Deposit Record Statute-cited public record

Normal Wear and Tear vs. Damage in Colorado

A Colorado landlord can never keep any part of the deposit for normal wear and tear, only for damage beyond it. And unlike many states, Colorado defines the term in the statute itself, so you do not have to guess. This page gives you that definition, what changed in the 2026 rewrite, and how the line is drawn for the things landlords and tenants argue about most: cleaning, carpet, and paint. Statute verified August 22, 2026.

The statutory definition

Here is what Colorado law means by “normal wear and tear,” word for word:

"Normal wear and tear" means deterioration, damage, or uncleanliness that occurs, based upon the use for which a rental unit or mobile home space, as defined in section 38-12-201.5 (6.5), is intended or reasonably and typically used, without negligence, carelessness, accident, or abuse of the premises or equipment or private property by the tenant or home owner or members of the tenant’s or home owner’s household or their invitees or guests. "Normal wear and tear" does not include uncleanliness that renders a dwelling unit substantially less clean than the dwelling unit was when the lease began. C.R.S. § 38-12-102(4)

In plain terms: if a condition came from the unit being lived in the way it is meant to be lived in, without negligence, carelessness, accident, or abuse, it is normal wear and tear and cannot be charged to the deposit. Damage from something beyond ordinary use can be.

What the 2026 law changed

HB25-1249, effective January 1, 2026, broadened the definition and added hard limits that most older guides do not mention:

  • The definition now spells out that ordinary damage and uncleanliness from typical use count as normal wear and tear, and that “private property” is covered, not just the old term “chattels.”
  • Cleaning has an explicit line: uncleanliness that leaves the unit substantially less clean than when the lease began is not normal wear and tear, so that much can be charged, but ordinary end-of-tenancy dirt cannot.
  • Preexisting conditions can never be charged, and a lease clause that tries to make the tenant pay for normal-wear or preexisting-condition work is void (§ 38-12-103(1)(a), (7)(b)).
  • Carpet and paint have their own strict limits, including a ten-year rule for carpet: see the wear-versus-damage table below for where the line sits.

Those are the wear-and-tear pieces. For everything the 2026 rewrite changed, from the move-out walk-through to the 125% bad-faith presumption and the good-faith safe harbor, see Colorado security deposit law changes in 2026 (HB25-1249).

Cleaning, carpet, and paint: where the line sits

These are the three fights that fill small-claims dockets. General illustrations, not a ruling on your situation: you decide what to claim, and a court decides any dispute.

ItemUsually normal wear (not chargeable)May be damage (chargeable)
CleaningLight dust, a normally dirty oven, ordinary end-of-tenancy dirtUnit left substantially less clean than at move-in; filth well beyond ordinary use
CarpetMatting, fading, light traffic wear; replacing carpet not replaced with new carpet in the last ten yearsReplacing carpet with substantial and irreparable damage (large tears, burns, pet destruction) if it was replaced within the last ten years; necessary repair of specific damage
Paint / wallsScuffs, small nail holes, fading; routine repaint between tenantsSubstantial paint damage throughout the whole interior, or large holes and gouges in a specific area
Fixtures & floorsLoose hinges, worn finishes, minor scratches from normal useBroken fixtures, deep gouges, burns, or breakage from misuse or accident

Whatever you decide to claim, remember two Colorado rules that decide most disputes: keeping 125% or more of your actual, provable costs is presumed unreasonable, and in court the landlord bears the burden of proving the amount was reasonable and the retention not wrongful (§ 38-12-103(3), (3.5)).

The carpet and paint limits, in the statute’s own words

Colorado is unusual in writing the carpet and paint fight directly into the deposit statute rather than leaving it to argument. Two separate limits apply, and the second one is the surprise: age alone can put carpet beyond your reach regardless of its condition.

A landlord shall not deem carpet to be substantially and irreparably damaged if the carpet has not been replaced with new carpet within ten years preceding the termination of the lease or surrender of the premises. C.R.S. § 38-12-103(11)(a)-(c)

Read it as three rules. Whole-unit re-carpeting needs damage that is both substantial and irreparable. Carpet cannot be deemed substantially and irreparably damaged at all if it was not replaced with new carpet within the ten years before the lease ended or the tenant surrendered, so on older carpet that door is closed however bad it looks. Repainting the entire interior needs substantial paint damage throughout the entire unit. A portion claim is not closed off in principle, but it carries the same elements: substantial and irreparable damage to that portion of the carpet, or substantial damage to that portion of the paint, in each case exceeding normal wear and tear and not predating the tenancy. And because carpet not re-carpeted within ten years cannot be deemed substantially and irreparably damaged at all, a portion replacement charge is out on old carpet too. What remains on old carpet is necessary repair of the specific damage.

A lease clause cannot move this line

The most common way landlords get this wrong is not a bad deduction. It is a lease that promises a mandatory cleaning fee or charges the tenant for ordinary wear, signed by both sides and therefore assumed binding. Colorado voids those terms outright.

