You have legal rights if your health is at risk due to a Colorado health code violation. Pest infestations in Colorado rental properties can impact your safety. These rights are available to you when a landlord fails to ensure a rental space is reasonably safe and habitable.
Colorado Renters’ Rights for Housing Infestations
Colorado law’s Warranty of Habitability creates guidelines landlords must follow to ensure renter safety and limit the contractual obligations of a tenant when a landlord fails to meet specific obligations. As a renter, you have the following rights based on the criteria found in CRS §38-12-505 if you experience an infestation:
- Terminate the lease agreement
- Seek injunctive relief requiring a landlord to address a bed bug, mice, or roach infestation
- Seek defense for the nonpayment of rent
- Take legal action to seek rent reduction and other expenses caused by an infestation
Legal guidance may be necessary to address unsafe living conditions or retaliation by a landlord in Colorado when protecting your renters’ rights.
Steps a Tenant Must Take After Discovering a Bed Bug, Mice, or Roach Infestation
Because bed bug infestations have become an increasing concern in the US, Colorado’s HB19-1328 addresses landlord and tenant duties regarding bed bugs. A tenant should take the following steps after identifying a residential infestation of bed bugs or a property becomes uninhabitable due to mice or roach infestation:
- Promptly notify a landlord via written or electronic notice after reasonable suspicion exists that bed bugs or other pests are infesting a residence
- Send notice only to the address, phone number, or electronic portal specified in a rental agreement, or use the communication avenue a landlord offers
- Retain proof of notice of the infestation to the landlord
Documenting unsafe living conditions in a Colorado rental unit is always recommended to prove that you have taken the appropriate notification steps.
When Does a Breach in the Warranty of Habilitability Occur by a Colorado Landlord?
A landlord must address situations threatening a tenant’s life, health, and safety in Colorado within 24 hours after receiving notice under CRS §38-12-503, or a breach occurs.
A breach in the warranty of habitability also occurs after 72 hours if the residential premises are deemed uninhabitable because of the lack of an appropriate extermination response to the infestation of rodents, vermin, pests, or insects (§38-12-505(VIII)).
How Long Does a Colorado Landlord Have to Respond to Bed Bugs?
A landlord must respond to a notice of bed bugs’ presence or potential presence within 96 hours. The landlord should also inspect the rental property or obtain an inspection by a qualified inspector for infestation. A landlord or inspector has the right to enter a property and contiguous properties to conduct the inspection and treat for infestation after giving reasonable notice.
A landlord is responsible for the costs incurred from inspecting and treating bed bugs. Potential renters have the right to inquire and be informed about a bed bug infestation occurring within the previous 8 months. Failing to comply with HB19-1318 deems a landlord liable to a tenant for damages. Bed bugs are not known to transmit disease. However, they can cause other public health issues. Roaches are thought to be transmitters of food-borne pathogens. Hantavirus, mainly spread by rodents, can cause serious illness and death. Discuss your legal rights with a Colorado tenant attorney if an infestation in a rental property impacts your health or a landlord breaches a warranty of habitability in Colorado.
