How much can a landlord charge for a security deposit in Colorado?

2 months' rent — A pet deposit is separately capped at $300, must be refundable, and pet rent is capped as well. The statute does not say whether the pet deposit counts inside the two-month limit.

How long does a landlord have to return a security deposit in Colorado?

30 days. The clock starts at termination of the lease or at surrender and acceptance of the premises, whichever occurs last. A lease may specify a longer period, but not one exceeding 60 days (38-12-103(1)).

What happens if a landlord does not return the deposit on time in Colorado?

Wrongful retention costs the landlord treble the amount wrongfully withheld plus attorney fees and costs, and forfeits any right to withhold at all. The treble remedy requires the tenant to first make a written demand and give the landlord 7 days to return the disputed amount.

Do landlords have to pay interest on security deposits in Colorado?

No — Colorado does not require interest on the security deposit to be paid to the tenant. Colorado's residential landlord-tenant law (Title 38, Article 12, Part 1) imposes no interest requirement and no escrow or separate-account requirement on standard residential deposits.

What are the security deposit rules in Colorado?

Verified July 9, 2026 Correction August 12, 2026 All Colorado topics →

Legislative changes ahead — not yet in force. The rules on this page reflect the law in force today. The following measure would change it:

SB26-054 (2026) — Already CHAPTERED: on and after January 1, 2027, post-closing occupancy agreements (home-seller rent-backs) become exempt from the two-month security deposit cap of § 38-12-102.5. No other change to the cap.Status: Signed 2026-04-20; the act took effect August 12, 2026, and the exemption itself operates on and after January 1, 2027 per the amended statute's own text. The figures shown do not yet reflect it. (checked 2026-08-12).

Colorado caps security deposits at two months' rent — a rule in force since August 2023 — and layers on one of the country's most tenant-protective return regimes after a major 2025 rewrite took effect on January 1, 2026: deposits are due back within 30 days (a lease can stretch that to 60 at most), any retention needs a written statement of the exact reasons limited to four permitted causes, and tenants can demand the landlord's photos, receipts, invoices, and estimates within 14 days.

Cited to C.R.S. 38-12-102.5 (SB23-184 official bill record) and 3 more Colorado statutes · Verified July 9, 2026

Normal wear and tear and anything that predated the tenancy can never be charged, full carpet or paint replacement requires substantial damage — with carpet over ten years old off the table entirely — and either side can insist on a move-out walk-through, in person or by video. The penalty structure has real teeth: any noncompliance forfeits the right to withhold at all, and wrongful retention (no longer just 'willful') triggers treble damages plus attorney fees after a 7-day demand, with the landlord bearing the burden of proof and a statutory presumption of bad faith when the amount kept reaches 125% of actual damages. Pet deposits are separately capped at $300 refundable with pet rent limited to the greater of $35 or 1.5% of rent, and no interest or escrow account is required.

