Colorado Law · Board Fundamentals · Updated for the 2025–2026 Sessions

Colorado’s Common Interest Ownership Act (CCIOA): Overview for Board Members

Texas and Florida split community associations across separate statutes. Colorado puts condominiums, cooperatives, and planned communities under one act, then splits them a different way: by the date the community was created. Learn that first and the other rules read correctly.

Educational notice. This information is educational in nature and should not be construed as legal advice. Statutory references were verified against the 2024 Colorado Revised Statutes and the enrolled 2024–2026 bills named below (HB24-1337, SB24-021, SB25-184, HB25-1272, HB25-1043, HB26-1099, HB26-1007); later amendments are possible. Consult qualified association counsel regarding legal interpretation specific to your jurisdiction.

The Short Version

The Colorado Common Interest Ownership Act (CCIOA), C.R.S. §§ 38-33.3-101 to -402, governs condominiums, cooperatives, and planned communities in one statute. Eight features shape most Colorado board decisions:

1. Creation date controls coverage. Older communities get only the sections listed in § 117, phased in by date.
2. A distinct director liability standard. Under § 303(2)(b), board members and officers not appointed by the declarant are not liable for acts or omissions in performing their duties except for “wanton and willful” acts or omissions.
3. Nine required policies under § 209.5.
4. Owner budget ratification. The budget stands unless a majority of all owners vetoes it (§ 303(4)).
5. Open board meetings with an owner right to speak before the board votes, and only six executive-session topics (§ 308).
6. Statutory limits on fines and collections, including cure periods, no daily fines, and no foreclosure on fines alone (§§ 209.5, 316, 316.3).
7. Annual DORA registration as a condition of lien and enforcement rights (§ 401).
8. No manager license, but a 2026 statute now governs management-company turnover.

Operational Context: One Act, Three Community Types

A Texas board first asks whether it falls under Chapter 209 or Chapter 82 (or 81); a Florida board asks whether it is under Chapter 720 or 718. In Colorado, CCIOA applies to condominiums, cooperatives, and planned communities alike, and the rules in this overview reach all three unless a section says otherwise. The question Colorado asks instead is when the community was created. Type still matters in places: for example, association property insurance for a cooperative or a building with horizontal unit boundaries must include the units, but not finished interior surfaces (§ 313(2)).

Behind CCIOA sits the Colorado Revised Nonprofit Corporation Act, C.R.S. Title 7, Articles 121 to 137. CCIOA points to it for committees (§ 7-128-206), proxies (§ 7-127-203), conflicting-interest transactions (§ 7-128-501), and reserve-fund investment (§ 7-128-401), and it supplies default rules for remote participation and written ballots, subject to contrary bylaws.

Who CCIOA Reaches: The Pre-1992 Subset (§ 117)

For communities created before July 1, 1992, only the CCIOA sections listed in § 38-33.3-117 apply, and each list applies to events on or after a stated date:

Three refinements matter. First, where a section listed in § 117(1) conflicts with an express requirement in a declaration, bylaws, plat, or map in existence on June 30, 1992, the document controls only to the extent needed to avoid invalidating it; § 217(7) and § 316 apply as written (§ 117(2)). Second, a pre-1992 community may elect full CCIOA treatment under § 118, which for an association with voting members requires at least 67% of the votes present at the meeting and a recorded statement of election. In Accetta v. Brooks Towers Residences Condominium Ass’n, 2021 COA 87, the Court of Appeals held that § 118 is the exclusive means for that election; recording a new declaration that might be read to adopt CCIOA was not enough. Third, a preexisting cooperative or planned community with no more than ten units and no development rights, or whose declaration limits annual common-expense liability to the § 116(1) amount, is subject only to §§ 105–107 unless its declaration is amended to use § 120, in which case the § 117 sections apply (§ 119). Which sections reach a particular older community is a question boards commonly take to association counsel.

Small new communities have a parallel carve-out. Since SB24-021 (effective August 7, 2024), a cooperative or planned community created on or after July 1, 1992 that is nonresidential-only, or has no more than 20 units and no development rights, or whose declaration caps average annual common-expense liability per residential unit at $400 (CPI-adjusted), is subject only to §§ 105–107 unless it opts in (§ 116).

Older condominiums have one more layer: the 1963 Condominium Ownership Act, C.R.S. §§ 38-33-101 to -113, which addresses recording of declarations and maps, minimum bylaw contents, and records of receipts and expenditures. A pre-1992 condominium is governed by its declaration, that act, and the CCIOA sections in § 117.

