Know Your Rights
Haven’t Heard From Your Landlord About Refunding Your Security Deposit? Disagree With the Charges Your Landlord Has Made?
Section 38-12-103 of the Colorado Revised Statutes spells out the rights and responsibilities of landlords and tenants:
- Within one month after the termination of a lease or surrender and acceptance of the rental property, whichever is later, the landlord must return the full security deposit or send a list of charges and return any remaining balance of the deposit.
- This one month timeframe can be extended to a maximum of 60 days total, if so written in the lease.
- Landlords are not required to track you down. If you didn’t give a forwarding address, it is sufficient for landlords to mail the list of charges and refund to the rental property you just vacated.
- Landlords may not charge for ordinary wear and tear.
- If landlords miss the time requirement explained above, they are required to return the entire deposit regardless of legitimate charges. They may still demand that you pay for legitimate charges, but they cannot withhold these from the deposit refund.
- If landlords miss the time requirement or charge you for items they shouldn’t (such as ordinary wear and tear or pre-existing conditions), you should reply in writing using the templates provided on this website.
- If tenants give proper written notice that they intend to file suit if correction is not made within 7 days of landlord’s receipt of the notice, tenants may ask a court for triple (“treble”) the amount of the money wrongfully kept by landlords, along with court costs and attorney’s fees. The templates include the correct language to give this notice.
Student Legal Services can help guide you through this process and get you to the proper resources if needed.
