1–20 unit landlords
Collecting after a money judgment on DIY landlord software: Colorado garnishment, judgment liens, 8% interest, and keeping the app ledger honest
A judgment doesn’t pay you. The court’s own FAQ says it plainly: “It is your responsibility to collect a money judgment awarded in your favor. The Court will not collect the money for you.” None of the three landlord apps collects judgments either. They can’t garnish, file a writ, compute statutory interest, or mark a balance as reduced to judgment. What they can do is keep generating charges, late fees, and reminders against a balance that no longer matches what the court awarded. In Colorado the usual sequence is: freeze the app balance at the judgment, then send the court’s pattern interrogatories so you learn where the former tenant works and banks. Next comes a writ of continuing garnishment on wages, which lasts 182 days and takes the lesser of 20% of disposable pay or the amount above 40 times the state minimum wage ($606.40 a week in 2026), or a bank writ, where the debtor can claim $2,500 exempt. Record each court check against a judgment ledger you keep outside the app, and file a Satisfaction of Judgment (JDF 111) when you’re paid. A county-court judgment expires in six years unless you revive it.
What this page is (and is not)
- Is: the post-judgment half of our eviction & collections handoff page. It covers Colorado’s collection tools with the forms and fees the Judicial Branch publishes, interest and expiration math, exemptions, and satisfaction. It also covers what RentRedi, TurboTenant, and Avail can and can’t do with a judgment balance, and the attorney, collection-agency, and debt-reporting handoff, including federal and Colorado debt-collection basics for a landlord collecting their own debt. Colorado is the worked state, with a decision table, a $1,850 worked example, a checklist, and an FAQ.
- Is not: a guide to winning the case, a writ-of-restitution (possession) guide, or advice on suing in small claims vs. county court. Execution sales of personal property, garnishing a business debtor (Form 32), and collecting from someone who has moved out of state are mentioned only in passing.
- Not the same as: a former tenant who has filed bankruptcy. Enforcing a pre-filing judgment is stayed (11 U.S.C. 362(a)(2)), so stop every writ and read tenant bankruptcy & the stay. It’s also not a deceased debtor (when a tenant dies), where claims go against the estate.
- Uncertainty rule: we didn’t collect a judgment through a live account. Statute text is the 2025 C.R.S. on Justia; 2026 session changes weren’t checked on leg.colorado.gov. Court forms and fees are from Judicial Branch PDFs, some with older revision dates (JDF 82 is rev. July 2023; the FAQ is dated October 2013). Vendor behavior comes from help pages read tonight plus earlier research for our eviction, bankruptcy, and when-a-tenant-dies pages.
First, freeze the number: the judgment is not the app balance
- What you can enforce is what the order says. The garnishment writ asks for the “Original Amount of Judgment Entered,” plus interest “accrued from the date of judgment,” plus “post-judgment costs only,” less “all amounts you have received as payment on the judgment” (JDF 82, Lines 1–5). Every one of those numbers comes from the court file, not from the app.
- Why they drift apart. The judge may have disallowed a late fee (Colorado caps late fees at the greater of $50 or 5% of past-due rent, 38-12-105; see late fees & autopay). The judgment may include court costs or attorney fees the app never saw. Rent may only run through the judgment or possession date. And the app may have kept posting rent and fees after move-out. In practice the app balance is usually wrong in both directions.
- Interest replaces fees. After entry, Colorado gives you interest “from the date of entering said judgment until satisfaction”: the rate in the lease if the lease “provides for payment of interest at a specified rate until the obligation is paid,” otherwise “eight percent per annum compounded annually” (5-12-102(4)). Post-judgment late fees aren’t on that list. A late fee is a lease charge for late rent, and once the debt is a judgment, the statute’s interest is what grows it. Our reading: turn off the late-fee rule and stop posting rent once possession is back.
- Appeals. If the former tenant appeals and loses, interest runs from the trial-court judgment at the Secretary of State’s certified rate, “no lower than” the 8% in 5-12-102(4)(b) (5-12-106(2)(b)). The 2026 certified rate is 6%, so on an appealed rent judgment without a lease rate the floor makes it 8%. The certificate notes the floor “does not apply to appealed money judgments subject to section 13-21-101” (personal-injury cases).
- Check for a lease interest clause. If your lease sets an interest rate on unpaid sums, 5-12-102(4)(a) points to that rate. We didn’t research whether any Colorado tenant statute caps a residential lease interest rate, so confirm before you put a lease rate above 8% on a writ.
Colorado’s collection tools (verified text and Judicial Branch forms)
- Step 0: ask in writing. JDF 82’s first step is “ask the Judgment Debtor to pay, preferably in writing.” Send it by email or letter, not as an app reminder; see the payment-plan note below.
