Colorado Landlord May Assign Tenant Maintenance Responsibilities

The Colorado Revised Statutes Title 38, Article 12, Section 506 permits a landlord to assign some of the maintenance responsibilities to a tenant under the following circumstances:

Landlord May Assign Some Obligations to Tenant

If a dwelling unit is contained within a mobile home park, or if there are four or fewer dwelling units sharing common walls or located on the same parcel, all of which have the same owner, or if the dwelling unit is a single-family residential premises:

• A good faith rental agreement may require a tenant to assume the obligation for one or more of the characteristics in the section Colorado Definition of Uninhabitable Rental Property regarding common areas, extermination of pests, and exterior garbage receptacles, as long as the requirement is not inconsistent with any obligations imposed upon a landlord by a governmental entity for the receipt of a subsidy for the residential premises; and
• For any dwelling unit for which a landlord does not receive a subsidy from any governmental source, a landlord and tenant may agree in writing that the tenant is to perform specific repairs, maintenance tasks, alterations, and remodeling, but only if:
  1. The agreement of the parties is entered into in good faith and is set forth in a separate writing signed by the parties and supported by adequate consideration;
  2. The work is not necessary to cure a failure to comply with the section Colorado Landlord Obligation to Maintain Habitable Property; and
  3. Such agreement does not affect the obligation of the landlord to other tenants’ residential premises.

Assigning Responsibility to Cure a Landlord’s Failure to Comply

For a single-family residential premises for which a landlord does not receive a subsidy from any governmental source, a landlord and tenant may agree in writing that the tenant is to perform specific repairs, maintenance tasks, alterations, and remodeling necessary to cure a failure to comply with the section Colorado Landlord Obligation to Maintain Habitable Property, but only if:

• The agreement of the landlord and tenant is entered into in good faith and is set forth in a writing that is separate from the rental agreement, signed by the parties, and supported by adequate consideration; and
• The tenant has the requisite skills to perform the work required to cure a failure to comply with the section Colorado Landlord Obligation to Maintain Habitable Property.

Note:  If consistent with this section a tenant assumes an obligation for a characteristic set forth in the section Colorado Definition of Uninhabitable Rental Property, the lack of such characteristic shall not make a residential premises uninhabitable.

C.R.S. 38-12-506

Return to Colorado Landlord-Tenant Laws.