Colorado HOA Compliance
3. Compliance topics grid
1. Introduction
Consider Colorado, where the HOA compliance framework rests on the Colorado Common Interest Ownership Act, C.R.S. §§ 38-33.3-101 et seq. CCIOA governs common interest communities and applies in full to most communities created on or after July 1, 1992, with specified provisions also reaching older communities.1 Colorado also keeps the Colorado Condominium Ownership Act, C.R.S. §§ 38-33-101 et seq., on the books as part of Title 38, and that statute recognizes condominium ownership — but CCIOA serves as the main modern framework for condominiums, planned communities, and cooperatives.2
HOA litigation generally starts in Colorado district court civil cases, then moves to the Colorado Court of Appeals, with discretionary review by the Colorado Supreme Court.3 Here is something to note: Colorado runs a dedicated HOA Information and Resource Center inside the Division of Real Estate, which registers HOAs and compiles information — though the Division says the HOA Center does not investigate or enforce complaints.4 Colorado's former community association manager licensing program ended on June 30, 2019.5
Recent legislative activity is active by national HOA standards, especially on collections, foreclosures, reserve funding, housing restrictions, registration data, and management-company turnover.6 Recent published appellate HOA law is narrower, but it includes decisions on association premises liability and pre-CCIOA community formation.7 Put it all together, and Colorado sits toward the more structured end of state HOA regimes because it combines a unified statutory framework, annual HOA registration, agency education, complaint intake, and recurring legislative amendments.8
2. Primary statute and key resources
- Colorado Common Interest Ownership Act, C.R.S. §§ 38-33.3-101 et seq. DRE publishes the official text of Colorado's main common interest community statute.9
- Colorado Condominium Ownership Act, C.R.S. §§ 38-33-101 et seq. This Title 38 statute recognizes condominium ownership and declaration concepts.10
- Colorado Judicial Branch. District court civil cases can proceed to the Court of Appeals, and the Supreme Court takes review in appropriate cases.11
- Colorado Division of Real Estate HOA Information and Resource Center. The Center registers HOAs and publishes HOA resources; CAM licensing ended in 2019.12
- Colorado Attorney General, File a Complaint. Consumer complaints help the Attorney General identify trends and consider public enforcement actions.13
4. Colorado's recent regulatory landscape
Recent Legislation
Colorado's recent legislation reaches into collections, foreclosure, reserve funding, housing restrictions, and the handoffs between management companies — four bills with operational teeth.
HB26-1099 · 2026 Session
Start with this one. HB26-1099 became law and requires a declarant of a new planned community or condominium to pay for a reserve study before transfer of control to the association. It also requires a former association management company to turn over association property, records, money, account access, and listed information within 45 days after a management change, with statutory penalties for noncompliance.[14]
| Property managers | Manager transitions need a documented turnover file and calendar controls for the 45-day delivery rule. |
| HOA board members | Developer-controlled communities should confirm that the developer-funded reserve study is complete before transition. |
| Community association attorneys | Transition documents and management contracts need language aligned with the new reserve study and turnover rules. |
| Homeowners | Owners should receive more visibility into reserve needs and less disruption during management company changes. |
HB25-1043 · 2025 Session
HB25-1043 became law and conditions HOA foreclosure activity on compliance with lien and foreclosure laws and governing documents. It gives a unit owner a court motion to stay an HOA foreclosure auction for a market sale period, and it adds delinquency, judgment, payment plan, and foreclosure data to annual association registration.[15]
| Property managers | Foreclosure files need a compliance audit before legal referral and updated data capture for annual registration. |
| HOA board members | Boards should confirm notice, payment plan, lien, and governing-document compliance before authorizing foreclosure. |