- Find the assets: interrogatories. In county court, the court’s pattern interrogatories are JDF 105 (individual) and JDF 108 (business). Under C.R.C.P. 369(g) the creditor “can automatically issue the Form Interrogatories … as part of the judgment order without further order of the Court” if you received an Order for Entry of Judgment. Serve them personally, or ask the clerk to mail them at your cost. Answers are due “no later than 14 days after the Judgment Debtor received them.” Small-claims judgments use JDF 252A (short) or 252B (long) motion-and-order forms. In district court, C.R.C.P. 69(d) interrogatories are answered under oath before the clerk “within 21 days.” If the debtor ignores them, you move for an order to answer or to show cause why they shouldn’t be held in contempt. JDF 82 lists a $70 fee for a hearing on interrogatories.
- Debtor exam by subpoena. C.R.C.P. 69(e) lets the creditor subpoena the debtor “to appear before the court … to answer concerning property.” The subpoena must say “Failure to Appear Will Result in Issuance of a Warrant for Your Arrest.” The court’s FAQ is careful about this: “You cannot go to jail simply because you are unable to pay.” Contempt is for ignoring an order, not for being broke. Rule 69(f) reaches third parties who owe the debtor more than $500.
- Wages: Writ of Continuing Garnishment (Forms 26, 27, 28). You fill in Lines 1–5 and sign Form 26 before a notary or the clerk. The clerk issues it for $45, and you have it personally served on the employer with blank Forms 27 and 28. The employer answers between 7 and 14 days after the first affected payday (or 42 days after service, if sooner). The debtor has 14 days to object, and an objection gets a hearing within 14 days. The writ is “a lien and continuing levy” on non-exempt earnings for 182 days (13-54.5-102(2)). It ends sooner if the job ends or the judgment is “satisfied in full.” You can suspend it by written agreement filed with the clerk, with a copy to the employer. Only one writ runs at a time, first served first; support writs jump the line (FAQ).
- Bank accounts and other property: Writ of Garnishment with Notice of Exemption and Pending Levy (Forms 29, 30). Also $45. Serve the bank with a blank Form 30, and serve the debtor. If the bank holds money, you serve the debtor the completed writ and a blank Claim of Exemption. If no claim is filed “within 14 days,” you file JDF 89 (Notice to Garnishee, Application of Funds to Judgment, and Release of Funds), the court signs it, and “it is the responsibility of the Judgment Creditor” to get it to the bank. A claim of exemption gets a hearing within 14 days. Form 32 is for a debtor that’s a business entity.
- Pro se money flow. If you don’t have a lawyer, “your checks must be made payable to the Clerk of the Court,” and you give the court self-addressed stamped envelopes so it can forward the money (JDF 82). Only a creditor with an attorney on the case or a licensed collection agency can have checks payable directly. Expect a lag between payday and your mailbox.
- Real estate: transcript of judgment. Ask the court for a Transcript of Judgment ($25, JDF 82) and record it with the county clerk and recorder. “From the time of recording such transcript, and not before,” it’s a lien on the debtor’s non-exempt real estate in that county, including property acquired later (13-52-102(1)). It covers only that county, and recording doesn’t by itself “effect an execution” (annotations). A homestead is protected: the lien “only attaches to the debtor’s net equity after deduction of the homestead exemption amount” (annotation citing In re Dickinson and In re Guzman). Most former tenants don’t own real estate, so record a transcript only if the interrogatory answers or a county assessor search show property. Recording fees are set by the county and weren’t checked.
- Writ of execution. C.R.C.P. 69(a) makes execution the default process “to enforce a final money judgment,” and JDF 82 lists a $45 fee. Sheriff levies on personal property are uncommon for small rent judgments, because exemptions (below) protect most household goods and a car up to the limits. This is attorney territory.
- When you can start. The court FAQ (2013) says county-court judgments can be collected “immediately” unless a stay is granted on appeal or a post-trial motion, while district-court creditors wait 14 days. Confirm with the clerk; that FAQ predates later rule changes.
Wage garnishment math for 2026 (verified)
| Pay frequency | Disposable pay at or below this: $0 garnished | Between: garnish the amount above the floor | At or above this: garnish 20% |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weekly | $606.40 | $606.40–$758.00 | $758.00 |
| Every 2 weeks | $1,212.80 | $1,212.80–$1,516.00 | $1,516.00 |
| Twice a month | $1,313.86 | $1,313.86–$1,642.32 | $1,642.32 |
| Monthly | $2,627.73 | $2,627.73–$3,284.66 | $3,284.66 |
- The rule. For ordinary debts, the most that can be garnished in a workweek is the lesser of “Twenty percent of the individual’s disposable earnings,” the amount above 40 times the federal minimum wage, or the amount above “forty times the state minimum hourly wage” (13-54-104(2)(a)(I)). Colorado’s minimum is $15.16 from January 1, 2026 (Judicial Branch), so the state test controls: 40 × $15.16 = $606.40 a week. The table is Colorado Legal Services’ 2026 table. It matches the statute for other pay periods, which use “a multiple … equivalent in effect” (2)(b).
