As a rental management professional in the State of Colorado, you are required to follow very specific laws and rules on a federal, state, and local level. If you fail to comply with these laws and rules, you may face costly and time-consuming disputes with your tenants.

You may find yourself subjected to extreme financial penalties and may even face the termination of your work as a property management professional.

In this short guide, we will provide you with a brief overview of the top 3 legal responsibilities that landlords must follow.

This is not an official legal guide. Should you require additional information, you should contact your local governing office.

Top 3 Legal Responsibilities of Rental Management Professionals in Colorado

Responsibility Number One

Your first legal responsibility as a rental management professional is to ensure that you fully comply with all anti-discrimination laws that are currently in place. This means that you should know all of the details associated with the fair housing laws in the State of Colorado.

It is legal to reject tenants based on their credit history, any type of negative references received, and factors that deem them a bad risk; however, you are not free to discriminate based on a tenant’s race, their religion, their national-based origin, their sex, their sexual orientation, their gender identity, their family status, their physical disabilities, or their mental disabilities.

Responsibility Number Two

As a rental management professional in the State of Colorado, you are legally responsible to provide habitable housing to your tenants. This is imposed by the doctrine titled, “Implied Warranty of Habitability”. You must ensure that all necessary repairs are tended to and regular maintenance is performed on your property.

If you fail to do your part, your tenants have a large amount of options at their disposal that they may use – including withholding the monies due to you for rent.

Simply create a maintenance and repair system with your real estate and stick to it. You will save yourself a tremendous amount of problems.

Responsibility Number Three

3As a rental management professional, it is your legal responsibility to ensure that you always prepare written rental agreements and leases. You should then have your tenant sign this document.

Make certain to include information such as how long it is acceptable for the tenant to occupy your dwelling, the full amount of rent, when the rent is due, how the rent is to be paid, and the legal rules that must be followed by the tenant. Everything that you place in this agreement should be in accordance with the laws and rules that govern your state.

As a rental management professional, you have several rights and responsibilities. Here, you have been introduced to the top 3 legal responsibilities; that is, to follow all anti-discrimination laws, to provide habitable housing to your tenants, and to provide rent or lease agreements in writing.

If you have any questions about your legal responsibilities, you should direct them to your local governing office.