What late fees can a landlord charge in Colorado?
Colorado allows no late fee at all unless rent is at least seven calendar days late, and the fee is capped at the greater of $50 or 5% of the past-due amount — note it keys to the amount actually unpaid, not the full month's rent.
Cited to C.R.S. 38-12-105 (2026 Colorado Revised Statutes, Title 38 — official Office of Legislative Legal Services publication) (1)-(5) and 3 more cited sources · Verified October 1, 2026
The fee must be disclosed in the rental agreement, noticed in writing within 180 days of the missed due date, imposed only once per late payment (repeat fees only within the cap, and no interest on a fee), and never charged on the portion of rent a subsidy program pays. A tenant cannot be evicted or have a tenancy terminated over unpaid late fees alone, and rent payments cannot be applied to fees before rent. Violations carry an automatic $50-per-violation penalty; if the landlord fails to cure within seven days of written or electronic notice, the tenant can sue for $150 to $1,000 per violation plus damages, costs, and attorney fees, and offending lease clauses are void. Separately, since January 1, 2026 the consumer-protection code bars a landlord from charging any late or overdue fee on a charge that is not rent, and from charging a payment-processing fee unless the tenant has a cost-free way to pay (C.R.S. § 6-1-737(4)).
Colorado late fees at a glance
| Statutory cap | The greater of $50 or 5% of the amount of the past-due rent payment (C.R.S. 38-12-105(1)(b)) |
|---|---|
| Mandatory grace period | 7 days |
| Must be in the lease | Yes |
| Daily fees | Effectively barred. A late fee may be imposed only once per late payment unless the aggregate stays within the statutory cap, so daily accrual beyond the greater-of-$50-or-5% ceiling is unlawful. No interest may be charged on a late fee. The once-per-payment rule and the interest bar are at 38-12-105(1)(g)-(h); the ceiling itself is the (1)(b) cap. |
| Reasonableness standard | Section 38-12-105 sets no reasonableness test for late fees; it sets a fixed cap instead. Additional structural rules: no late fee unless rent is at least 7 calendar days late; the fee must be disclosed in the rental agreement; written notice of the fee must come within 180 days of the due date; no fee may be charged on rent portions payable by a subsidy provider; and a tenant may not be evicted, excluded, or terminated for unpaid late fees alone (38-12-105(1)). Mobile home parks: the park's written rental agreement must state the day unpaid rent is considered in default for a late fee, and that day may not be less than ten calendar days after rent is due (38-12-213(1)(c)). |
Cite this page: "Landlord Atlas, Colorado Late Fee Laws (verified October 1, 2026), landlordatlas.com/laws/late-fees/colorado/" — free to cite and quote with a link (how these records are verified). Everything above is cited in the citations section below.
Check a late fee against the Colorado rules — free, no signup, built on the same verified Colorado law as this page.
Notes and caveats
- It is the GREATER of $50 or 5% — not the lesser — Sources occasionally flip the cap to 'lesser of,' which understates what landlords of small-rent units may charge.
- Seven days late before any fee — contrast Washington — No late fee may be charged until rent is at least 7 calendar days late. Contrast WA, where fees can reach back to day one once the 5-day grace period lapses.
- In force since October 2021 — The scheme was enacted by SB21-173, effective October 1, 2021.
- Mirror numbering varies; the figures do not — Subsection numbering of the penalty-and-cure scheme differs between code mirrors ((2)–(5) vs (3)–(5)), but the substantive figures are identical in each — the automatic $50 penalty, the 7-day cure window, and the $150–$1,000 per uncured violation. The citation pinpoint is therefore given as a range.
- The 2026 'junk fee' law left the caps alone but added fee bans — HB25-1090 (ch. 94, 2025; in force January 1, 2026) did not change the § 38-12-105 late-fee caps, but its new C.R.S. § 6-1-737(4) bars a landlord from requiring a tenant to pay: (e) any fee or charge for the overdue payment of a fee, charge, or amount that is not rent — so late fees attach to rent only; (d) a rent-processing or payment-processing fee unless a cost-free way to pay is reasonably accessible to the tenant; (b) any fee or charge that rises by more than two percent over the course of a lease of one year or less (utilities excepted); plus fees for property taxes, for common-area maintenance, for goods or services not actually provided, for anything needed to meet the landlord's own obligations (including habitability), and utility charges above the provider's bill except under the § 38-12-801(3)(a)(VI) markup allowance or the ratio-utility-billing rules in § 6-1-737(4.5) (HB26-1013, ch. 11, eff. March 26, 2026). A violation is a deceptive trade practice under the Colorado Consumer Protection Act, with the tenant's written-demand remedy in § 6-1-737(5). The act applies to conduct on or after January 1, 2026.
- A 2026 payment-options bill died — HB26-1047 was killed in committee on February 24, 2026.
Common questions: Colorado late fees
Each answer is the verified value from the table above, restated as a direct answer. Free to quote with a link to this page.
- Is there a legal limit on late fees in Colorado?
- The greater of $50 or 5% of the amount of the past-due rent payment (C.R.S. 38-12-105(1)(b)). Section 38-12-105 sets no reasonableness test for late fees; it sets a fixed cap instead.
- Is there a grace period before rent is late in Colorado?
- 7 days.
- Does a late fee have to be written into the lease in Colorado?
- Yes — in Colorado a late fee must be stated in the lease.
- Can a landlord charge a daily late fee in Colorado?
- Effectively barred. A late fee may be imposed only once per late payment unless the aggregate stays within the statutory cap, so daily accrual beyond the greater-of-$50-or-5% ceiling is unlawful.
Citations
- C.R.S. 38-12-105 (2026 Colorado Revised Statutes, Title 38 — official Office of Legislative Legal Services publication) · (1)-(5) (verified 2026) Official source
- SB21-173 'Rights in Residential Lease Agreements' (official bill record, eff. 2021-10-01) (verified 2026) Official source
- C.R.S. 6-1-737 (2026 Colorado Revised Statutes, Title 6 — official Office of Legislative Legal Services edition, HTML) · (4)(b), (4)(d), (4)(e), (4.5), (5) (verified 2026) Official source
- HB25-1090 'Protections Against Deceptive Pricing Practices' (official bill record; ch. 94, eff. 2026-01-01) · § 2 (adding C.R.S. 6-1-737), § 4 (amending 38-12-801(3)(a)(VI)), § 5 (effective date/applicability) (verified 2026) Official source
How this record was verified: Direct read of the Colorado Revised Statutes in the 2026 edition published by the General Assembly's Office of Legislative Legal Services (the files for Titles 2, 6, 13 and 38 on olls.info). October 1, 2026: every section the security deposit, rent increase, late fee, entry and eviction answers rest on was read there: C.R.S. §§ 38-12-101 to 38-12-106, 38-12-204, 38-12-207, 38-12-209, 38-12-213, 38-12-222, 38-12-301, 38-12-402, 38-12-503, 38-12-510, 38-12-701, 38-12-702, 38-12-902, 38-12-903, 38-12-1004, 38-12-1301 to 38-12-1307 and 38-12-1502; 13-40-101 to 13-40-123 and 13-6-311; 6-1-737; and 2-4-108. The acts behind them were read on the General Assembly's site, among them SB23-184, HB23-1068, SB21-173, HB21-1121, SB24-094, HB25-1090, HB25-1168, HB25-1240 and HB25-1249, with SB26-054 and HB26-1196 for their January 1, 2027 operative dates. The Colorado Rules of County Court Civil Procedure and forms JDF 99 A and JDF 126 were read on the Judicial Branch's site.