doors, and exterior windows of a dwelling unit so that weather-related elements can enter the dwelling unit;

(b) Any hazardous condition of gas piping, gas facilities, gas appliances, or other gas equipment;

(c) Inadequate running water or inadequate running hot water, except for temporary disruptions in water service due to necessary maintenance, repair, or construction that is being performed or temporary disruptions in water service that a landlord could not reasonably prevent or control;

(d) Lack of functioning heating facilities and equipment fixtures that are installed and operating in compliance with applicable law at the time of installation and that are maintained in good working order from October through April of each year;

(e) Any hazardous condition of electrical wiring, electrical facilities, electrical appliances, or other electrical equipment;

(f) Lack of electricity or disruptions of electricity that are caused by a landlord’s failure to maintain electrical wiring, electrical facilities, electrical appliances, or electrical equipment;

(g) Lack of working locks or security devices on all exterior doors that allow entry into a residential premises or a dwelling unit and all exterior windows that are designed to be opened;

(h) Lack of working plumbing or sewage disposal or any condition that allows sewage, water, moisture, or other contaminants to enter the residential premises other than through properly working plumbing and sewage disposal systems;

(i) An infestation of rodents, vermin, pests, or insects;

(j) Any inaccessible fire exits or egress in accordance with applicable building, housing, fire, and health codes;

(k) Any missing, damaged, improper, or misaligned chimney or venting on any fuel-fired heating, ventilation, or cooling system; or

(l) An inoperable elevator when the tenant has a disability that prevents the tenant from being able to use the stairs to access the tenant’s dwelling unit or the tenant relies on an elevator to access the tenant’s dwelling unit and there are no other operable elevators that provide access to the tenant’s unit.

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3 Colo. Rev. Stat. § 38-12-503(2)

A landlord breaches the warranty of habitability set forth in subsection (1) of this section if:

(a) A residential premises is:

(I) Uninhabitable as described in section 38-12-505; or

(II) In a condition that materially interferes with the tenant’s life, health, or safety; and

(b) The landlord has notice, as described in subsection (3)(e) of this section, of the condition described in subsection (2)(a) of this section and:

(I) Has failed to commence remedial action in accordance with subsection (4) of this section within the following period after having notice:

(A) Twenty-four hours, where the condition materially interferes with the tenant’s life, health, or safety; or

(B) Seventy-two hours, where the residential premises are uninhabitable as described in section 38-12-505 or otherwise;

(II) Has commenced remedial action, in accordance with subsection (4) of this section, within the period described in subsection (2)(b)(I) of this section, but failed to continue performing the remedial action as needed until the condition was remedied or repaired;

(III) Has failed to completely remedy or repair the condition within a reasonable time after commencing remedial action;

(IV) Has failed to comply with subsection (8) of this section concerning a residential premises that has been damaged due to an environmental public health event; or

(V) Leases a residential premises to a tenant and the residential premises is in an uninhabitable condition at the inception of the tenant’s occupancy.

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4 Colo. Rev. Stat. § 38-12-507(1)(a)

(I) A tenant may terminate a rental agreement without any liability or financial penalty to the tenant if the condition that caused the breach remains unremedied or unrepaired and the tenant provides the landlord ten to sixty days’ written notice that states:

(A) The uninhabitable condition or conditions that remain unremedied or unrepaired;

(B) The tenant’s intent to terminate the lease and vacate the dwelling unit; and

(C) The date upon which the tenant intends to terminate the lease, which date must be at least ten days after the date that the notice is provided to the landlord.

(II) If the landlord commences or completes remedial action before the termination date provided by the tenant in accordance with subsection (1)(a)(I)(C) of this section, the landlord and tenant may agree, in writing at the time the condition is being remedied or repaired or after the condition has been remedied or repaired, to rescind the tenant’s intent to terminate the lease and continue the housing arrangement under the landlord and tenant’s existing rental agreement.

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5 Colo. Rev. Stat. § 38-12-507(1)(c)

(I) The tenant may deduct from one or more rent payments the cost of repairing or remedying a condition that is the basis of a breach of the warranty of habitability, as described in section 38-12-503, if:

(A) The tenant gives the landlord at least ten days’ advance written notice of the tenant’s intent to hire a licensed or otherwise qualified professional to remedy or repair the condition or conditions; except that the tenant may provide only forty-eight hours’ advance written notice if the tenant has a good faith belief that the condition materially interferes with the tenant’s life, health, or safety;

(B) The landlord fails to sufficiently remedy or repair the condition within the notice period described in subsection (1)(c)(I)(A) of this section or the landlord fails to provide a comparable dwelling unit or hotel room pursuant to section 38-12-503 (4);

(C) The licensed or otherwise qualified professional is not a relative of the tenant and provides an estimate for remedying or repairing the condition or conditions that is reasonably consistent with industry standards;

(D) The tenant hires the licensed or otherwise qualified professional to remedy or repair the condition; and

(E) The tenant provides the landlord with a receipt, invoice, or proof of payment for work completed by the licensed or otherwise qualified professional within a reasonable amount of time after completion of the work or within thirty days after the landlord requests the receipt, invoice, or proof of payment.

(II) A tenant may, in lieu of repairing a broken or malfunctioning appliance, replace the broken or malfunctioning appliance and deduct the cost from one or more rent payments if:

(A) The tenant gives the landlord at least three days’ advance written notice of the tenant’s intent to purchase and replace the broken or malfunctioning appliance with a replacement appliance;

(B) The landlord fails to sufficiently repair or replace the broken or malfunctioning appliance within the notice period described in subsection (1)(c)(I)(A) of this section;

(C) The replacement appliance is of comparable quality and has substantially the same features as the original appliance; and

(D) The tenant provides the landlord with a receipt, invoice, or proof of payment for the replacement appliance within a reasonable amount of time after completion of the work or within thirty days after the landlord requests the receipt, invoice, or proof of payment.