- “Disposable” is after required withholding and employer health insurance. The 2019 amendment (HB 19-1189) excludes employer-provided health insurance withheld from pay and lowered the old 25% rate to 20%. Attorney fees aren’t deducted before the percentage is computed (Rios v. Mireles, annotation).
- The debtor can ask for more. Under (2)(a)(I)(D) the debtor may object and prove that what’s left, “together with any other income received by the judgment debtor’s family,” can’t cover “actual and necessary living expenses,” including “Rent or mortgage; utilities; food … child care … transportation.” The court then exempts more. Budget for that.
- Tips and contractors. An employer isn’t required to collect tips for you (13-54.5-102(2.5)). Continuing garnishment applies “only to … a judgment debtor who is a natural person” (102(3)). Money owed to an independent contractor isn’t “earnings” for ordinary garnishments (Idaho Pac. Lumber, annotation), so a gig worker’s payouts may need a Form 29 writ instead. Ask counsel.
- Local minimum wages. The statute’s text references the federal and state minimum wages only. Whether a higher city minimum (Denver’s, for example) changes the floor isn’t addressed in the text we read. In Colorado Springs, the state figure is the one that applies.
Exemptions you’ll run into
- Bank accounts: $2,500. “Up to two thousand five hundred dollars cumulative in a depository account or accounts in the name of the debtor” is exempt (13-54-102(1)(w), as amended by SB 22-086). It isn’t automatic. Form 29 tells the debtor to file a Claim of Exemption “within 14 days,” and a National Consumer Law Center summary (Feb 2026) grades it “not self-executing.” If commingled, exempt and non-exempt money is traced first-in, first-out (102(6)).
- Benefits. Form 29’s list includes workers’ comp, unemployment, earned-income and child tax credit refunds (102(1)(o)), retirement accounts and HSAs ((1)(s)), disability benefits up to $5,000 a month ((1)(v)), and economic-impact payments ((1)(y)). Social Security and SSI deposits are protected under federal law; we didn’t re-read those rules tonight.
- Their next landlord’s deposit is off-limits. For garnishment, “any amount held by a third party as a security deposit” is exempt (102(1)(r)), so you can’t garnish the deposit your former tenant paid at their new place, or a utility deposit.
- Personal property limits (relevant to execution): household goods $6,000, clothing $2,000, up to two vehicles $15,000 ($25,000 for an elderly or disabled debtor), tools of trade $60,000 for the primary occupation, firearms and hunting gear $1,000 (102(1)(a)–(x)). A general waiver of exemptions in a lease or note is “invalid as against public policy” (Beneficial Fin. Co. v. Schmuhl, annotation). Don’t rely on a lease clause.
How long the judgment lasts, and reviving it
- County court: six years. For county-court judgments entered on or after July 1, 1981, execution may issue “six years from the entry thereof, but not afterwards, unless revived,” and after that the judgment “shall be considered as satisfied in full” (13-52-102(2)(b)(I)). Most Colorado eviction and rent judgments are county-court judgments.
- District court: twenty years (13-52-102(2)(a)).
- The real-estate lien is six years either way. The statute says the lien “shall expire six years after the entry of judgment” unless the judgment is revived and a transcript of the revived judgment is recorded in the same county before the six years run (13-52-102(1)). JDF 82 says the lien “continues … for 20 years if the judgment was awarded in District Court.” That conflicts with the statute text and with Hulterstrom (2019 COA 7, annotation), which requires revival and re-recording after six years. Go by the statute and diary year five.
- Revival (C.R.C.P. 54(h) / 354(h); JDF 112). File JDF 113 (Motion for Revival) stating the judgment date, the unsatisfied amount, the expiration date, and “the efforts made to collect.” The clerk issues JDF 114 (Notice to Show Cause), which you serve on each debtor. The debtor has 14 days to respond, then the court enters JDF 125. “There is no filing fee.” The catch: “the Court must rule on the revival at least one day prior to the expiration date,” so file months ahead. A revived judgment can be made a lien again “in the same manner and for like period.”
