Colorado's deposit law was overhauled effective January 1, 2026 by HB25-1249, the Tenant Security Deposit Protections Act — and most of what's written online describes the old world. The new C.R.S. 38-12 framework caps deposits, mandates inspection and documentation procedures, and expands what landlords can never charge for. It applies to every landlord in the state, regardless of portfolio size.
How much can a landlord charge?
One month's rent (down from the two-month cap set in 2023) — and tenants now have the right to pay the deposit in installments over up to six months. Lease clauses charging fees for normal wear and tear or routine turnover work are void.
Wear and tear just got bigger
HB25-1249 rewrote the definition: normal wear and tear now includes deterioration, damage, or uncleanliness from ordinary use — yes, ordinary uncleanliness is now the landlord's cost — and landlords may never deduct for damage or defects that preexisted the tenancy. Deductions are limited to unpaid rent, unpaid utilities, other lawful lease charges, and necessary repairs beyond wear and tear that didn't preexist.
The inspection and documentation machinery
On tenant request, the landlord must conduct a move-out inspection with the tenant present — and cannot charge for any damage not documented at that inspection. Any retention requires a written statement of exact reasons, and on tenant request, the landlord must produce supporting documentation — photographs, invoices, inspection reports — within 14 days. Colorado has effectively made condition evidence a statutory obligation.
The 30/60-day return and the penalty
Return is due within 30 days (a lease may extend it, to no more than 60). Miss the deadline or the written statement and the landlord waives all rights to retain any portion. Bad-faith retention exposes the landlord to treble damages plus attorney's fees — with a new procedural step: the tenant gives seven days' notice before filing suit, a window in which smart landlords settle.
Why Colorado deposit disputes are documentation disputes
Read what the legislature just did: inspections with the tenant present, photo-and-invoice documentation on demand, no charges for anything undocumented, no charges for anything preexisting. Colorado made evidence the whole game — and "preexisting" is provable in exactly one way: a trustworthy record of day one.
SealMove is that record, for both sides. Every photo and video is cryptographically sealed the instant it's captured, independently timestamped, and locked with Face ID into a tamper-evident archive. Landlords: your documentation duty, satisfied unimpeachably. Tenants: proof of what preexisted, sealed before the lease even starts. At move-out the walkthrough lines up room-by-room against the baseline, and either party sends the other a report to review and acknowledge — no app required.