Colorado Late Fee Cap: $50 or 5% of Overdue Rent, 7-Day Grace Period

Under Colo. Rev. Stat. § 38-12-105, a landlord may not charge a late fee "unless a rent payment is late by at least seven calendar days," and may not charge a fee exceeding "the greater of: (I) Fifty dollars; or (II) Five percent of the amount of the past due rent payment." The fee must be disclosed in the rental agreement, and no fee may be charged unless the landlord gave written notice of it within 180 days after the rent was due. The statute also bars charging interest on late fees, deducting late fees from a rent payment, and removing or evicting a tenant solely for an unpaid late fee. A landlord gets a seven-day period to cure a violation after written notice.

A landlord who imposes an unlawful late fee owes the tenant a penalty of $50 for each violation. If the landlord fails to cure within seven days of written notice, the tenant may bring a civil action for at least $150 but not more than $1,000 per violation, plus actual damages, court costs, and reasonable attorney fees; violations may also be unfair or deceptive trade practices.