Colorado security deposits at a glance

Maximum deposit	2 months' rent — A pet deposit is separately capped at $300, must be refundable, and pet rent is capped as well. The statute does not say whether the pet deposit counts inside the two-month limit. C.R.S. 38-12-102.5 (SB23-184): on and after August 7, 2023, a landlord may not require a security deposit exceeding the amount of two monthly rent payments under the rental agreement. Pet rent may not exceed the GREATER of $35/month or 1.5% of monthly rent (38-12-106, eff. 2024-01-01). A seller-rent-back exemption operates on and after January 1, 2027 (SB26-054; the act took effect August 12, 2026).
Return deadline	30 days
Deadline conditions	The clock starts at termination of the lease or at surrender and acceptance of the premises, whichever occurs last. A lease may specify a longer period, but not one exceeding 60 days (38-12-103(1)). The figure changed on 2026-01-01, when HB25-1249 replaced 'one month' with 'thirty days.' Delivery of the statement, payment, and documentation to the tenant's last-known address, or to any email address the landlord has actual notice of, complies. Refunds returned undelivered must be held at least a year and paid within 15 days of the tenant's request.
Itemization required	Yes
Itemization rules	A landlord retaining any portion must provide a written statement listing the EXACT reasons, with the balance paid alongside it. Since 2026-01-01, retention is allowed only for four causes — unpaid rent, unpaid utility charges, other unpaid lawful charges listed in the lease, and necessary repair work for damage or defective conditions exceeding normal wear and tear that did not preexist the tenancy — and supporting documentation (photos, inspection reports, receipts, invoices, estimates) in the landlord's possession or control must be provided within 14 days of the tenant's written request. Either party may demand a pre-termination walk-through inspection, in person or by interactive video. Normal wear and tear (now including ordinary-use damage and uncleanliness short of leaving the unit substantially less clean than at move-in) and preexisting conditions may never be charged; full carpet or paint replacement is chargeable only for substantial damage beyond wear and tear, and carpet more than 10 years old cannot be treated as substantially and irreparably damaged (38-12-103, as amended by HB25-1249).
Separate account required	No
Interest owed to tenant	No
Account & interest rules	Colorado's residential landlord-tenant law (Title 38, Article 12, Part 1) imposes no interest requirement and no escrow or separate-account requirement on standard residential deposits. Mobile home parks, governed by Part 2, have their own rules.
Pet deposits	C.R.S. 38-12-106 (HB23-1068, eff. 2024-01-01): an additional pet deposit may not exceed $300 and must be refundable; pet rent may not exceed the greater of $35/month or 1.5% of monthly rent. Assistance animals are not pets and may not be charged for under federal law.
Non-refundable fees allowed	Not addressed by statute
Penalty for violation	Wrongful retention costs the landlord treble the amount wrongfully withheld plus attorney fees and costs, and forfeits any right to withhold at all. The treble remedy requires the tenant to first make a written demand and give the landlord 7 days to return the disputed amount. The scheme is layered, and was tightened effective 2026-01-01 (HB25-1249): (1) failing to comply with the section or otherwise wrongfully withholding forfeits ALL rights to withhold any portion (38-12-103(2)); (2) WRONGFUL retention — the old 'willful' standard is gone — makes the landlord liable for treble the portion wrongfully withheld plus attorney fees and costs, provided the tenant gave a written demand and 7 days' pre-suit notice and the landlord failed to return the disputed amount within those 7 days (38-12-103(3)); (3) the landlord bears the burden of proving the withholding was not wrongful AND that the section was complied with; (4) retention is presumed unreasonable (bad faith) if the amount retained is 125% or more of actual damages (38-12-103(3.5)).
Tenant forwarding-address duty	None — the landlord's delivery duty runs to the tenant's last-known address or any email address the landlord has actual notice of, and undeliverable refunds are held for the tenant for at least a year (38-12-103, as amended).

Cite this page: "Landlord Atlas, Colorado Security Deposit Laws (verified July 9, 2026), landlordatlas.com/laws/security-deposits/colorado/" — free to cite and quote with a link (how these records are verified). Every figure above is cited to the Colorado statute in the citations section below.

Generate a Colorado security-deposit return letter — free, no signup, built on the same verified Colorado rules as this page.

Notes and caveats

Stale-source trap #1: 'no deposit cap' has been wrong since 2023 — Pre-2023 sources say Colorado has no deposit cap — wrong since SB23-184 took effect August 7, 2023.
Stale-source trap #2: HB25-1249 did NOT cut the cap to one month — Several 2025–2026 blogs claim HB25-1249 reduced the cap to one month's rent with mandatory installment plans. False — those provisions were in the introduced bill and were stripped by amendment. The official enrolled act touches only the 38-12-102 definitions and 38-12-103.
Mirror lags the law — The public.law mirror's 38-12-103 page still carries the pre-2026 'one month' return-deadline text. The enrolled act controls.
The 2026 headlines: 'wrongful' replaces 'willful,' plus the 125% presumption — The two changes to know from the rewrite: treble damages now attach to WRONGFUL retention (the old 'willful' standard is gone), and retention is presumed to be in bad faith when the amount kept is 125% or more of actual damages.
Domestic-violence damage deductions are separately limited — HB25-1168 (2025) limits deductions for damage arising from domestic violence or sexual assault (38-12-402 cross-references).
Deposits must transfer within 60 days when the property sells — On sale of the property, deposits must now transfer to the new owner within 60 days — the old standard was only 'a reasonable time.'
Nonrefundable move-in fees: the statute is silent, so the field is blank — No Colorado statute squarely authorizes or bans general nonrefundable move-in fees — that open question, not an oversight, is why the answer here reads as not addressed by statute. The 2026 junk-fee disclosure law (HB25-1090) regulates disclosure of fees, not their refundability.
Why the citations lean on bill records — The official CRS is published via LexisNexis without stable deep links, so official sourcing rides on leg.colorado.gov bill records and the enrolled-act PDF; the current-code mirror is cited as unofficial.

