Expanded Housing Protections for Victim-Survivors of Gender-Based Violence

During the 2025 legislative session, the General Assembly launched Colorado to the forefront of state-level protections for tenants who experience gender-base violence by passing HB25-1168: Housing Protections for Victim-Survivors of Gender-Based Violence. HB25-1168 seeks to alleviate the housing instability that is both a cause and consequence of unlawful sexual behavior, stalking, domestic violence, and domestic abuse. While most provisions went into effect upon the Governor’s signature on May 22, 2025, all provisions of the law are in effect as of today.

The Legislature recognized the pivotal role that housing security can play in the aftermath of experiencing gender-based violence, which includes unlawful sexual behavior, stalking, domestic violence, and domestic abuse: “Gender-based violence both imperils a victim-survivor's existing safe housing and exposes those victim-survivors who are experiencing

housing instability to further abusive tactics. Victim-survivors are left to navigate housing insecurity in the immediate aftermath of violence in order to escape danger, often while they are isolated from support networks and services needed to locate and pay for stable housing and to protect their legal rights.”

This crucial law has two major areas of focus: expanded due process for victim-survivors facing eviction, and enhanced safety protections, including a more fair lease break process, for victim-survivors in their homes. HB25-1168 establishes a new set of guidelines that better accommodate a victim-survivor’s experience.

A brief overview of HB25-1168’s key protections is below. If you have questions about your rights, contact CPLP to be connected to a housing attorney.

Before HB25-1168  Eviction defense available only to tenants who experienced domestic violence and domestic abuse, and only for behavioral lease violations To document gender-based violence, a victim-survivor could provide a police report (from the prior 60 days to break a lease), a valid protection order, or a letter from a medical professional licensed in Colorado or an Address Confidentiality Program (ACP) application assistant No guardrails on landlords’ ability to charge rent or report alleged debt following a lease break to a collections agency  No consideration of a victim-survivor’s physical safety needs following an experience of gender-based violence  No meaningful ability to hold landlords accountable for violating victim-survivors’ housing rights

After HB25-1168  Eviction defenses available to tenants who have experienced unlawful sexual behavior and stalking, as well as domestic violence and domestic abuse. Defenses are available for evictions for the nonpayment of rent and nuisance cases as well as behavioral lease violations.  Documentation options still include a police report (from the prior 120 days to break a lease), valid civil, criminal, or emergency protection or restraining order, but now also include a self-attestation statement and a letter from a qualified third party, which can include employee, agent, or volunteer of a victim-survivor service provider, an attorney, a social worker, a medical professional, a faith leader, or a mental health provider. Landlords must document any economic damages incurred to a victim-survivor’s early lease termination, capped at one months’ rent, within thirty days of the termination, or the landlord forfeits their ability to charge any post-lease break rent. Landlords must also give victim-survivors ninety days’ notice before they send this alleged debt to collections Landlords cannot prevent a tenant from changing locks or making non-permanent safety changes Creates a new cause of action for tenants to sue landlords for violating certain laws

Key Eviction Protections (triggered after a victim-survivor provides requisite documentation to their landlord)

• Defenses for evictions including nonpayment of rent, substantial lease violation, material lease violation, repeat lease violation, and nuisance C.R.S. § 13-40-104(4)(a) 

• Availability of a payment plan that provides a victim-survivor tenant additional time to repay rent debt. A landlord must offer a victim-survivor tenant who has provided documentation of their abuse a payment plan within three business days of receiving this documentation or serving a demand for compliance or possession, whichever is later. The payment plan must be structured at the tenant’s discretion and follow statutory terms, including 

  • No eviction judgment may enter during the pendency of the payment plan, unless the tenant makes three or more payments at least 10 days late or misses a payment plan installment 

  • Tenant may select the due date for each monthly payment 

  • Tenant may select the amount of the monthly payment as long as each monthly payment is at least $25.00 and all lawfully owed rent is fully repaid within nine months. 

  • Landlord may not cannot charge fees, interest, or penalties associated with payment plan

C.R.S. § 13-40-104(4)(e) 

• Victim-survivor tenants are entitled to:

  • Set aside default judgments that enter as a result of gender-based violence C.R.S. § 13-40-113(1)(b)

  • File additional or amended pleadings C.R.S. § 13-40-113(2)

  • Reschedule and continue any trial date C.R.S. § 13-40-113(4)(a.5)

  • Suppress any eviction judgment that might have entered against them prior to August 6, 2025 C.R.S. § 13-40-110.5

  • Thirty days post-judgment before a sheriff’s move-out, rather than ten C.R.S. § 13-40-122(1)(a.5)

Key Landlord/Tenant Protections (triggered after a victim-survivor provides requisite documentation to their landlord) 

C.R.S. § 38-12-103(1); C.R.S. § 38-12-402

• Landlords may not withhold a security deposit or otherwise charge a victim-survivor for damage done to a residential dwelling during the course of an incident of gender-based violence 

• After a victim-survivor terminates their lease early without penalty due to gender-based violence, a landlord cannot

  • Charge or collect future rent payments from a victim-survivor unless they provide written notice of economic damages incurred as a direct result of the early termination within thirty days, which cannot exceed one months’ rent

  • Charge or collect any rent payments from a victim-survivor if any tenant remains on the lease after a victim-survivor terminates their lease

  • Send any alleged debt to collections unless they comply with procedure to document damages, provides at least ninety days’ written notice to the victim-survivor of their intent to begin the collections process, and the victim-survivor does not repay that debt within ninety days

• Landlords cannot share information about a tenant’s experience with gender-based violence or share their new address with anyone, including a co-tenant, unless the victim-survivor gives their express written consent or to comply with a valid court order.

• Landlords cannot inquire about, consider, or require disclosure of information from an applicant regarding their experience with gender-based violence

• Landlords cannot prevent, take any adverse action against a tenant, or charge fees to a tenant who changes their locks or makes other non-permanent safety modifications to their home

• Tenants may now sue their landlord for any violations of these protections

By passing HB25-1168, Colorado disrupted the interlocking cycles of violence, poverty, and housing insecurity. This bill fills gaps left in existing laws and makes important progress toward providing a solid foundation for victim-survivors to overcome abuse and establish a path toward healing and stability. 

For more information on how this bill might affect you or to request a training on HB25-1168, contact ariane@copovertylawproject.org or fill out an intake form under the Get Help tab above. 

NOTE: Information current as of the date of posting. This blog post provides general legal information about Colorado housing law. It is not legal advice specific to case, situation, or tenant and does not create an attorney-client relationship between the Colorado Poverty Law Project and any reader. No person should attempt to interpret or apply any law without the assistance of an attorney. Please contact an attorney should you wish to obtain advice concerning any particular legal matter. The opinions expressed in this communication are those of the author and not those of the Colorado Poverty Law Project or its funding sources.