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Colorado Tenant Obligation to Maintain Property

The Colorado Revised Statutes Title 38, Article 12, Section 504 requires tenants to be responsible for the following maintenance of a rental property:

Maintain Premises in a Reasonably Clean and Safe Manner

In addition to any duties imposed upon a tenant by a rental agreement, every tenant of a residential premises has a duty to use that portion of the premises within the tenant’s control in a reasonably clean and safe manner. A tenant fails to maintain the premises in a reasonably clean and safe manner when the tenant substantially fails to:

  • Comply with obligations imposed upon tenants by applicable provisions of building, health, and housing codes materially affecting health and safety;
  • Keep the dwelling unit reasonably clean, safe, and sanitary as permitted by the conditions of the unit;
  • Dispose of ashes, garbage, rubbish, and other waste from the dwelling unit in a clean, safe, sanitary, and legally compliant manner;
  • Use in a reasonable manner all electrical, plumbing, sanitary, heating, ventilating, air-conditioning, elevators, and other facilities and appliances in the dwelling unit;
  • Conduct himself or herself and require other persons in the residential premises within the tenant’s control to conduct themselves in a manner that does not disturb their neighbors’ peaceful enjoyment of the neighbors’ dwelling unit; or
  • Promptly notify the landlord if the residential premises is uninhabitable as defined in section 38-12-505 or if there is a condition that could result in the premises becoming uninhabitable if not remedied.

Note: In addition to the duties set forth this section, a tenant shall not knowingly, intentionally, deliberately, or negligently destroy, deface, damage, impair, or remove any part of the residential premises or knowingly permit any person within his or her control to do so.

C.R.S. 38-12-504

Return to Colorado Landlord-Tenant Laws.