- The debt and the lien are different things. Letting the six-year lien lapse “does not extinguish the debt” (Mortgage Invs. Corp., annotation), but once the execution period passes without revival, the statute treats the judgment as satisfied.
When you’re paid: satisfaction of judgment
- It’s your duty. When a judgment is paid other than through execution, “it shall be the duty of the judgment creditor or the judgment creditor’s attorney to give such satisfaction, and upon motion the court may compel it or may order the entry of such satisfaction to be made without it” (C.R.C.P. 58(b)). A court can also enter satisfaction when the debtor pays into the registry and you won’t acknowledge it (Vento, annotation).
- How. File JDF 111, Satisfaction of Judgment, signed before a notary or the clerk (JDF 82 lists a $20 fee). Mail copies to the debtor and to any garnishee. If you recorded a transcript, the debtor “will want … a Certificate of Satisfaction of Judgment from the court clerk to file with the Clerk and Recorder” (FAQ), and JDF 82 tells you to notify the recorder to release the lien. The 2013 instructions say a satisfaction can be “Full” or “Partial.”
- Stop the writs. A continuing garnishment ends when the judgment is “satisfied in full” (13-54.5-102(2)), but the employer only knows what you tell it. Send the satisfaction to the garnishee the day the last check clears, and refund any overpayment promptly. Once paid, “collection activities, such as garnishment, must end” (FAQ).
- No deadline found. We didn’t find a Colorado rule setting a number of days to file the satisfaction, or a statutory penalty for a late one. The remedy we found is a motion to compel, which can carry fees. File within days anyway.
Collecting it yourself vs. attorney vs. collection agency vs. debt reporting
- You, in your own name, are generally outside both debt-collection acts. The federal FDCPA’s “debt collector” covers people who collect debts “owed or due … another” and excludes “any officer or employee of a creditor while, in the name of the creditor, collecting debts for such creditor” (15 U.S.C. 1692a(6)(A)). Colorado’s act (CFDCPA) is parallel: a “collection agency” doesn’t include “Any officer or employee of a creditor while, in the name of the creditor, collecting debts for such creditor” (C.R.S. 5-16-103(3)(b)(I)). A creditor “who, in the process of collecting his own debts, uses any name other than his own” to suggest a third party is covered by both (1692a(6); 5-16-103(3)(c)). Collect as yourself or your LLC, never as an invented “recovery department.” Colorado’s definition of “debt” expressly includes an obligation “whether or not … reduced to judgment” (5-16-103(8)(a)), so an agency you hire is fully covered for a judgment debt.
- Property managers. A PM collecting an owner’s debt collects a debt “owed … another.” Both acts exclude debts “not in default at the time it was obtained” (1692a(6)(F)(iii); 5-16-103(3)(b)(VI)(C)), which is the usual argument for a PM that managed the lease before default. Our reading only: check with counsel and the Attorney General’s licensing page before a PM runs post-judgment collections.
- Attorneys. In Colorado an attorney who “regularly engages in the collection … of debts in this state” is a “collection agency,” exempt only from licensing (5-16-103(3)(e)(I)). Practically, a collection attorney can take checks directly, draft writs correctly, handle exemption hearings and revival, and add fees only if the judgment or lease allows. Fee structures (hourly, flat, contingency) weren’t researched.
- Collection agencies. Licensed by the Colorado Attorney General (coag.gov). TurboTenant’s guide says agencies typically charge “between 25% and 50% of the balance collected” and that the FDCPA gives the consumer a 30-day window to dispute (15 U.S.C. 1692g). We didn’t verify current Colorado agency pricing. Give the agency the judgment, the court’s register of actions, your judgment ledger, and payments received, not just the app export.
- Credit reporting and judgments. Since July 1, 2017 the three nationwide bureaus have required name, address, and SSN or date of birth for public records, which “removed all civil judgments” from credit reports (CFPB, National Consumer Assistance Plan retrospective). The judgment itself won’t show on a standard credit file, though eviction-focused screening reports may still find court records. What can be reported is a collection account, through an agency or a reporting service, and whoever furnishes it must not report information they have “reasonable cause to believe … is inaccurate” and must “promptly” correct it (15 U.S.C. 1681s-2(a)(1)(A), (a)(2)). Report the judgment balance net of payments, and update it when paid.
- The vendors’ own reporting is positive-only. RentRedi’s Credit Boosting reports “on-time rent payments” to TransUnion, Experian, and Equifax and is tenant-paid ($3.99–$5.99/month as listed Sep 25, 2026). TurboTenant’s Rent Reporting is tenant-paid ($4.99/month listed), reports to TransUnion and Experian, and “Late payments, missed payments, and outstanding balances are not reported.” For overdue rent it points landlords to FrontLobby under Resources → Toolbox. Avail’s CreditBoost reports to TransUnion, and Avail staff said in 2019 that per TransUnion “any payment made within 30 days of its due date is considered to be on time.” None of the three reports a judgment or a former tenant’s debt itself.
