The Clock on Colorado Construction Defect Claims Runs out Faster Than Most Owners Think

Under C.R.S. § 13-80-104, a claim against anyone who designs or builds an improvement to real property must be brought within 6 years of substantial completion. If the defect appears in year 5 or 6, the owner gets up to 2 more years, but never beyond 8 years total.

This is a statute of repose, not a statute of limitations. A limitations period runs from discovery of the harm. A repose period runs from substantial completion regardless of when (or whether) the defect is ever discovered.
The case law marks out the edges of that rule. The repose period does not reach every theory of recovery: in Hersh Cos. v. Highline Vill. Assocs., 30 P.3d 221 (Colo. 2001), the court held it does not bar a claim for breach of a "repair or replace" warranty. Nor does it cut off claims among defendants. In Goodman v. Heritage Builders, Inc., 390 P.3d 398 (Colo. 2017), the court confirmed that cross-claims and third-party claims for indemnity or contribution survive, and may be brought by separate suit so long as they are filed no later than ninety days after the underlying defect action ends.

And the period is not as rigid as it first appears. Under Smith v. Exec. Custom Homes, Inc., 230 P.3d 1186 (Colo. 2010), it is tolled during the CDARA notice-of-claim process and for sixty days after it concludes, so a homeowner who complies with the statute is not penalized for doing so. See C.R.S. § 13-20-805 (2009).

The practical takeaway: investigate early, calendar your dates carefully, and don't assume the deadline is as far off as it looks.