Board Authority and the Director Standard (§ 303)

The executive board may act for the association in all instances except as limited by the declaration, the bylaws, § 303(3), or other provisions of the act (§ 303(1)(a)). Section 303(3)(a) withholds a short list of powers from the board: it may not amend the declaration, terminate the community, elect board members, or set board qualifications or terms, though it may fill a vacancy for the unexpired term. Every board member is entitled to all association information any other board member has, expressly including monthly expenditure detail, contracts, and communications with the manager, attorney, or accountant (§ 303(1)(b)).

The liability standard is where Colorado departs most sharply from Texas and Florida content:

• Declarant appointees must exercise the care required of fiduciaries of the unit owners (§ 303(2)(a)).
• Board members and officers not appointed by the declarant are not liable for actions or omissions in performing their duties except for wanton and willful acts or omissions (§ 303(2)(b)).
• Reserve-fund investment is held to the nonprofit act’s standard: good faith, the care of an ordinarily prudent person in a like position, and a reasonable belief that the action is in the association’s best interests (§ 303(2.5), applying § 7-128-401). For this purpose “officer” includes anyone the board delegates to, including a managing agent, attorney, or accountant.

Colorado courts have also applied a business-judgment-type test to covenant enforcement: in Colorado Homes, Ltd. v. Loerch-Wilson, 43 P.3d 718 (Colo. App. 2001), the court held that the association was entitled to a business-judgment instruction because an enforcement decision “must be made in good faith and must not be arbitrary.” That case rested on common law. CIC-SC has not located a published Colorado appellate decision construing § 7-128-401 against a CCIOA board, and how the statutory standards fit together outside reserve investment is not settled by the statute text. Texas and Florida business-judgment articles do not describe Colorado law. Questions about a director’s personal exposure on a particular decision belong with association counsel.

Who this reaches. Section 117 lists only § 303(1)(b) and (3)(b) (from July 1, 1992), § 303(4)(b) (from January 1, 2006), § 303(4)(a) (from July 1, 2017), and § 303.5 (all communities, from September 1, 2017). It does not list § 303(2), (2.5), or (8), § 309 (quorums), or § 313 (insurance). Whether those provisions reach a community created before July 1, 1992 (absent a § 118 election) is a question for association counsel.

The Nine Required Policies (§ 209.5)

Section 209.5(1) requires every association to keep accurate and complete accounting records and to adopt policies, procedures, and rules on nine subjects: collection of unpaid assessments; conflicts of interest involving board members; conduct of meetings; enforcement of covenants and rules, including notice and hearing procedures and the fine schedule; inspection and copying of records; investment of reserve funds; adoption and amendment of policies; procedures for owner–association disputes; and reserve-study disclosure. The full map is in The Nine Policies Every Colorado Association Must Adopt.

Meetings, Elections, and Records

• Owners’ meetings at least annually, on 10 to 50 days’ notice (§ 308(1)). See the annual owners’ meeting.
• Board meetings are open to members, with an owner right to speak before the board votes and a closed list of executive-session topics (§ 308(2)–(7)). See Colorado board meetings under § 308.
• Contested board seats are decided by secret ballot, and owners may remove a board member with or without cause by 67% of those present and entitled to vote at a meeting with a quorum (§§ 310, 303(8)). See Colorado board elections and removal.
• Records: § 317 lists the association’s records and governs owner inspection; the association may not require a statement of proper purpose. See Colorado association records.

Budgets, Assessments, and the Owner Veto (§ 303(4))

Within 90 days after the board adopts a proposed budget, it must deliver a budget summary to all owners and set an owners’ meeting within a reasonable time. Unless the declaration requires otherwise, the budget does not need owner approval; it is deemed approved unless vetoed at that meeting by a majority of all unit owners (or a larger percentage the declaration sets), whether or not a quorum is present. If it is vetoed, the last budget that was not vetoed continues (§ 303(4)(a)(II)(A)). Past-due assessments may bear interest at a rate the association sets, not over 8% per year (§ 315(2)).

An audit is required only if annual revenues or expenditures are at least $250,000 and owners of at least one-third of the units request it; a review is required only on request of one-third of owners; and copies go to owners within 30 days of completion (§ 303(4)(b)). The 2024 text has no mandate to commission a reserve study or fund reserves to a set level; it requires a reserve-study policy. From August 12, 2026, HB26-1099 requires the declarant to obtain and pay for an independent 30-year reserve study before turnover (new § 209.2).