- FrontLobby (third party, not verified beyond its pages). Its U.S. page says it reports former-tenant debt to TransUnion, Equifax, Experian, and its own Landlord Credit Bureau, emails the former tenant, then reports “on the 15th day of every month.” It claims “a Landlord does not need the Tenant’s consent or a court judgment.” Price: the U.S. page says “$199 per debt reported”; a help article says “$99.99 for annual Premium members and $199.99 for Basic members.” Confirm before paying. If you use it, report the judgment number, not the app balance, and close the item when satisfied.
Feature snapshot: what each tool can do with a judgment balance (verify on vendor pages)
| Capability | RentRedi | TurboTenant | Avail |
|---|---|---|---|
| “Judgment,” garnishment, or statutory-interest feature | None documented | None documented. Toolbox lists third-party FrontLobby for reporting overdue rent and EZ Evict USA for evictions | None documented |
| Record a payment received outside the app (court check, garnishment) | Add Payment on a charge (Payments → Rent & Charges, a unit’s Charges, or a tenant’s Charges) with amount, date paid, method, and notes. Manual payments are labeled Manual Entry and filterable (help, read tonight) | Record Payment on an unpaid charge (lease Payments tab or Payments → Actions). Needs “an unpaid charge that has already been sent.” Methods include Other. Payment notes are visible to the renter, and you choose whether to email a receipt (help, read tonight) | Record offline payments on the lease ledger (from our earlier research; help center renders as a JS shell, not re-checked) |
| Add post-judgment items (court costs, interest) | One-time charges can be added to the unit before you unlink (earlier research). After unlinking, history stays under Prior Tenants; adding charges then wasn’t verified | “New payment charges require an active lease.” Post anything before Convert to Past Lease; past leases “can still pay existing unpaid charges” (earlier research) | Not verified for ended leases |
| Stop reminders and late fees on the old balance | Delete the unit’s reminder rule and Late Fee Rule (default reminder runs “every day after until the rent is paid”); unlinking pauses AutoPay (earlier research) | Reminders run while an unpaid charge sits on an active lease and “cannot be turned off.” Use Stop Late Fees on each past-due charge, then end the lease (Edit Term / Convert to Past Lease) (earlier research) | Payment Settings → Communication Options reminder toggles and late-fee settings (search-index copy, earlier research) |
| Ledger export for the court file or an agency | Tenant Ledger PDF and CSV with date filters; Export Charges | Charges and Deposits CSVs (Deposits CSV includes method and notes) | Received Payment Reports and income/expense exports (indexed; confirm live) |
| Credit reporting | Tenant-paid on-time rent reporting to all three bureaus | Tenant-paid on-time reporting to TransUnion and Experian; no negative reporting | Tenant-activated CreditBoost to TransUnion, on-time only |
Decision table: which path fits?
| What you know | Colorado reading (not advice) | Tool path |
|---|---|---|
| Judgment entered, you don’t know where they work or bank | Serve JDF 105 pattern interrogatories (county) or Rule 69(d) interrogatories (district). Answers due in 14 days (county) or 21 days (district); contempt citation if ignored | Freeze the app balance (stop rent, late fees, reminders), export the ledger, and start a judgment ledger in a spreadsheet. Check old screening and the rental application for employer and bank leads |
| You know the employer | Form 26 continuing garnishment, $45, 182-day lien; 20% or the excess over $606.40/week, whichever is less | Record each court check as a payment with the case number and check number. In TurboTenant, remember notes show to the renter |
| You know the bank | Form 29 bank writ, $45. Debtor can claim $2,500 exempt within 14 days; JDF 89 to release funds | Don’t post the garnished amount until the court releases it; record the released net, not the frozen amount |
| Former tenant owns a house or land | $25 transcript recorded in that county; six-year lien, homestead equity protected | Keep the recording receipt and reception number in the tenant’s document folder (document vault) |
| Former tenant offers a payment plan | You can agree. If a wage writ is running, a written suspension agreement must be filed with the clerk and copied to the employer (13-54.5-102(2)) | Take plan payments by bank transfer or check, not app autopay on a dead lease. Record them against the judgment ledger and in the app as Manual or offline |
| Judgment is five years old and unpaid | County judgment expires at six years; revive with JDF 113/114/125, which must be ruled on at least a day before expiry. Re-record the transcript if you have a lien | Your exports and judgment ledger are the “efforts made to collect” the motion asks for |
| You’d rather hand it off | Attorney (collection agency for CFDCPA purposes, licensing-exempt) or AG-licensed agency (commonly 25–50% contingency per TurboTenant, not verified). Debt reporting via FrontLobby is a separate, flat-fee option | Hand over the judgment, register of actions, judgment ledger, deposit statement, and payment history. Stop contacting the debtor yourself once an agency has the file |
| Former tenant filed bankruptcy | Enforcement of the judgment is stayed (362(a)(2)); garnishments and lien steps stop | See tenant bankruptcy. Tell the employer and bank in writing through counsel |
What the app ledger should show after judgment
- Export a “judgment-day” snapshot first. PDF and CSV of the full ledger as of the judgment date, before you change anything. This is the bridge between what the app said and what the court awarded.
