Sets the framework for tort and contract liability of a Colorado common interest community association. Actions alleging association acts or omissions must be brought against the association, not against any unit owner. Where the act or omission occurred during a period of declarant control and the association gives the declarant reasonable notice and an opportunity to defend, the controlling declarant is liable for all tort losses not covered by insurance suffered by the association or owner, plus all costs the association would not have incurred but for the declarant''s act. Statutes of limitations affecting the association''s right of action are tolled until declarant control terminates. The declarant is also liable to the association for all funds collected during declarant control that were not properly expended.
C.R.S. Section 38-33.3-311 Tort and contract liability (1) Neither the association nor any unit owner except the declarant is liable for any cause of action based upon that declarant’s acts or omissions in connection with any part of the common interest community which that declarant has the responsibility to maintain. Otherwise, any action alleging an act or omission by the association must be brought against the association and not against any unit owner. If the act or omission occurred during any period of declarant control and the association gives the declarant reasonable notice of and an opportunity to defend against the action, the declarant who then controlled the association is liable to the association or to any unit owner for all tort losses not covered by insurance suffered by the association or that unit owner and all costs that the association would not have incurred but for such act or omission. Whenever the declarant is liable to the association under this section, the declarant is also liable for all expenses of litigation, including reasonable attorney fees, incurred by the association. Any statute of limitation affecting the association’s right of action under this section is tolled until the period of declarant control terminates. A unit owner is not precluded from maintaining an action contemplated by this section by being a unit owner or a member or officer of the association. (2) The declarant is liable to the association for all funds of the association collected during the period of declarant control which were not properly expended. Source: Section 38-33.3-311 — Tort and contract liability , (accessed May 26, 2025).
Governance
Ref
Requirement
(1)
Developer-era torts come back to the developer once owners take over. The HOA can sue the developer for losses insurance doesn't cover, plus litigation expenses. The clock on suing doesn't start until declarant control ends — preventing the developer from running out the statute of limitations during the build-out period.
(1)
When someone sues for an association's act or omission, the lawsuit goes against the HOA itself, not individual owners. The HOA's insurance and assets answer for the claim. Owners are not personally exposed beyond their share of common expenses (per the declaration's allocation formula).
(2)
If the developer collected dues or other association funds and didn't spend them properly during the declarant-control period, the developer owes those funds back to the post-turnover HOA. The §303(9)(b) audited turnover accounting is the mechanism for identifying these claims.
Legal references last verified September 5, 2026.
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