Colorado rent late fee law
What your landlord is allowed to charge when rent is late, how soon they can charge it, and what to do about a fee the law doesn't allow.
Maximum late fee
Greater of $50 or 5%
Grace period
7 calendar days
The cap
Under C.R.S. § 38-12-105, Colorado caps late fees at $50 or 5% of the past-due rent payment, whichever is greater. Only one late fee may be charged per late payment, no interest may be charged on late fees, a fee may not be taken out of a later rent payment, and no fee may be charged on the portion of rent a subsidy provider owes. A landlord also cannot evict a tenant for unpaid late fees.
When the fee can start
No late fee may be charged unless the rent payment is at least seven calendar days late. The fee must be disclosed in the rental agreement, and the landlord must give written notice of the fee within 180 days of the missed due date to charge it at all.
If you've been charged an illegal fee
Violations carry an automatic $50 penalty per violation payable to the tenant. If the landlord doesn't cure within seven days of written notice, the tenant can sue for damages plus a penalty of $150 to $1,000 per violation, plus attorney's fees — and can raise the violation as a defense to eviction.
Charged a fee the law doesn't allow?
Answer a few questions and get a formal demand letter citing C.R.S. § 38-12-105 and exactly which rule your landlord broke — free to generate and download. We can also send it by USPS Certified Mail for you, with the delivery record that holds up in court.
Dispute my late feeDid your landlord also keep your security deposit?
Colorado landlords have 30 days to return your deposit after you move out — and real penalties apply when they don't. Generate a formal demand letter citing Colo. Rev. Stat. § 38-12-103, and we can send it certified mail for you.
Demand my deposit backCommon questions
- Is there a limit on late fees for rent in Colorado?
- Yes. Under C.R.S. § 38-12-105, Colorado caps late fees at $50 or 5% of the past-due rent payment, whichever is greater. Only one late fee may be charged per late payment, no interest may be charged on late fees, a fee may not be taken out of a later rent payment, and no fee may be charged on the portion of rent a subsidy provider owes. A landlord also cannot evict a tenant for unpaid late fees.
- Can my landlord charge a late fee the day rent is due in Colorado?
- No. No late fee may be charged unless the rent payment is at least seven calendar days late.
- What can I do if my landlord charged an illegal late fee in Colorado?
- Violations carry an automatic $50 penalty per violation payable to the tenant. If the landlord doesn't cure within seven days of written notice, the tenant can sue for damages plus a penalty of $150 to $1,000 per violation, plus attorney's fees — and can raise the violation as a defense to eviction.
Other Colorado tenant rights
Landlords who get one of these wrong often get another wrong too.
Late fee laws in other states
These rules change at the state line. Every page is checked against that state's own published statute.
How this page was checked
- Read from the source. Every deadline, cap and penalty here was taken from the legislature's published text — the statute, session law or administrative code itself.
- No legal-information websites. Commercial summaries were used only to find a provision, never as authority for it. An automated check fails our build if any state we serve cites a secondary source.
- Locked against drift. The verified figures are pinned by regression tests, so a later edit cannot quietly change a deadline or a penalty.
- Last verified August 14, 2026. Laws change — confirm the current text before relying on it.
General information, not legal advice. We are not a law firm.
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