Common questions: Colorado security deposits

Each answer is the verified value from the table above, restated as a direct answer. Free to quote with a link to this page.

How much can a landlord charge for a security deposit in Colorado?: 2 months' rent — A pet deposit is separately capped at $300, must be refundable, and pet rent is capped as well. The statute does not say whether the pet deposit counts inside the two-month limit.
How long does a landlord have to return a security deposit in Colorado?: 30 days. The clock starts at termination of the lease or at surrender and acceptance of the premises, whichever occurs last. A lease may specify a longer period, but not one exceeding 60 days (38-12-103(1)).
What happens if a landlord does not return the deposit on time in Colorado?: Wrongful retention costs the landlord treble the amount wrongfully withheld plus attorney fees and costs, and forfeits any right to withhold at all. The treble remedy requires the tenant to first make a written demand and give the landlord 7 days to return the disputed amount.
Do landlords have to pay interest on security deposits in Colorado?: No — Colorado does not require interest on the security deposit to be paid to the tenant. Colorado's residential landlord-tenant law (Title 38, Article 12, Part 1) imposes no interest requirement and no escrow or separate-account requirement on standard residential deposits.
Can a landlord charge a non-refundable fee in Colorado?: Not addressed by statute.

Changes since last full verification

The Verified date above (July 9, 2026) marks the last time every figure on this page was verified end-to-end against official state sources. The changes below were published since then, each verified against the official source it names (what these dates mean).

Correction, August 12, 2026 — The seller-rent-back exception to the two-month security-deposit cap (SB26-054) operates on and after January 1, 2027; the act itself took effect August 12, 2026. The record previously reported the exception as effective November 1, 2026. Corrected against the chaptered session law and the official bill page.

Statute citations

C.R.S. 38-12-102.5 (SB23-184 official bill record) (verified 2026) Official source
C.R.S. 38-12-103, as amended by HB25-1249 (official enrolled act, eff. 2026-01-01) (verified 2026) Official source
C.R.S. 38-12-106 (HB23-1068 official bill record) (verified 2026) Official source
C.R.S. 38-12-103 (current-code mirror) (1)-(3.5) (verified 2026) Unofficial mirror

How this record was verified: Colorado's official CRS text is published via LexisNexis without stable deep links (GA-class sourcing situation), so verification pairs official session-law sources with current code mirrors: the HB25-1249 enrolled act read verbatim from the official leg.colorado.gov PDF (full text extracted) and re-confirmed against the official bill-page summary (independent reads matched on the 30-day return deadline, wrongful-retention standard, 125% presumption, walk-through, and carpet/paint rules, and confirmed NO deposit-cap change); official bill pages read for SB23-184 (deposit cap), SB21-173 (late fees), HB21-1121 (rent-increase notice/frequency), HB23-1068 (pet deposits), HB23-1115 (rent-control repeal — died), HB25-1092 and HB26-1047 (died), and SB26-054 (PCOA exemption; dates corrected 2026-08-12 against the chaptered session law: act effective 2026-08-12, exemption operative on and after 2027-01-01). Statute text quoted from the colorado.public.law and FindLaw mirrors (official: false), with §§ 38-12-105 and 38-12-701 each read twice on the mirror, with both reads matching. Checked 2026-07-09. Supplement 2026-08-23: C.R.S. § 6-1-737 read in full on the official 2026 C.R.S. Title 6 HTML edition published by the Office of Legislative Legal Services (olls.info), cross-checked against the HB25-1090 signed act (leg.colorado.gov PDF, § 2 and § 4 read) — the § 6-1-737(4) fee prohibitions added to late_fees; the eviction citation now references the 2026 C.R.S. download page, the 2025 page having been withdrawn.