The Colorado Revised Statutes Title 38, Article 12, Section 508 provides the following defenses for landlords when a claim is made that a rental property is uninhabitable:
Tenant Action or Inaction
It shall be a defense to a tenant’s claim of breach of the warranty of habitability that the tenant’s actions or inactions prevented the landlord from curing the condition underlying the breach of the warranty of habitability.
Only Adult Residents May File a Claim
Only parties to the rental agreement or other adult residents listed on the rental agreement who are also lawfully residing in the dwelling unit may assert a claim for a breach of the warranty of habitability.
Tenant Must Have Notified Government
A tenant may not assert a claim for injunctive relief based upon the landlord’s breach of the warranty of habitability of a residential premises unless the tenant has given notice to a local government within the boundaries of which the residential premises is located of the condition underlying the breach that is materially dangerous or hazardous to the tenant’s life, health, or safety.
Nonmonetary Lease Violations
A tenant may not assert a breach of the warranty of habitability as a defense to a landlord’s action for possession based upon a nonmonetary violation of the rental agreement or for an action for possession based upon a notice to quit or vacate.
Third Party Action or Inaction
If the condition alleged to breach the warranty of habitability is the result of the action or inaction of a tenant in another dwelling unit or another third party not under the direction and control of the landlord and the landlord has taken reasonable, necessary, and timely steps to abate the condition, but is unable to abate the condition due to circumstances beyond the landlord’s reasonable control, the tenant’s only remedy shall be termination of the rental agreement consistent with the section Colorado Tenant Remedies for Uninhabitable Property.
Note: For public housing authorities and other housing providers receiving federal financial assistance directly from the federal government, no provision of this part in direct conflict with any federal law or regulation shall be enforceable against such housing provider.
C.R.S. 38-12-508
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