| Community association attorneys | Foreclosure pleadings may draw stay motions and fee scrutiny when statutory or document compliance is incomplete. |
| Homeowners | A delinquent owner may ask the court to pause auction activity for a market sale process. |
HB24-1337 · 2024 Session
HB24-1337 became law and limits certain attorney-fee reimbursement and court awards in assessment and covenant enforcement matters. It adds payment plan protections before foreclosure, expands conflict-of-interest limits on foreclosure purchasers, and creates a 180-day redemption right after association lien foreclosure.[16]
| Property managers | Collection ledgers should track fee caps, payment plan status, and principal residence status before foreclosure referrals. |
| HOA board members | Boards should expect lower recoverable attorney fees unless a court finds willful noncompliance. |
| Community association attorneys | Collection notices, fee petitions, and foreclosure checklists need to reflect statutory caps and exceptions. |
| Homeowners | The statute limits certain attorney-fee exposure and blocks foreclosure while a qualifying payment plan stays in force. |
SB24-174 · 2024 Session
SB24-174 became law and prohibits a unit owners' association from using declarations, bylaws, rules, or regulations adopted or amended on or after July 1, 2024, to prohibit or restrict accessory dwelling units or middle housing where local zoning allows the construction.[17]
| Property managers | Architectural, ADU, and middle-housing rules adopted or amended after July 1, 2024 need local zoning review. |
| HOA board members | Boards may need design standards instead of blanket bans wherever local zoning allows the housing type. |
| Community association attorneys | Declaration amendments and rules need land-use screening before adoption or enforcement. |
| Homeowners | Owners may hold a state-law objection to newer association rules that prohibit locally allowed ADUs or middle housing. |
Recent Court Rulings
Colorado's appellate courts weighed in on premises liability for guests in common elements and on whether a pre-CCIOA subdivision created a binding common interest community.
Willis v. Twin Shores Master Owner Association, Inc.
Here is what the Court of Appeals did. It held that a unit owner's guest injured in common elements owned and controlled by a common interest community association qualifies as an invitee under the Colorado Premises Liability Act, and the court reversed summary judgment for the association and its management company.[18] The Colorado Supreme Court granted certiorari on January 12, 2026, on the invitee-status issue, so readers should treat the Court of Appeals holding as under review.[19]
| Property managers | Common-element safety files should treat unit-owner guests as potential invitee claimants while Supreme Court review is pending. |
| HOA board members | Boards should reassess snow, ice, walkway, park, and common-area maintenance procedures. |
| Community association attorneys | Premises-liability advice should flag the pending Supreme Court review and avoid overreliance on finality. |
| Homeowners | Guest injury claims involving association-controlled common elements may carry stronger plaintiff status if the holding stands. |
Frisco Lot 3 LLC v. Giberson Limited Partnership, LLLP
The Court of Appeals set out a first-impression test for whether a pre-CCIOA subdivision created a common interest community, and it held that the original documents did not create a common interest community binding later lot owners to a later-formed HOA.[20]
| Property managers | Legacy communities need document review before assuming all lots are bound to association assessments. |
| HOA board members | Boards in older communities should confirm recorded authority before enforcing dues or rules against contested lots. |
| Community association attorneys | Formation opinions should focus on recorded servitudes requiring contribution to common property or association obligations. |
| Homeowners | Owners in older subdivisions may have defenses when the original recorded documents did not create a binding common interest community. |
Regulatory Developments
Colorado's HOA Center has been busy: a registration-change advisory tied to HB25-1043, and a 2025 Annual Report tracking complaints, communities, and statewide HOA activity.
