The Colorado CDARA Notice of Claim Process for Construction Defect Claims
Before a Colorado homeowner, HOA, or commercial property owner can sue a builder, contractor, subcontractor, architect, engineer, or other construction professional over a defect, state law requires them to go through a mandatory pre-litigation notice and settlement process. This process comes from the Construction Defect Action Reform Act (CDARA), codified at C.R.S. §§ 13-20-801 to 13-20-808, with the notice-of-claim mechanics specifically laid out in C.R.S. § 13-20-803.5.
Skipping or botching this process doesn't necessarily kill a claim the way missing a statute of limitations does, but it will stop a lawsuit in its tracks. Any action filed without proper compliance is automatically stayed until the claimant fixes the problem, which can add months of delay and expense to a case that hasn't even started.
What CDARA Is Trying to Do
CDARA's notice-of-claim process is essentially a mandatory "right to cure" period. Before litigation begins, the construction professional gets a real opportunity to inspect the claimed defect, propose a fix or a settlement, and resolve the dispute without a lawsuit. The legislature's goal was to reduce the cost and volume of construction defect litigation in Colorado, which had been blamed (fairly or not) for driving up insurance costs and discouraging condominium and multifamily development.
Who the Process Applies To
CDARA's notice requirement applies to a "claimant," typically a homeowner, a subsequent purchaser, or a homeowners' association pursuing defect claims on behalf of unit owners, and a "construction professional," which is defined broadly to include architects, contractors, subcontractors, developers, builders, builder vendors, engineers, and inspectors involved in the design, construction, or inspection of the property's improvements.
Because more than one construction professional is usually involved in building a home or building, claimants typically need to identify and send notice to every professional they intend to pursue: the general contractor, relevant subcontractors, the architect or engineer of record, and sometimes material suppliers or inspectors, not just the most obvious defendant.
Step 1: Send the Notice of Claim
At least 75 days before filing suit (or 90 days for claims involving commercial property), the claimant must serve a written notice of claim on each construction professional they intend to sue, by certified mail or personal service.
The notice must describe:
The nature and location of each alleged construction defect, in reasonable detail
How the defect has caused damage or loss to the property
When the claimant discovered, or reasonably should have discovered, the defect
Because the entire pre-suit process depends on the construction professional understanding exactly what's being claimed, vague or generic notices invite disputes over adequacy and can slow the process down rather than speed it up.
The Duty to Mitigate
Before and during this process, the claimant has an independent statutory duty to take reasonable steps to prevent the defect from causing further damage, for example: addressing an active leak rather than letting it continue to damage the structure while the notice process plays out. Claimants generally must certify their compliance with this mitigation duty when they eventually file a complaint. The duty doesn't require spending unreasonable amounts of money or taking action beyond the claimant's financial ability, but ignoring an obvious, low-cost fix can complicate a later damages claim.
Step 2: Inspection
Once notice is served, each construction professional has the right to inspect the claimed defects. The claimant must provide reasonable access to the property during normal working hours, and the inspection (including any additional testing or investigation the professional reasonably requests) generally must be completed within 30 days of service of the notice.
Construction professionals can also use this window to request supporting documentation from the claimant: photographs, expert reports, repair estimates, or similar records substantiating the claimed defects and damages.
Step 3: Offer to Remedy or Settle
After the inspection is complete, the construction professional has a further window, 30 days for residential property, 45 days for commercial property, to respond with either:
A written offer to remedy the defect at no cost to the claimant, including the scope of the inspection, the findings, the specific repairs proposed, and a timetable for completing the work; or
A monetary settlement offer; or
Some combination of repair and payment; or
A written statement explaining why the professional disputes the claim and will not offer to remedy or settle it.
Step 4: Claimant's Response
If an offer is made, the claimant has 15 days from delivery of the offer to accept it in writing. If the claimant doesn't respond, or rejects the offer, the offer is deemed rejected, and having completed the statutory process, the claimant is generally free to file suit (or pursue arbitration, if the contract requires it).