A provision, whether oral or written, in or pertaining to a rental agreement, which provision assigns a fee or charge to a tenant for repairs, cleaning, or other necessary work due to normal wear and tear or for any damage or defective condition that preexists the tenancy, is deemed to be against public policy and void. C.R.S. § 38-12-103(7)(a)-(b)

The walk-through that fixes the line before you argue about it

Since 2026 a tenant can require a pre-move-out inspection, and its purpose is precisely to identify in writing what is beyond normal wear and what did not predate the tenancy. It is worth welcoming rather than resisting: a signed contemporaneous list is far better evidence than a photograph taken after the tenant has gone.

Upon a landlord’s or tenant’s request, if reasonable and practicable, the landlord and tenant shall conduct a walk-through inspection, either in person or via a telecommunication-assisted interactive walk-through, of the dwelling unit to identify in writing any damage or defective conditions that are beyond normal wear and tear and that did not preexist the tenancy. The landlord shall provide a walk-through inspection at a tenant’s request, at a time that is mutually convenient to the parties, before the termination of the lease or the surrender of the premises, and after the tenant has had the opportunity to remove furniture. C.R.S. § 38-12-103(1.5)

Who has to prove it, and the 125% line

Two rules decide most disputes, and both point the same way: keep records. In court the burden is on the landlord, not the tenant, and Colorado fixes a numerical point at which an amount is presumed unreasonable.

An amount retained by a landlord is presumed to unreasonably exceed the amount of actual damages the landlord incurred if the amount retained is one hundred twenty-five percent or greater than the actual damages incurred. Nothing in this subsection (3.5)(b) prevents a court or jury from finding that a lesser amount retained by a landlord unreasonably exceeds the amount of actual damages the landlord incurred. C.R.S. § 38-12-103(3.5)(b)

The tenant can also compel your evidence, and the test is broader than landlords expect. On a written request you have fourteen days to hand over the documentation you hold that is relevant to the retention, which includes material that does not help your case. Producing only what you chose to rely on under-produces. Documenting at the time is simply the practical way to have it.

For a termination of a lease or a surrender of the premises on or after the effective date of this section, as amended, if a landlord provides a tenant with a written statement pursuant to subsection (1) of this section within fourteen days after a written request by the tenant, the landlord shall provide documentation in the landlord’s possession or control, including photographs, inspection forms or reports, receipts, invoices, or estimates, that is relevant to the retention of the tenant’s security deposit or any portion of the security deposit. C.R.S. § 38-12-103(8)

Work out your Colorado deposit return

The free Colorado deposit tool walks you through the deadline, the four lawful deduction categories, the carpet and paint limits, and generates a statute-cited return letter, all in your browser with nothing stored. If the rental is in Boulder, it also computes the deposit interest the City requires. For how much you may hold in the first place, see the Colorado deposit limits.

Colorado normal wear and tear: common questions

What counts as normal wear and tear in Colorado?

Colorado defines it by statute: deterioration, damage, or uncleanliness that happens because the unit is used the way it is meant to be used, without negligence, carelessness, accident, or abuse. That is not chargeable to the deposit. HB25-1249 broadened the definition in 2026 to spell out that ordinary damage and uncleanliness from typical use are included. (C.R.S. § 38-12-102(4))

Can my landlord charge me for cleaning in Colorado?

Only to the extent the unit is left substantially less clean than it was when the lease began. The 2026 definition expressly carves that out: ordinary uncleanliness from normal use is normal wear and tear, but uncleanliness that renders the unit substantially less clean than at move-in is not. (C.R.S. § 38-12-102(4))

Can a Colorado landlord charge for carpet replacement?

Rarely. A landlord cannot use the deposit to replace carpet, throughout the unit or in a portion, unless there is substantial and irreparable damage beyond normal wear and tear that did not predate the tenancy. And carpet that was not replaced with new carpet within the last ten years cannot be deemed substantially and irreparably damaged, so it cannot support a replacement charge at all. Necessary repair of specific damage beyond normal wear can still be charged. (C.R.S. § 38-12-103(11)(a), (c))

Can a Colorado landlord charge for repainting?

Only if there is substantial paint damage throughout the entire interior, beyond normal wear and tear, that did not predate the tenancy. Routine repainting between tenants is not chargeable. A landlord may still charge for a specific portion that is substantially damaged. (C.R.S. § 38-12-103(11)(b))

Can a landlord charge for something that was already there when I moved in?

No. Colorado bars keeping the deposit for any damage or defective condition that preexisted the tenancy, and a lease clause that tries to shift the cost of preexisting or normal-wear work to the tenant is against public policy and void. This is one reason a move-in inspection matters. (C.R.S. § 38-12-103(1)(a), (7)(b))

Who decides whether something is wear or damage?

The landlord decides what to claim, the tenant can dispute it, and a court decides any disagreement. In a treble-damages case the landlord bears the burden of proving both that the amount retained was not wrongful and that the landlord complied with the statute. This tool does not classify your situation; it shows you the standard so you can apply it. (C.R.S. § 38-12-103(3))

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