Colorado Late Rent Fee Laws: Limits, Grace Periods, and Penalties
What Colorado landlords can charge when rent is late, how long they must wait, and what an illegal fee costs. Last reviewed 2026-08-16.
How much can a landlord charge in Colorado?
C.R.S. § 38-12-105(1)(b) forbids a landlord from charging a late fee exceeding the greater of $50 or 5% of the past-due rent payment. The 5% is measured against the amount actually past due, not the full monthly rent, so a partial payment shrinks the permissible fee. Under subsection (1)(g) a landlord may not impose a late fee more than once for each late payment, except that multiple charges are allowed only if the total still fits under the same cap — which effectively rules out open-ended daily fees. Subsection (1)(c) also voids any fee that is not disclosed in the rental agreement, and (1)(j) bars a fee unless the landlord gave written notice of it within 180 days after the rent due date.
How late does rent have to be?
C.R.S. § 38-12-105(1)(a) prohibits any late fee unless the rent payment is late by at least seven calendar days. Weekends and holidays count, and a lease cannot shorten the window — a clause charging a fee on day two is void and unenforceable under subsection (2).
Does the fee have to be in the lease?
Subsection (1)(c) makes a late fee uncollectible unless it is disclosed in the rental agreement, and subsection (1)(j) separately requires written notice of the fee to the tenant within 180 days after the rent was due. Miss either and the fee cannot be charged.
What happens if you charge too much?
A landlord who violates § 38-12-105(1) owes the tenant a $50 penalty per violation and has seven days from written or electronic notice to cure. If the violation is not cured, the tenant may sue for compensatory damages, a penalty of $150 to $1,000 per violation, costs and reasonable attorney fees, and equitable relief, and may raise the violation as an affirmative defense in an eviction.
Returned payment fees
C.R.S. § 13-21-109 lets a landlord recover a reasonable posted or contractual returned-item charge not exceeding $20, and permits a court action for larger statutory damages if the tenant fails to make the check good after written demand.
Recent changes to the law
The late fee caps themselves have not changed since HB21-1121 took effect in 2021, and a 2025 bill to narrow the eviction restrictions (HB25-1196) was postponed indefinitely. Separately, HB25-1090 took effect January 1, 2026 and requires residential landlords to advertise the full mandatory price of a unit and bars several junk fees and markups.
What Colorado landlords get wrong
Colorado's most-missed rule is subsection (7): a late fee is legally distinct from rent, and a rental agreement may not classify it as rent for purposes of the eviction statute, C.R.S. § 13-40-104(1)(d). That means you cannot evict, terminate, or serve a demand for possession over unpaid late fees, cannot charge interest on them, and cannot recoup them out of a rent payment — applying a rent check to fees first and then declaring the rent short is a violation. Note that the late fee statute was created by HB21-1121 in 2021, not HB23-1095; HB23-1095 (2023) dealt with prohibited rental agreement provisions in C.R.S. § 38-12-801. Charge one fee per late payment, disclose it in the lease, and send written notice well inside the 180-day window.
The law itself
Frequently asked questions
What is the maximum late fee for rent in Colorado?
Colorado caps the late fee at the greater of $50 or 5% of the past-due rent payment, under C.R.S. § 38-12-105. The 5% applies to the amount actually overdue, not the full monthly rent. A landlord may not charge more than one late fee per late payment unless the combined total still fits under that same cap, so daily accruing fees are effectively barred.
How many days late before a landlord can charge a late fee in Colorado?
Seven calendar days. C.R.S. § 38-12-105(1)(a) prohibits any late fee until the rent payment is at least seven days late, counting weekends and holidays. A lease that tries to charge on day two or day five is void and unenforceable on that point — the statutory seven-day minimum overrides the lease every time.
Can a Colorado landlord evict a tenant for unpaid late fees?
No. C.R.S. § 38-12-105 bars a landlord from removing or excluding a tenant, starting an eviction, or terminating a tenancy because the tenant did not pay late fees. Subsection (7) also prohibits a lease from classifying a late fee as rent for eviction purposes. Landlords also cannot charge interest on late fees or deduct them from a rent payment.
What happens if a Colorado landlord charges an illegal late fee?
The offending lease provision is void, and the landlord owes the tenant a $50 penalty per violation. The landlord then has seven days from written notice to cure. If they do not, the tenant can sue for compensatory damages, a penalty of $150 to $1,000 per violation, court costs, and attorney fees, and can raise the violation as a defense in an eviction case.
Keep reading
Charging the wrong late fee can cost you more than the rent.
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