Q: Is it legal for a landlord to reply to a bad review from a tenant online by listing out all of the months of rent that
the tenant owes? “We have been trying to collect from Sierra since May due to her paying late on her rent. She has been accruing late fees and has been posted several times. We sent emails concerning past due account: 4/16, 5/5, 5/13, 5/17, 5/19, 5/21, 6/3, 7/8, 7/12, 7/21, 7/28. We have posted on 5/10 and 7/14. She has not reached out to the accounting department to work out payment arrangements. She called yesterday asking to write off all late fees, I told her that I could write off half of late fees but would need to check with my CFO for approval.”
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- Colorado
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- Answered
A:
You need to check with an attorney.
In short, anytime you post any type of factual comment you need to be aware that you could be subject to a defamation suit.
In addition, you need to walk through the late fee issue. During COVID a few significant bills passed regarding late fees in Colorado. For example, you cannot charge a late fee twice for the same late payment, you are capped on the amount you can charge, you are no longer allowed to call late fees rent, and so on. It was a fairly extensive change. If you are using a lease that was drafted more than a year ago there is a good chance you may not be in compliance with the new laws. Hence the need to talk to an attorney.
I don't mean to scare landlords in Colorado but the new wave of COVID laws may require everyone to put in some footwork to ensure they are keeping up.
Please be aware that any answer is based on all the events occurring in Colorado. Further, please be aware that this is not legal advice. This is generic information intended to help the reader develop questions to ask an attorney when they are ready. Each case is different. Anyone reading this answer in need of legal advice should contact an attorney.
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