- Stop the automation. Delete the recurring rent charge after the possession date, turn off late-fee rules, and turn off reminder rules (RentRedi), use Stop Late Fees and then end the lease (TurboTenant), or toggle Payment Settings (Avail). An app reminder demanding $9,962.50 when the judgment is $4,135 is a misstatement with your name on it, even if the FDCPA doesn’t reach you.
- Reconcile, don’t delete. Leave the pre-judgment charges in place. If the court disallowed something, such as a late fee above the 38-12-105 cap, add a dated credit labeled “Disallowed in judgment, case no. ___” rather than deleting the charge. See partial payments & credits for each tool’s credit mechanics.
- Keep the judgment ledger outside the app. Columns: date, event (judgment, deposit credit, cost, payment), amount, interest accrued since the last event, principal balance, total due, and source (court check number or JDF 89). The apps can’t compute 8% interest, and TurboTenant can’t add a charge to a past lease, so this spreadsheet is the record that matters. It’s also exactly what Lines 1–5 of the writ ask for.
- Record money in both places. Each court check: in the app as an offline/manual payment with “Garnishment, case ___, check ___” in the notes, and in the judgment ledger. Use the date the check is received for your books and note the payday on the employer’s Form 27 if you want to reconcile.
- Payment application. How Colorado applies partial payments on a judgment (interest first, then principal, the usual creditor practice) wasn’t confirmed tonight. Use one consistent method, write it at the top of the ledger, and expect the clerk or debtor to check it.
- Taxes. For a cash-basis landlord, garnished rent is income when received, and unpaid rent you never reported generally isn’t deductible. See accounting & Schedule E and confirm with your preparer.
The security deposit and the judgment
- Has the court already applied it? Some judgments order the deposit applied. One annotated example is a minute order that “provided that the plaintiff apply the defendant’s security deposit to the judgment” (Hebron v. District Court, under C.R.C.P. 58). If yours does, the deposit is already in the number. Don’t credit it twice.
- If not, the 38-12-103 clock still runs. Colorado requires the deposit, or a written statement of “the exact reasons” for keeping any of it, within one month after the tenancy ends or the tenant surrenders (up to 60 days if the lease says so). A judgment for rent doesn’t pause that. Mail the itemized statement on time. Deductions for damage and cleaning that weren’t in the judgment stay on the statement, and what’s left is applied to the judgment balance as a dated credit in both ledgers. See security deposits & move-out.
- Don’t double-dip. If the judgment included damages for the same carpet you deducted from the deposit, you’d be collecting twice. Map each deposit deduction against the judgment’s line items.
Worked example: a $1,850 Colorado house (EXAMPLE DATA)
Hypothetical, for arithmetic only. Single-family house in Colorado Springs, one tenant, $1,850 due on the 1st, $1,850 deposit, managed in RentRedi with a 5% one-time late fee and the default reminder. September and October rent went unpaid. El Paso County Court enters judgment for possession and money on Monday, October 5, 2026: September and October rent $3,700 + two late fees of $92.50 + $250 costs (example figure, not a fee schedule) = $4,135, with no lease interest rate and no deposit credit ordered. The tenant moves out Wednesday, October 14. The JDF 105 interrogatories served with the judgment come back showing a biweekly job (disposable pay $1,700 per check) and a checking account.
- Freeze the app (October 5–14). Export the ledger. Delete the November rent charge and the recurring rule, delete the late-fee and reminder rules, add nothing after move-out, then unlink the tenant (history stays; AutoPay pauses). App balance: $4,135. That matches only because the costs were added as a one-time charge before unlinking; otherwise, it’s the spreadsheet.
- Deposit (statement mailed by Friday, November 13). $600 of documented cleaning and repair, none of it in the judgment. Refund nothing; apply the remaining $1,250 to the judgment on Tuesday, November 10. Interest from October 5 to November 10 (36 days) on $4,135 at 8% = $32.63. Applied interest-first (our assumption), the new balance is $4,135 + $32.63 − $1,250 = $2,917.63.
