SB21-173 Summary

• Courts cannot enter default eviction judgments before the appearance date closes; summones must include lists of legal aid and rental assistance resources, blank answer forms, and document request forms.

• Landlords must accept full rent payment plus any remaining rent due until a judge issues a possession judgment, and courts must dismiss such actions with prejudice once payment is confirmed.

• Late fees are capped at the greater of $50 or 5% of overdue rent, cannot be charged until rent is 7+ days late, and landlords cannot use late fees as grounds for eviction or lease termination.

• Tenants can raise warranty of habitability breaches as affirmative defenses without prior written notice and may avoid rent deposits if found indigent; courts must reduce rent based on the uninhabitable condition and deny eviction if the reduced rent is paid.

• Rental agreements cannot include unreasonable liquidated damages clauses for eviction notices or one-way fee-shifting clauses; any such provisions are void and unenforceable.