Security Deposit Alternative in Colorado
Colorado’s 2026 §38-12-103 uses 30 days after termination or surrender, whichever is later, with a lease extension up to 60 days. Return the balance with exact withholding reasons and follow the conditional written-request documentation rule. Ordinary wear and preexisting damage cannot be charged. Wrongful retention can require treble the wrongfully withheld amount plus fees and costs, subject to the resident’s seven-day demand and notice of intended suit and failure to return the withheld funds within that period. Compliant good-faith excess retention has a narrower excess-and-court-cost remedy.
What Colorado law says about security deposits
- Can you require it?
- Review security function and fee pricing
- A payment’s function determines whether it is security. Colorado also regulates mandatory fee pricing and disclosures.
- Statutory cap
- Two months' rent, since August 7, 2023
- Return deadline
- 30 days after lease termination or surrender, whichever is later; a lease may allow up to 60 days
- The law
- Colorado's security deposit law
- C.R.S. 38-12-102, 38-12-102.5 and 38-12-103, as amended for 2026
Source baseline: . See the official Colorado source. Deposit rules change, and this is general information rather than legal advice. Confirm the current text with your own counsel before you change a lease.
Can you require it of every Colorado resident?
Colorado §38-12-102 defines security by its primary function, regardless of its name. The general deposit cap is two months’ rent. Current §6-1-737 separately requires prominent total-price disclosure, accurate refundability and recipient information, and restricts specified landlord fees. Neither rule establishes that Beagle’s recurring fee is exempt from security requirements. Review the actual instrument, pricing and lease; describing a payment as nonrefundable does not settle its classification.
Rules differ by state and by city, and subsidized housing is its own question. This is general information for property managers, not legal advice. Get a written opinion before you make the fee a condition of tenancy anywhere.
How the program works in Colorado
Review Beagle's deposit alternative alongside the agreement for your property. Protection, resident responsibilities and claim handling depend on the program terms and applicable state and local requirements.
Explain the options at signing
A qualifying fee arrangement lets a resident pay a monthly charge instead of providing the full cash deposit. Explain the available deposit choice, refundability and continuing resident obligations at signing. The payment’s legal treatment depends on the arrangement and jurisdiction.
Match protection to the lease
Compare the selected program’s covered losses, limit, exclusions and claim requirements with the deposit your lease would require. Payment depends on an eligible claim and the program terms; a fee does not itself guarantee the same recovery as cash security.
Document move-out and give notice
A deposit alternative changes how an eligible claim is paid. Keep move-in and move-out evidence, provide the notices required for the property's jurisdiction, and follow the program's claim process. Claim review and resident disputes can still require your team's involvement.
Agree the program economics
Confirm the resident’s charge and any property administration payment in your quote and agreement. Include permitted fees in the disclosures required for the property; earnings depend on the agreed economics and applicable law.
Security deposit rules in other states
- AlabamaReview the payment’s security function
- AlaskaReview nonrefundability and notice rules
- ArizonaReview security and fee rules
- CaliforniaReview the broad security definition
- ConnecticutCheck upfront fees and total-rent disclosure
- DelawareOptional surety has its own rules
- FloridaOptional only
- GeorgiaReview cap scope and return duties
- HawaiiCheck the fee rules first
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- IdahoReview security purpose and custody
- IllinoisReview return rules and fee disclosures
- IndianaReview returnable security and the address
- IowaReview deposit custody and instructions
- KansasReview deposit caps and refund triggers
- KentuckyConfirm local adoption and required records
- LouisianaReview security function and statement timing
- MaineOptional licensed surety has separate notice
- MarylandOptional only
- MassachusettsConfirm authorizing rules
- MichiganReview the deposit procedure
- MinnesotaReview fee classification and disclosure
- MississippiReview the payment’s security function
- MissouriReview the security definition
- MontanaCleaning and damage fees presumed security
- NebraskaReview function and housing-agency scope
- NevadaOptional only
- New HampshireCheck the fee rules first
- New JerseyReview trust, interest and special refunds
- New MexicoReview reasonable security and mailing
- New YorkReview fee restrictions
- North CarolinaReview the bond structure
- North DakotaReview security cap and 30-day accounting
- OhioReview the security definition
- OklahomaReview escrow and the demand trigger
- OregonCheck the fee rules first
- PennsylvaniaReview escrow and fee classification
- Rhode IslandReview security function and furniture limit
- South CarolinaReview deposit standards and agreement
- South DakotaReview security function and both notices
- TexasOptional only
- UtahReview nonrefundable designation and notice
- VermontReview refundable definition and local law
- VirginiaOptional only
- WashingtonOptional only
- West VirginiaReview refundable security and contractor notice
- WisconsinReview security and deduction rules
- WyomingReview disclosures and separate clocks
Colorado security deposit alternative FAQs
Colorado defines security by its primary function, regardless of denomination. A recurring or nonrefundable label does not itself remove a payment from the cap. Review the actual agreement and §6-1-737’s pricing and landlord-fee restrictions before treating a deposit alternative as exempt.
See it on your Colorado units
Run the selected program against your own unit count, or review its charges, onboarding and agreement terms with our team.