- Wage writ. Form 26 issued and served Friday, November 20 (writ $45 + $60 service, example = $105 post-judgment costs). Per paycheck: 20% of $1,700 = $340; the excess over the $1,212.80 biweekly floor is $487.20; the lesser is $340. The 182-day lien runs to about May 21, 2027.
- Payoff. Counting $340 from each payday starting Friday, December 4 (assuming no objection, interest at 8% simple within the first year, interest applied first): nine full checks bring the balance to $15.86 by March 26, 2027, and a final $15.91 on April 9, 2027 clears it. Total garnished: $3,075.91, about $86 of interest since judgment plus $105 of costs. In real life the court forwards checks after a lag, so mailbox dates will be later.
- Close out. File JDF 111 the week the last check clears, mail copies to the former tenant and the employer, and enter a final “Satisfied, JDF 111 filed ___” line in both ledgers. No transcript was recorded, so there’s no lien to release.
- If only the bank was known. A Form 29 writ catches $3,100 in checking; the debtor files a Claim of Exemption for $2,500 within 14 days; after the hearing or agreement, JDF 89 releases $600. Bank writs are one-shot, so a wage writ is usually the better tool for a working former tenant.
Wrong outcomes this avoids (example data):
- Leaving the recurring charge and late-fee rule on after move-out: by January the app shows November–January rent ($5,550) plus three $92.50 fees on top of $4,135, or $9,962.50, against a true balance under $3,000. An agency or reporting service fed that export reports the wrong debt.
- Forgetting the $1,250 deposit credit: the writ overstates the debt, and you over-collect $1,250 that you must refund, possibly after a motion.
- Running a bank writ and a wage writ together without updating the balance: two garnishees each think $2,917.63 is due.
- Not filing JDF 111 after April 9: the employer keeps withholding under a writ that has no balance left, and the debtor can move to compel satisfaction (C.R.C.P. 58(b)).
- Handing the $2,917.63 to an agency at 25–50% contingency (TurboTenant’s range): $729–$1,459 of it goes to the agency, when the debtor has a garnishable paycheck.
- Missing the expiration: an unrevived county judgment from October 5, 2026 is treated as satisfied after October 5, 2032, and the revival must be ruled on before then.
- Collecting under an invented name like “Pikes Peak Rent Recovery” for your own debt: that makes you a debt collector under 1692a(6) and a collection agency under 5-16-103(3)(c).
Checklist: collecting a Colorado money judgment from a former tenant
- Get the signed judgment and the register of actions. Note the court (county or district), the case number, the entry date, each line item, and any interest rate or deposit order.
- Export the app ledger (PDF and CSV) as of the judgment date.
- Stop post-possession rent charges, late-fee rules, and reminders; end or unlink the lease without deleting it.
- Start a judgment ledger spreadsheet: judgment, interest at the right rate, costs, credits, payments, running balance.
- Calendar the deposit statement deadline (one month, or the lease’s up-to-60 days) and apply any remainder to the judgment.
- Send a written payment request with the judgment balance and how to pay. Don’t use app reminders for it.
- Serve pattern interrogatories (JDF 105/108, or 252A/B in small claims) if you don’t know the employer and bank. Calendar 14 days.
- If ignored, move for a contempt citation (county) or an order to answer or show cause (Rule 69(d)(2)).
- Wages: Form 26 (notarized), $45, personal service on the employer with Forms 27 and 28; give the clerk stamped envelopes if you’re pro se.
- Bank: Form 29, $45, serve the bank and the debtor with Form 30; after 14 days with no claim, file JDF 89 and deliver it to the bank.
- Real estate, if any: $25 transcript, recorded with the county clerk and recorder; diary year five for revival and re-recording.
- Record each court check in the app (offline/manual, with case and check numbers) and in the judgment ledger.
- Diary the 182-day end of each wage writ, and re-issue if the balance remains.
- If you sign a payment plan while a writ is running, file the written suspension and copy the employer.
- If handing off, use an AG-licensed agency or a collection attorney; send the judgment ledger, not just the app export. Collect only in your own or your LLC’s name.
- If you use a debt-reporting service, report the judgment balance net of payments and update it when paid.
- If the former tenant files bankruptcy, stop every writ and see the bankruptcy page.
- When paid: JDF 111 (notarized), copies to the debtor and garnishees, release of any recorded lien, refund any overpayment, and a final ledger entry.
FAQ
- Can I keep charging late fees after the judgment? Our reading is no. The judgment amount plus statutory or lease-rate interest is what you can enforce (5-12-102(4)), and a late fee is a lease charge for late rent. Turn the rule off.