Colorado Division of Real Estate HOA Information and Resource Center
The HOA Center issued an advisory explaining HB25-1043 registration changes effective October 1, 2025, including new annual registration questions on six-month delinquencies, judgments, payment plans, foreclosure actions, board vacancies, assessment levels, assessment changes, late fees, and interest activity.[21]
| Property managers | Annual registration now requires more granular delinquency, foreclosure, payment plan, board, and assessment data. |
| HOA board members | Boards should review registration data before submission because it may shape legislative reporting. |
| Community association attorneys | Counsel should align registration compliance advice with HB25-1043 collection and foreclosure requirements. |
| Homeowners | The state registration process will now report association financial enforcement activity in more detail. |
Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies, Division of Real Estate
DORA announced that the HOA Information and Resource Center released its 2025 Annual Report, which covers registration information, the number of common interest communities and residents in those communities, complaint analysis, 2025 legislative updates, and other HOA statistical data.[22]
| Property managers | The annual report serves as a state data source for complaint trends and registration benchmarks. |
| HOA board members | Boards can use the report to compare local compliance issues against statewide patterns. |
| Community association attorneys | The report supplies legislative and complaint context for policy advice and board training. |
| Homeowners | The report gives owners public information about HOA registrations, complaint categories, and statewide activity. |
Active Policy Debates
Current policy debate concentrates on reserve funding, foreclosure data implementation, natural disaster mitigation, and homeowner insurance availability. As of May 9, 2026, SB26-049 awaits action after Senate Finance referred the bill to Appropriations, and SB26-155 awaits action with House committee activity on homeowner insurance access.23,24
5. Closing note
HOA Weekly's Colorado coverage will grow as new bills, rulings, and regulatory developments arrive. Federal frameworks also apply when their subject matter is triggered — including the Fair Housing Act,25 the ADA,26 the FDCPA,27 the SCRA,28 and the FCC OTARD rule.29 Federal coverage will live at /federal/ once we build that section.
Footnotes
- Colorado Division of Real Estate, 2025 Colorado Common Interest Ownership Act, C.R.S. §§ 38-33.3-101 et seq. ↩
- Colorado Division of Real Estate, 2025 Colorado Condominium Ownership Act, C.R.S. §§ 38-33-101 et seq. ↩
- Colorado Judicial Branch, court system overview ↩
- Colorado Division of Real Estate, HOA Information and Resource Center ↩
- Colorado Division of Real Estate, HOA Frequently Asked Questions, CAM Program expiration ↩
- Colorado General Assembly, HB25-1043, Owner Equity Protection in HOA Foreclosure Sales ↩
- Colorado Court of Appeals, Willis v. Twin Shores Master Owner Association, Inc., 2025 COA 37 ↩
- Colorado Division of Real Estate, Filing an HOA Complaint ↩
- Colorado Division of Real Estate, 2025 Colorado Common Interest Ownership Act, C.R.S. §§ 38-33.3-101 et seq. ↩
- Colorado Division of Real Estate, 2025 Colorado Condominium Ownership Act, C.R.S. §§ 38-33-101 et seq. ↩
- Colorado Judicial Branch, Colorado Court of Appeals ↩
- Colorado Division of Real Estate, HOA Information and Resource Center ↩
- Colorado Attorney General, File a Complaint ↩
- Colorado General Assembly, HB26-1099, Protect Financial Condition of Homeowners Associations ↩
- Colorado General Assembly, HB25-1043, Owner Equity Protection in HOA Foreclosure Sales ↩
- Colorado General Assembly, HB24-1337, Real Property Owner Unit Association Collections ↩
- Colorado General Assembly, SB24-174, Sustainable Affordable Housing Assistance ↩
- Colorado Court of Appeals, Willis v. Twin Shores Master Owner Association, Inc., 2025 COA 37 ↩
- Colorado Supreme Court Case Announcements, January 12, 2026, No. 25SC286 ↩
- Colorado Court of Appeals, Frisco Lot 3 LLC v. Giberson Limited Partnership, LLLP, 2024 COA 125 ↩
- Colorado Division of Real Estate, HOA Center Advisory, Registration Changes Pursuant to Section 38-33.3-401, C.R.S. ↩
- Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies, HOA Forum 2025 Annual Report from the HOA Information and Resource Center ↩
- Colorado General Assembly, SB26-049, Homeowner Natural Disaster Mitigation ↩
- Colorado General Assembly, SB26-155, Increase Access Homeowner's Insurance Enterprise ↩
- U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Housing Discrimination Under the Fair Housing Act ↩
- U.S. Department of Justice, ADA.gov, Americans with Disabilities Act ↩
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 12 CFR Part 1006, Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, Regulation F ↩
- U.S. Department of Justice, Servicemembers Civil Relief Act resources ↩
- Federal Communications Commission, Over-the-Air Reception Devices Rule ↩