Enforcement and Collections

A fine requires notice and an opportunity to be heard before an impartial decision maker under a written fine policy (§§ 302(1)(k), 209.5(2)). Since HB22-1137, § 209.5(1.7)(b) generally bars daily fines, sets a 72-hour cure for violations the association reasonably determines threaten public safety or health, and for other violations sets a 30-day cure, a $500 total-fine cap per violation, and two consecutive 30-day cure periods before legal action. Referral of a delinquent account to a collector or attorney requires a recorded board vote (§ 209.5(1.7)(a)(II)); interest is capped at 8% (§ 209.5(8)(a)); a written offer of an 18-month repayment plan precedes judicial foreclosure (§ 209.5(7)); fines alone cannot support foreclosure (§ 209.5(8)(c)); and the assessment balance must reach six months of common-expense assessments, with a recorded board vote on the specific unit, before foreclosure (§ 316(11)). HB24-1337 (debts accrued on or after August 7, 2024) added a prior-judgment requirement for owner-occupied homes and attorney-fee caps, and HB25-1043 (enforcement actions instituted on or after October 1, 2025) added an owner’s motion to stay a foreclosure sale. Whether these conditions are met on a particular account, and any decision to refer or foreclose, is a question for association counsel. See fines in Colorado, the collections policy, and liens and foreclosure.

Registration, Disclosure, and the State’s Role

Section 401 requires annual registration with the Division of Real Estate, which also houses the HOA Information and Resource Center, a clearinghouse with no enforcement or adjudication power in the 2024 text, continued by SB25-184 until September 1, 2030 (§ 12-10-801). Under § 401(3), an association that fails to register, or whose registration has expired, has its right to impose or enforce a § 316 lien and to use § 123 enforcement mechanisms suspended until it is validly registered; previously recorded liens are not extinguished, and re-registration revives the rights without penalty. See Registering with DORA.

Within 90 days after each fiscal year-end, § 209.4(2) requires the association to make its annual disclosures available to owners, including the budget, assessments, financial statements with reserve amounts, audit or review results, insurance policies, governing documents, minutes, and the governance policies. Section 209.7 requires free owner education at least annually on association operations and owner, association, and board rights and duties, and § 209.6 lets the board reimburse directors’ expenses for Colorado-specific governance education as a common expense.

What Colorado Does Not Have

• No current manager license. The licensing program under former C.R.S. 12-61-1001 et seq. ended at the Division of Real Estate on June 30, 2019, and later licensing bills (HB22-1239, HB24-1078) did not pass; this is history, not a current requirement. Managers acting for the association are subject to CCIOA to the same extent as the association (§ 302(3)(a)), and HB26-1099 now requires a departing management company to deliver association property, money, and records within 45 days (§ 317(9), effective August 12, 2026). See The Only Experiment America Ever Stopped.
• No structural-integrity reserve study mandate of the Florida type for post-turnover associations.
• No statutory short-term rental section. Rental limits turn on the declaration and the amendment rules in § 217.

Recent Legislative Layers

Common Mistakes & Pitfalls

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CCIOA?

The Colorado Common Interest Ownership Act, C.R.S. sections 38-33.3-101 to -402, governs condominiums, cooperatives and planned communities in one act, unlike the separate HOA and condominium chapters in Texas and Florida. The Colorado Revised Nonprofit Corporation Act (Title 7, Articles 121 to 137) supplies much of the corporate machinery. Which sections reach a particular community depends on its creation date and documents.

Does CCIOA apply to communities created before July 1, 1992?

In part. For communities created before July 1, 1992, only the sections listed in C.R.S. 38-33.3-117 apply, each from a stated date. A pre-1992 community may elect full coverage under section 118, and in Accetta v. Brooks Towers (2021 COA 87) the Court of Appeals held that section 118 is the exclusive way to make that election. Which sections reach a particular older community is a question for association counsel.

What liability standard applies to Colorado HOA board members?

Section 38-33.3-303(2) sets two standards. Board members and officers appointed by the declarant must exercise the care required of fiduciaries of the unit owners. Board members and officers not appointed by the declarant are not liable for actions or omissions in performing their duties except for wanton and willful acts or omissions. For investment of reserve funds, section 303(2.5) applies the nonprofit act’s ordinarily-prudent-person standard in C.R.S. 7-128-401. How these standards interact outside reserve investment is not settled by the statute text or by any published decision CIC-SC has verified; questions about a particular decision belong with association counsel.

Do Colorado owners vote to approve the budget?

Not in the usual sense. Under section 38-33.3-303(4)(a), unless the declaration requires otherwise, the board delivers a budget summary within 90 days after adopting a proposed budget and sets an owners’ meeting; the budget is deemed approved unless a majority of all unit owners (or a larger percentage the declaration sets) vetoes it, whether or not a quorum is present. How the declaration affects this is a question for association counsel.

