{"data":{"id":"us-co/c.r.s.-38-12-509","jurisdiction":"us-co","citation":"C.R.S. § 38-12-509","heading":"Prohibition on retaliation.","body":"(1) (a) A landlord shall not retaliate against a tenant by engaging in any of the activities specified in subsection (1)(b) of this section in response to the tenant:\n\n(I) Having made a good faith complaint to the landlord, to a nonprofit organization or third party, or to a governmental agency alleging a condition described by section 38-12-505 (1) or any condition that materially interferes with the life, health, or safety of the tenant;\n\n(II) Organizing or becoming a member of a tenants' association or similar organization; or\n\n(III) Exercising or attempting to exercise in good faith any right or remedy afforded to a tenant pursuant to section 38-12-507.\n\n(b) Prohibited retaliation includes:\n\n(I) Increasing rent or decreasing services;\n\n(II) Terminating or not renewing a rental agreement or contract without written consent of the tenant;\n\n(III) Bringing or threatening to bring an action for possession;\n\n(IV) Taking action that in any manner intimidates, threatens, discriminates against, harasses, or retaliates against a tenant; or\n\n(V) Charging the tenant or seeking to collect from the tenant any fee, cost, or penalty.\n\n(1.5) A tenant may assert that the landlord retaliated against the tenant in violation of subsection (1) of this section as a defense to a landlord's action for possession, including a landlord's action for possession based on:\n\n(a) A monetary or nonmonetary violation of the rental agreement;\n\n(b) A notice to terminate tenancy or vacate;\n\n(c) An expiration of the tenant's rental agreement; or\n\n(d) The nonpayment of rent resulting from a retaliatory rent increase.\n\n(1.7) To prove a claim or defense under this section, a tenant does not need to prove that retaliation was the sole reason a landlord engaged in any of the activities described in subsection (1)(b) of this section; a tenant need only demonstrate that the tenant's protected activity under subsection (1)(a) of this section was a motivating factor that influenced the landlord's decision to engage in any of the activities described in subsection (1)(b) of this section.\n\n(2) If a landlord retaliates against a tenant in violation of subsection (1) of this section, the tenant:\n\n(a) Shall recover damages in an amount not more than three months' periodic rent or three times the tenant's actual damages, whichever is greater, plus reasonable attorney fees and costs; and\n\n(b) May terminate the rental agreement.\n\n(3) If a landlord elects to replace a malfunctioning appliance, but does so with a new appliance that is not identical to the appliance being replaced, there is a rebuttable presumption in favor of the landlord that the landlord's selection of a different appliance was not retaliatory so long as the replacement appliance provides substantially the same features as the original appliance.\n\n(4) (Deleted by amendment, L. 2019.)\n\n(5) Nothing in this section precludes a landlord from serving a tenant with a notice to terminate tenancy or a notice to vacate to the extent allowable under the law.","path":["Title 38 - PROPERTY - REAL AND PERSONAL","Article 12 - Tenants and Landlords","Part 5 - OBLIGATION TO MAINTAIN RESIDENTIAL PREMISES - UNLAWFUL REMOVAL"],"source_url":"https://olls.info/crs/crs2026-title-38.htm","current_through":"Colorado Revised Statutes 2026","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T18:37:45Z","sha256":"77b6175d02845d0c7976c196a3adb56b42835d59ce1c6275c511a99055186812","source_id":"us-co","stale":false,"prev":"us-co/c.r.s.-38-12-508","next":"us-co/c.r.s.-38-12-510"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}