Housing · Repair and Deduct

Repair and Deduct in Colorado

How much of the rent a tenant can spend on a repair and subtract in Colorado, how often, the notice required, and the alternative if the state has no statutory remedy. Cited to the statute.

Confirmedagainst Colo. Rev. Stat. §38-12-507 · checked against a mirror of the official code (Cornell LII / Justia)Reviewed by Cholilurrohman · July 2026

Repair and deduct from rent? · Colorado

Colorado scales the waiting period to how dangerous the problem is rather than capping the money. It sets 10 days of notice for an ordinary defect, 48 hours where the condition materially interferes with life, health, or safety, and no ceiling on what the repair may cost.

Actual cost, no cap

Cost capActual cost, no cap

Notice period10 days

StatuteColo. Rev. Stat. §38-12-507

How repair and deduct works in Colorado

The cost cap or the alternative remedy, the notice steps, and the limits that apply.

Recent or pending change

This part of the Colorado code has moved in prior reviews. Confirm the current section number and language of §38-12-507 before relying on it.

How it works	What it means
The condition must breach habitability	The remedy answers a landlord’s failure to keep the rental habitable. It is not for cosmetic issues, and the more serious the condition, the faster the tenant may act.
Give 10 days’ notice, or 48 hours if dangerous	The tenant gives 10 days’ advance written notice of intent to hire a professional. That drops to 48 hours where the condition materially interferes with the tenant’s life, health, or safety.
No statutory cap on the deduction	The statute imposes no explicit cap on the amount deducted. As in the other no-cap states, the real constraint is that the cost be reasonable for the repair, so keep estimates and receipts.

Limits and alternatives	What it means
The landlord can house you instead of repairing	Within the notice period the landlord may sufficiently remedy the condition, or provide comparable housing, before the tenant proceeds. Colorado gives the landlord this escape that other states do not.
Tenant-caused conditions are excluded	The remedy is for the landlord’s failure to maintain. A condition the tenant caused is not the landlord’s to fix and does not support a deduction.

What you can do right now

Concrete, neutral steps if the landlord will not repair in Colorado. This is legal information, not legal advice.

Put the problem in writing to the landlord
Give written notice of intent to hire a professional, describing the condition. Keep a copy, because the notice period runs from it.
Wait 10 days, or 48 hours if life or safety is affected
Allow 10 days for an ordinary defect. If the condition materially interferes with life, health, or safety, the wait is 48 hours before you may act.
Keep the cost reasonable and save receipts
With no dollar cap, your proof matters most. Get an estimate, use a professional, and keep every invoice so the deducted amount is defensible.
Talk to a Colorado attorney or legal aid
If the landlord offers comparable housing or disputes the deduction, a licensed Colorado attorney or legal-aid office can advise. The resources below can help.

Find help in Colorado

Repair remedies have strict notice steps, and using the wrong one can put your tenancy at risk. This resource can connect you with a tenant hotline or a licensed attorney.

→ Colorado Legal Services

This is general legal information, not legal advice. Notice steps, caps, and local ordinances can change the answer, so confirm your situation with a tenant resource or a licensed attorney.

What Colorado tenants get wrong about repair and deduct

Colorado scales the waiting period to how dangerous the problem is rather than scaling the money. Under §38-12-507 a tenant who gives 10 days’ advance written notice of intent to hire a professional may have a habitability defect repaired and deduct the cost, and there is no statutory ceiling on what the repair may cost. When the condition materially interferes with the tenant’s life, health, or safety, the notice shrinks to 48 hours, so the more serious the problem, the faster a renter can move. Because there is no dollar cap, the practical limit is reasonableness, and a renter protects the deduction with estimates and receipts rather than by staying under a number. Colorado also hands the landlord an escape the other states do not. Within the notice period the landlord can either sufficiently remedy the condition or provide comparable housing instead of repairing, which can move a renter rather than fix the unit. The remedy is for the landlord’s failure to maintain, not for damage the tenant caused. One more caution specific to this state. This part of the Colorado code has moved before, so confirm the current section and language before relying on it. Give written notice, match the wait to the danger, keep the cost defensible, and save every receipt.

Common questions

Does my problem qualify for the 48-hour route in Colorado?

It does if the condition materially interferes with your life, health, or safety. Otherwise the ordinary 10-day advance written notice applies before you may hire a professional.

Is there a limit on how much I can deduct in Colorado?

The statute sets no explicit cap. The constraint is that the cost be reasonable for the repair, so keep estimates and invoices to support the amount you deduct.

Can my landlord move me instead of repairing in Colorado?

Yes. Within the notice period the landlord may provide comparable housing, or sufficiently remedy the condition, before you proceed. That is an escape Colorado gives that other states do not.

What notice must I give before repairing in Colorado?

Ten days’ advance written notice of intent to hire a professional for an ordinary defect, or 48 hours where the condition materially interferes with life, health, or safety.

Primary source

→ Colo. Rev. Stat. §38-12-507

Colo. Rev. Stat. §38-12-507 (via Justia mirror) · law.justia.com

Cholilurrohman
Every figure on this page is checked line-by-line against the current statute. Editorial standards →

Not legal advicePlainStatute provides plain-language summaries of public law for general information only. This is not legal advice. Statutes change; always confirm current requirements with the official source linked above before acting.

Embed this explainer

Paste this on your own site. The embed stays in sync with this page, so any update here shows up there too.

<iframe
  src="https://plainstatute.com/embed/statute/repair-and-deduct-limit--colorado"
  title="Colorado statute explainer by PlainStatute"
  loading="lazy"
  height="640"
  style="width:100%;max-width:640px;border:1px solid #e4e2d9;border-radius:12px"
  data-plainstatute="repair-and-deduct-limit--colorado"></iframe>
<script>
  window.addEventListener('message', function (e) {
    if (e.origin !== 'https://plainstatute.com') return;
    var d = e.data || {};
    if (d.type !== 'plainstatute:embed-height') return;
    var f = document.querySelector('iframe[data-plainstatute="' + d.slug + '"]');
    if (f) f.height = d.height;
  });
</script>

Repair and deduct · other states

Arizona·Oklahoma·Utah·Kansas·New Mexico·Nebraska·All states →