Enforcement - limitation
The CCIOA enforcement and fee-recovery section. Subsection (1)(a) lets an association recover actual collection costs, reasonable attorney fees, and other actual costs for unpaid assessments without commencing a legal proceeding, and caps the recoverable attorney fees at five thousand dollars or fifty percent of the assessments and money owed, whichever is less. Subsection (1)(b) applies a parallel cap to non-assessment compliance failures, measured against actual costs rather than assessments. Subsection (1)(c)(II) caps a court's fee award in a collection action on the same terms, and permits the court to exceed the cap where it finds the unit owner was financially, physically, and reasonably able to comply but willfully failed to. Subsection (1)(f) lists the factors a court considers on fees in a lien foreclosure. Subsection (1)(g) adjusts the caps for inflation on August 1, 2025 and annually after, by the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood CPI for all urban consumers. The caps and the factor list were added by HB 24-1337, effective August 7, 2024. HB 25-1043, effective October 1, 2025, added (3): as a condition precedent to recovering money owed, collection costs, or attorney fees through foreclosure of an association lien, the association must strictly comply with the lien and foreclosure provisions of title 38 and of its own governing documents. A court that finds it out of strict compliance with title 38 may stay the case to give it time to comply, and no late fees, interest, or other delinquency charges may be assessed or accrued during the stay. The same act added (1)(f)(III.5), which adds to the fee factors whether the association incurred inflated or duplicative attorney fees because of such a stay. The act applies to enforcement actions instituted on or after October 1, 2025.
Reviewed · 4 dependent article updates in 12 months · Colorado changes feed
HB 25-1043 (Chapter 433, Session Laws of Colorado 2025) added C.R.S. §38-33.3-123(3): "as a condition precedent to recovering money owed to an association, collection costs, or reasonable attorney fees or costs through the foreclosure of an association lien, the association shall strictly comply with any applicable association lien or foreclosure provisions of this title 38 and any applicable lien or foreclosure provisions of the association's declaration, bylaws, articles, and rules and regulations." If a court determines that the community "is not in strict compliance with the lien or foreclosure provisions of this title 38", it "may stay the proceedings to grant the association a reasonable period of time to come into strict compliance with the law." During the stay "the association shall not assess or accrue late fees, interest, or other delinquency charges against the unit owner." New (1)(f)(III.5) adds a factor for a court setting attorney fees in a foreclosure of a lien for unpaid assessments: "Whether the association incurred inflated or duplicative attorney fees due to a stay in court proceedings". The act applies to enforcement actions instituted on or after October 1, 2025. Effective October 1, 2025.
| Ref | Requirement |
|---|---|
| (1)(a)(II) | When an owner falls behind on assessments, the HOA can bill back its attorney fees — but only up to $5,000 or half of what is owed, whichever is smaller. The cap rises with Denver-area inflation each August. |
| (1)(c)(II) | The cap binds the court too, not just the association's own billing. A judge may go above it only by finding the owner could have paid and chose not to. |
| (3) | A Colorado association that forecloses its lien must follow every lien and foreclosure step in the statutes and in its own governing documents to the letter. If a court finds it has not followed the statutes, the court may pause the case to let it comply. While the case is paused, the association may not add late fees, interest, or other delinquency charges to the owner's account. When the court sets the association's attorney fee award, it must consider whether the pause inflated or duplicated those fees. |
- Colorado HOA Foreclosure After HB 24-1337 (1)(g), (1)(c)(II), (1)(a)(II), (3) Primary