SB25-020 Summary
SB25-020: Tenant and Landlord Law Enforcement
Prime Sponsors: Senator Mike Weissman, Senator Julie Gonzalez, Representative Mandy Lindsay, Representative Javier Mabrey
Introduced: January 8, 2025
Signed: May 28, 2025
Effective Date: August 6, 2025
Summary:
The Colorado General Assembly continues to refine various aspects of the landlord/tenant relationship, which affects so many in the State of Colorado. The first change created by the law states that if a person requests access to a suppressed court record, that person should be granted access if they are accessing the records on behalf of the attorney general's office to investigate any violation of any state law.
With access to these court records, the office of the attorney general now may bring either civil or criminal enforcement actions under various statutes, but the new law expands on those to include:
- Part 4 of Article 12 of Title 38-Victims of Unlawful Sexual Behavior, Stalking, Domestic Violence, and Domestic Abuse;
- Part 8 of Article 12 of Title 38-Required Documentation;
- Part 10 of Article 12 of Title 38-Bed Bugs in Residential Premises.
The office of the attorney general may also issue a subpoena for the production of records or to require a party to appear, administer oaths, conduct hearings as a witness, administer oaths, or conduct hearings, or prescribe forms or promulgate rules
Next, the attorney general has the authority to request injunctive relief for a violation of section 24-31-101, including those of Title 38, Article 12, Parts 4, 8, and 10 (identified above).
The next change to the law empowers counties, cities, and municipalities with the authority to initiate and bring civil actions to enforce certain state landlord-tenant laws.
The law also establishes a right to establish a receivership mechanism to remedy violations of applicable laws and regulations. In short, a receivership is a proceeding by which the court appoints a third party to act in a custodial role, collecting revenue, incurring expenses, and managing the affairs of a person or business. In the event of a receivership, the receiver’s goals are two-fold:
- Ensure that multifamily residential property is fit for human habitation as required by section 38-12-503(1), and
- To ensure that multifamily residential property complies with all county or municipal public health codes or municipal ordinances regulating public health and safety that apply to multifamily residential property.