Colorado has very strict laws in place to protect the rights of tenants and to ensure that they have a safe living space. These laws are called warranty of habitability laws, and they were strengthened in Colorado starting in May of 2024.
If the warranty of habitability is violated, you have legal rights – including the right to terminate your lease, to deduct the cost of repairs from your rent, and even to potentially collect punitive damages. Because lease terms can play a significant role in how these rights are enforced, it’s wise to consult with a knowledgeable Colorado lease agreement lawyer to understand your options.
Sue My Landlord is here to help. Our Colorado tenant attorneys will fight aggressively on your behalf to resolve your dispute in the best way possible and ensure you’re compensated for damages. Schedule a consultation today to learn more.
Why You Should Trust Sue My Landlord To Be Your Team of Colorado Tenant Lawyers
Your landlord can sometimes make you feel like they hold all the cards, since they own your unit — but the law protects you as a tenant. You just need a legal advocate to help you understand the protections that are in place, including your rights under Colorado’s warranty of habitability laws.
Sue My Landlord is the advocate you should trust. You should turn to our tenant attorneys in Colorado to help if you are having a problem with your home because:
- We know landlord and tenant laws inside and out: We are committed to keeping up-to-date on all new legislation that passes in Colorado. As the state has taken steps to improve the protections and become more tenant-friendly, you need a tenants’ rights attorney who understands the new regulations that protect you.
- We are a tenants’ rights firm: Our attorneys have focused our careers on helping tenants from mom-and-pop landlords to large commercial investors to landlords with a vast portfolio of rental properties. We’re not afraid to go toe-to-toe with some of the biggest players in our area to ensure tenants take full advantage of the power the law gives them and ensure their living space is safe.
- We have had a long history of successes. Tenants have many legal remedies when their units are uninhabitable, from breaking a lease to pursuing a claim for compensation, including, in some cases, punitive damages. We have a strong history of helping clients choose the strategy that maximizes the damages they receive for the hassle they’ve experienced.
Not every firm is ready to fight against landlords, but Sue My Landlord solely exists to do that. You should trust our team of Colorado tenant lawyers because no one will care more about making sure your home is habitable than we will.
Understanding the Right to Habitability
Tenants have the right to a safe and functional home, and the warranty of habitability is designed to guarantee that. Colorado has long had a warranty of habitability on the books. This warranty is designed to ensure that when a landlord rents an apartment to you, they are guaranteeing that it is livable.
However, Colorado’s laws recently changed in favor of renters. In 2024, SB24-094 was signed into law, which is titled “Safe Housing for Residential Tenants.” The new rule modified existing laws in Colorado that created a warranty of habitability, including:
- Clarifying what types of conditions constituted a violation or breach of the warranty of habitability.
- Establishing procedures for both landlords and tenants when a warranty of habitability claim is made.
- Creating time limits for when landlords must respond if they’re notified of issues that make a house unlivable, and creating a rebuttable presumption that a landlord has failed in their obligation to remedy a problem if the condition still exists either 7 or 14 days after being notified (with the specific timeline depending on the condition).
- Requiring landlords to provide a hotel or comparable rental unit for up to 60 days while addressing issues affecting the tenant’s life, health, or safety. Landlords must provide this within 24 hours of the tenant’s request, and if the tenant is displaced for more than 48 hours, the unit must have a kitchen or the landlord must pay for daily meals.
- Establishing procedures for when landlords can enter a property to make repairs.
- Creating a reputable presumption that certain kinds of conditions, by definition, make an apartment uninhabitable.
- Prohibiting landlords from retaliating against tenants who take action due to issues that make their unit uninhabitable.
You have many more rights under this law than you did in the past, but it’s up to you to pursue a legal claim against them if your landlord isn’t treating you fairly.
How a Tenant Attorney in Colorado Can Help You
At Sue My Landlord, we are a full-service firm that takes the stress out of your landlord-tenant dispute by fighting for you in court.
Our Colorado tenant lawyers will:
- Review the circumstances of your dispute with your landlord carefully to determine if your landlord is violating the lease agreement or any regulations related to habitability.
- Gather evidence, including apartment maintenance records, inspection reports, witness statements, and more. The goal is to prove that your unit was not habitable and that the landlord failed to correct this situation and/or to provide other remedies, such as a hotel stay if they can’t fix issues that make your home unlivable.
- Determine the best way to pursue your claim and get a timely resolution through settlement or court proceedings.
- Help you to maximize the damage award you receive, which could include punitive damages in some circumstances.
You do not have to accept your landlord’s poor treatment and you don’t have to fight your landlord alone. You can get a skilled, knowledgeable legal advocate on your side.
Contact a Colorado Tenant Lawyer If Your Landlord Breaches the Warranty of Habitability
Sue My Landlord is here and ready to fight for you. Give our team of tenant attorneys in Colorado a call today at (720) 783-7368 if your landlord has failed to ensure a habitable living space so we can help you pursue appropriate legal action and get the remedy you deserve.