(III) A tenant that deducts rental payments over two or more rental periods pursuant to subsection (1)(c)(I) or (1)(c)(II) of this section is only required to provide one notice to the landlord of the tenant’s intent to deduct rental payments.

(IV) If a tenant wrongfully deducts a rental payment by not substantially complying with the requirements of this subsection (1)(c), a landlord may pursue any legal remedy available under law. If a court finds that the tenant purposely deducted a rental payment in bad faith, the court shall award the landlord damages equal to double the amount of money unlawfully deducted.

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6 Colo. Rev. Stat. § 38-12-503(4)(a)

(I) Upon having notice of a condition described in subsection (2)(a) of this section, a landlord shall commence remedial action within the time period described in subsection (2)(b) of this section unless the circumstances described in subsection (3)(b)(I) of this section prevented the landlord from commencing remedial action.

(II) If the condition materially interferes with the tenant’s life, health, or safety or is a condition described in section 38-12-505 (4)(l), remedial action must include a landlord providing the tenant, at the request of the tenant and within twenty-four hours after the tenant’s request:

(A) A comparable dwelling unit, as selected by the landlord, at no cost to the tenant; or

(B) A hotel room, as selected by the landlord, at no cost to the tenant.

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7 Colo. Rev. Stat. § 38-12-503(12)

(a) Unless the circumstances described in subsection (3)(b)(I) of this section prevented a landlord from commencing remedial action, the landlord shall commence remedial action within the period described in subsection (2)(b) of this section upon having notice of:

(I) Mold associated with dampness in a dwelling unit; or

(II) Any other condition causing the residential premises to be damp, which condition, if unremedied or unrepaired, could create mold or would materially interfere with the life, health, or safety of a tenant.

(b) The remedial action required pursuant to subsection (12)(a) of this section must include performing all of the following applicable tasks within a reasonable amount of time:

(I) Mitigating immediate risk from mold by installing a containment, stopping active sources of water contributing to the mold, installing a high-efficiency particulate air filtration device to reduce a tenant’s exposure to mold, and performing all of these tasks within seventy-two hours after receiving notice of the condition;

(II) Maintaining the containment described in subsection (12)(b)(I) of this section throughout the remediation and repair process;

(III) Establishing any additional protections for workers and occupants that may be appropriate given the condition;

(IV) Eliminating or limiting moisture sources and drying all materials impacted by the mold or dampness;

(V) Decontaminating or removing materials damaged by mold or dampness;

(VI) Evaluating whether the residential premises has been successfully remediated, including post-remediation testing for the existence of mold; and

(VII) Reassembling the residential premises to control sources of moisture to prevent or limit the recurrence of mold or dampness.

(c) If the condition described in subsection (12)(a) of this section would interfere with the tenant’s life, health, or safety, the landlord must provide, at the request of the tenant, a comparable dwelling unit or hotel room in accordance with subsection (4) of this section.

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8 Colo. Rev. Stat. § 38-12-503(6)(a)

A landlord that has notice of a condition described in subsection (2)(a) of this section shall:

(I) Contact the tenant not more than twenty-four hours after receiving the notice; except that a landlord may take up to seventy-two hours to contact the tenant after the landlord has notice that the residential premises is inaccessible because of an environmental public health event. The communication must indicate the landlord’s intentions to remedy or repair the condition, including an estimate of when the remedial action will commence and when it will be completed.

(II) Inform the tenant of the landlord’s responsibilities under subsection (4) of this section, including the landlord’s obligation to provide the tenant a comparable dwelling unit or hotel room at no cost to the tenant; and

(III) Provide the tenant with written notice at least twenty-four hours in advance of entry to the dwelling unit if entry to the dwelling unit is necessary to commence or maintain remedial action; except that the landlord is not required to provide advance notice when the condition materially and imminently threatens an individual’s life, health, or safety or when the condition poses an active and ongoing threat of causing, and, without immediate remediation, would cause, substantial and material damage to the residential premises.

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9 Colo. Rev. Stat. § 38-12-509(1)

A landlord shall not retaliate against a tenant by engaging in any of the activities specified in subsection (1)(b) of this section in response to the tenant:

(I) Having made a good faith complaint to the landlord, to a nonprofit organization or third party, or to a governmental agency alleging a condition described by section 38-12-505 (1) or any condition that materially interferes with the life, health, or safety of the tenant;

(II) Organizing or becoming a member of a tenants’ association or similar organization; or

(III) Exercising or attempting to exercise in good faith any right or remedy afforded to a tenant pursuant to section 38-12-507.

(b) Prohibited retaliation includes:

(I) Increasing rent or decreasing services;

(II) Terminating or not renewing a rental agreement or contract without written consent of the tenant;

(III) Bringing or threatening to bring an action for possession;

(IV) Taking action that in any manner intimidates, threatens, discriminates against, harasses, or retaliates against a tenant; or

(V) Charging the tenant or seeking to collect from the tenant any fee, cost, or penalty.

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10 Colo. Rev. Stat. § 38-12-509(2)

If a landlord retaliates against a tenant in violation of subsection (1) of this section, the tenant:

(a) Shall recover damages in an amount not more than three months’ periodic rent or three times the tenant’s actual damages, whichever is greater, plus reasonable attorney fees and costs; and

(b) May terminate the rental agreement.

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