Did Your Landlord Keep Too Much of Your Security Deposit?

Disputes between tenants and landlords often come to fruition at the conclusion of a lease. These disputes tend to revolve around the amount a landlord retains from a tenant’s security deposit. Fortunately, in Colorado, the legislature has armed tenants with a remedy for wrongful retention of a security deposit.

Colorado Revised Statute § 38-12-103 establishes a strict set of parameters that pertain to the retention of a security deposit. Under C.R.S. § 38-12-103(1), a landlord has one month from the termination of a lease to return a tenant’s security deposit. This deadline can be extended in a lease to a longer time period, but it cannot exceed sixty days from the termination of the lease.

If a landlord has grounds for retaining a portion of a security deposit, he or she must provide a written statement to the tenant listing the exact reasons why a portion of the deposit was retained. If a landlord fails to provide a written statement within the deadline, a landlord forfeits the right to retain any portion of the deposit.

In the event that a landlord retains a portion of a security deposit and provides a written statement within the applicable deadline, tenants still have potential remedies. These remedies pertain to situations where a landlord retains too much of the deposit. If a tenant disputes the validity of a landlord’s reasoning for retaining a security deposit, a tenant can file suit to recover the portion of the deposit that was wrongfully retained.

Before filing suit, a tenant must provide written notice to the landlord that the tenant intends to file suit to recover a portion of the deposit. If the parties cannot come to an agreement, the tenant is free to file a lawsuit. In this action, the landlord has the burden of proving that he or she properly retained the security deposit. In the event that a landlord fails meet this burden of proof, a tenant can recover treble damages in addition to reasonable attorney fees and court costs. This means that a tenant who succeeds in this action can recover three times the amount of the deposit that was wrongfully retained as well as the attorney fees and court costs incurred in filing suit.

If you believe that your landlord has wrongfully retained a portion of your security deposit, call our attorneys at Jorgensen, Brownell & Pepin. We can help you determine whether your landlord has complied with C.R.S. § 38-12-103 and whether you can pursue an action to recover the portion of your security deposit that was wrongfully retained.