If the claimant accepts a repair offer, the construction professional is expected to complete the work according to the agreed timetable. If the professional doesn't follow through on an accepted offer, the claimant can typically proceed straight to litigation without repeating the notice process.
What Happens If the Process Isn't Followed
If a claimant files suit without first complying with the notice-of-claim requirements, for example by suing before the 75/90-day period runs, or without giving a particular professional the required notice, the statute requires that the action be stayed. The case doesn't necessarily get dismissed outright, but it is paused until the claimant goes back and satisfies the statutory process, which costs time and can affect strategy, especially if a statute of limitations or repose deadline is running in the background.
Recent Changes: HB25-1272 and the "Colorado American Dream Act" (2025)
In 2025, Colorado enacted House Bill 25-1272 (referred to by supporters as the Colorado American Dream Act), which made the most significant changes to CDARA in years, specifically aimed at encouraging more attached multifamily and condominium construction. Key pieces include:
A voluntary Multifamily Construction Incentive Program, effective January 1, 2026, for builders of attached multifamily housing (duplexes, townhomes, condominiums). Builders who opt in provide statutory warranties and third-party inspections in exchange for procedural and liability protections, including a more structured notice response: an offer to repair or settle, or a written explanation of why a claim doesn't warrant action, within set deadlines and an outside cap around 210 days from notice.
A higher HOA/unit-owner consent threshold. The percentage of unit owners who must approve before a homeowners' association's executive board can initiate a construction defect claim on the owners' behalf increased from a simple majority to 65%, a significant change for associations considering litigation.
Tolling during mitigation. Statutes of limitation and repose are now tolled while a claimant is undertaking mitigation efforts tied to the notice-of-claim process, reducing the risk that working through the statutory process eats into a claimant's filing deadline.
New disclosure obligations on builders and design professionals to provide information such as construction plans, soil reports, maintenance manuals, and relevant insurance and subcontractor information earlier in the process.
Practitioners are still working through exactly how broadly some of these 2025 changes apply, whether certain provisions (particularly the new disclosure obligations) reach every CDARA claim or only claims against builders who voluntarily enrolled in the new incentive program. Because this is an actively evolving and, in places, ambiguous area of law, anyone with a claim that could be affected by the 2025 amendments should get current, case-specific advice rather than relying on a general summary.
Common Pitfalls
Notifying the wrong parties, or not all of them. Leaving out a subcontractor or design professional you later want to pursue can mean starting the notice clock over for that party.
Filing too early. Suing before the 75/90-day period (or before the inspection/offer process plays out) triggers an automatic stay.
Vague notices. A notice that doesn't clearly describe the defect, the damage, and the discovery date invites disputes and can slow down an otherwise straightforward claim.
Ignoring the mitigation duty. Letting an obvious, cheap-to-fix problem get worse while waiting out the notice period can undermine a later damages claim.
Missing the 15-day acceptance window. Silence is treated as rejection. If you intend to accept a repair or settlement offer, that decision needs to be made and communicated promptly.
Assuming last year's rules still apply without checking. With HB25-1272 freshly in effect and its scope still being clarified, a claim's timeline and requirements may look different than they did before August 2025.
Bottom Line
CDARA's notice-of-claim process is a mandatory, detailed pre-litigation procedure, not a formality to be rushed through. Getting it right: identifying every responsible construction professional, sending timely and specific notice, cooperating with inspection, and responding to any offer within 15 days, sets up a stronger position whether the case resolves through repair, settlement, or eventually in court. Because the process interacts with statutes of limitation and repose, involves multiple deadlines running in parallel, and was substantially reshaped for multifamily projects in 2025, homeowners, HOA boards, and property owners considering a construction defect claim in Colorado should consult a construction-defect attorney early, ideally before the notice of claim goes out, not after a deadline has already passed.
This article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Construction defect notice requirements are technical, deadline-driven, and have changed substantially in recent legislation. Consult a licensed Colorado attorney about your specific situation.
