Late fee rules · Colorado
Colorado late fee rules
Colorado is one of the few states with a hard statutory cap. A late fee cannot exceed the greater of $50 or 5% of the past-due rent, it cannot be charged until the rent is at least seven calendar days late, and it must be disclosed in the written rental agreement — an undisclosed fee is simply uncollectible.
What this means in practice
The same section bans stacking: only one late fee per late payment, no interest on a late fee, and no deducting a late fee from a later rent payment so that rent shows as short. You also cannot evict or start eviction over unpaid late fees alone. Violations run $150 to $1,000 per violation to the tenant plus attorney fees, though the statute gives a seven-day window to cure after written notice. Per-day late fees are effectively dead here — total them for the month and you're over the cap almost immediately.
Whatever your state allows, the fee only works if it's written into the lease and applied every time. Run your numbers through the late fee calculator to see what a flat, percentage, or per-day fee comes to on your rent — and use the late rent notice when it's time to put it in writing.
Read the law yourself
The authority here is C.R.S. § 38-12-105. It's shorter than you'd think, and knowing the exact wording is worth ten summaries — including this one.
Not legal advice. General information, not legal advice. Cities can be stricter than the state, statutes change, and courts weigh lease language heavily. When real money is in dispute, talk to a local attorney.
Common questions
Do I have to give a grace period?
7 calendar days by statute — no late fee may be assessed before the rent is a full seven days overdue Even where none is required, many landlords give a short one — it makes the fee feel like a boundary instead of a trap, and it's the pattern courts and tenants both respect.
Can I charge a late fee if it isn't in the lease?
Practically, no. In nearly every state a late fee is a lease term — if the lease is silent, add it at renewal rather than improvising mid-tenancy.
Can I charge daily late fees?
Some leases layer a per-day amount on top of a flat fee. Whether that holds up depends on your state's cap or reasonableness rule — total the worst-case month and ask whether a judge would call it an estimate of damages or a penalty.