Do Colorado associations have to register with the state?

Section 38-33.3-401 generally requires every unit owners’ association to register annually with the Division of Real Estate in the Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA). Under section 401(3), an association that fails to register, or whose registration has expired, has its right to impose or enforce a section 316 lien, and to use section 123 enforcement mechanisms, suspended until it is validly registered; previously recorded liens are not extinguished. How a lapse affects a particular lien or action is a question for association counsel.

Are Colorado community association managers licensed?

No license is currently in force. Colorado licensed managers from July 1, 2015 under former C.R.S. 12-61-1001 et seq.; the program ended at the Division of Real Estate on June 30, 2019, and later licensing bills did not pass. HB26-1099 (effective August 12, 2026) now sets a 45-day duty for a departing management company to deliver association property and records.

Key Takeaways

• Communities created before July 1, 1992 get only the § 117 subset, phased in by date, unless they opt in under § 118.
• Section 303(2) sets a fiduciary standard for declarant appointees and a wanton-and-willful standard for others; reserve investment uses § 7-128-401; how they interact is unsettled.
• The budget is ratified unless a majority of all owners vetoes it, quorum or not.
• Fines, collections, and foreclosure are limited by statute, and registration with DORA conditions lien and enforcement rights.

References & Sources

1. C.R.S. §§ 38-33.3-101 to -402 — Colorado Common Interest Ownership Act, including §§ 115–119 (applicability), 209.4–209.7, 303, 308, 310, 313, 315, 316, 316.3, 317, 401. Colorado Revised Statutes 2024, Title 38. crs2024-title-38.pdf
2. C.R.S. §§ 38-33-101 to -113 — Condominium Ownership Act. Colorado Revised Statutes 2024, Title 38.
3. C.R.S. Title 7, Articles 121–137 — Colorado Revised Nonprofit Corporation Act, including §§ 7-127-203, 7-128-206, 7-128-401, 7-128-501. crs2024-title-07.pdf
4. C.R.S. § 12-10-801 — HOA Information and Resource Center. crs2024-title-12.pdf
5. HB22-1137 (ch. 367, eff. Aug. 10, 2022). leg.colorado.gov/bills/hb22-1137
6. HB24-1337 (ch. 422, eff. Aug. 7, 2024). leg.colorado.gov/bills/hb24-1337
7. SB24-021 (ch. 53, eff. Aug. 7, 2024). leg.colorado.gov/bills/sb24-021
8. SB25-184 (ch. 242, eff. May 24, 2025). leg.colorado.gov/bills/sb25-184
9. HB25-1272 (ch. 183, eff. Aug. 6, 2025). leg.colorado.gov/bills/hb25-1272
10. HB25-1043 (ch. 433, eff. Oct. 1, 2025). leg.colorado.gov/bills/hb25-1043
11. HB26-1099 (ch. 42, eff. Aug. 12, 2026). leg.colorado.gov/bills/hb26-1099
12. HB26-1007 (ch. 127; HOA provisions operative Jan. 1, 2027). leg.colorado.gov/bills/hb26-1007
13. Accetta v. Brooks Towers Residences Condominium Ass’n, 2021 COA 87.
14. Colorado Homes, Ltd. v. Loerch-Wilson, 43 P.3d 718 (Colo. App. 2001).

Related Resources & Additional Reading from the CIC-SC Library

• The Nine Policies Every Colorado Association Must Adopt Under § 38-33.3-209.5
• Registering With DORA: Colorado’s Annual HOA Registration
• Colorado Board Meetings Under § 38-33.3-308
• The Only Experiment America Ever Stopped: Colorado, 2015–2019
• The Eight-Tier Hierarchy of Governance Authority

Tags: CCIOA · C.R.S. 38-33.3 · Colorado HOA law · pre-1992 communities · § 117 · § 118 opt-in · wanton and willful · § 209.5 policies · budget ratification · DORA registration · Colorado Revised Nonprofit Corporation Act · Colorado condominium · planned community

Disclaimer. This article is published by the Common Interest Community Standards Council for educational and informational purposes only. It is not legal advice and does not establish an attorney-client relationship. Statutory references and procedural frameworks are intended to support informed governance, not to substitute for advice from qualified Colorado legal counsel. Boards and managers should consult their association’s attorney about the application of any statute, governing-document provision, or applicability decision to their specific circumstances. CIC-SC, its authors, and its members assume no liability for actions taken in reliance on this content.

Published by the Common Interest Community Standards Council (CICSC). Part of the CICSC Member Education Library. © 2026 CICSC. Educational use permitted with attribution.