- What interest rate do I use? The lease rate if the lease sets one for unpaid amounts “until the obligation is paid”; otherwise 8% compounded annually from the entry date. On an appealed judgment, the Secretary of State’s rate (6% for 2026) with an 8% floor.
- How much of their paycheck can I get? In 2026, the lesser of 20% of disposable pay or the amount above $606.40 a week ($1,212.80 every two weeks). Nothing if they earn at or below that, and less if a judge finds the family can’t cover necessary expenses.
- Can I just take money out of the old autopay? No. A judgment doesn’t authorize pulling from a tenant’s account. Payments on a judgment are voluntary or come through a writ. TurboTenant’s Disable payments and RentRedi’s unlink already cut off autopay on a dead lease, and that’s what you want.
- Do I have to use a lawyer? No. The Judicial Branch forms are written for self-represented creditors. Pro se, checks are payable to the clerk and arrive by mail. A lawyer helps with exemption hearings, revival, execution sales, and out-of-state debtors.
- Will the judgment hurt their credit? Not directly. Civil judgments have been off nationwide credit files since 2017. A collection account reported by an agency or a service like FrontLobby can appear, and RentRedi, TurboTenant, and Avail’s own reporting is on-time only.
- How long do I have? Six years for a county-court judgment and twenty for district court, unless revived; the real-estate lien is six years either way. Start revival well before the deadline, since the court must rule at least a day before expiration.
Fit notes for 1–20 units
- RentRedi is the easiest place to record court checks (Add Payment with notes on any charge, with a Manual Entry filter) and to stop everything (rules are per unit; unlinking pauses AutoPay). Add any post-judgment charges before you unlink.
- TurboTenant needs an unpaid charge to record against and won’t add charges to a past lease, so its ledger will end at the judgment and the spreadsheet carries interest and costs. Payment notes show to the renter, so keep them factual. It’s the only one of the three that points to a negative-reporting partner (FrontLobby).
- Avail’s settings and offline-payment steps couldn’t be re-read tonight (JS-rendered help center). Screenshot what you change.
- For all three, the court file and your judgment ledger are the record. The app is just the history of how the debt got there.
Honest uncertainty callouts
- Statutes are the 2025 C.R.S. on Justia. We didn’t check 2026 session laws for changes to garnishment, exemptions, or interest.
- C.R.C.P. 58 and 69 text came from third-party rule sites (one reflecting LexisNexis text “as of May 28, 2026”), not the Judicial Branch’s rule PDFs. The county-court rules (369, 403, 354(h)) were read only as summarized in court instructions.
- JDF 82 (rev. July 2023) says a district-court judgment lien lasts 20 years; the statute says the lien expires at six years unless revived and re-recorded. We follow the statute. Court fees ($45 writs, $25 transcript, $20 satisfaction, $70 interrogatory hearing) are from JDF 82 and may have changed. County recording and sheriff or process-server fees weren’t checked.
- How Colorado applies partial payments between interest and principal on a judgment, whether a lease interest rate above 8% is enforceable for residential rent, and whether local minimum wages affect the garnishment floor weren’t resolved.
- The property-manager reading under 1692a(6)(F)(iii) and 5-16-103(3)(b)(VI)(C) is ours. Agency contingency rates (25–50%) are TurboTenant’s figure, not a survey. FrontLobby’s two published prices conflict, and its “no consent or court judgment needed” claim is the vendor’s own legal position.
- Vendor behavior not re-checked tonight: Avail offline payments, settings, and exports; whether RentRedi reminder rules keep firing on an unlinked tenant’s old charges; whether RentRedi can add charges to a prior tenant; TurboTenant reminder behavior on past leases (from earlier research).
Related
- Eviction & collections handoff: freezing e-pay and building the counsel pack before judgment
- Tenant bankruptcy & the stay: when the former tenant files and every writ has to stop
- Security deposits & move-out: the itemized statement that becomes a judgment credit
- Late fees & autopay: turning off fee rules and the 38-12-105 cap
- Partial payments & credits: dated credits instead of deletions
- Accounting & Schedule E: when garnished rent is income and what’s deductible
- Abandoned units & belongings: the balance you sue for after a skip
- When a tenant dies: claims against an estate instead of a garnishment
- Early termination & lease breaks: the lease-break balance that often ends up in court
- Co-signers & guarantors: a second judgment debtor, if the guarantor was named
- Document vault & lease files: where the judgment, writs, and JDF 111 belong
- Bank reconciliation: matching court checks to deposits
- Small Portfolio Desk home
Educational product research only, not legal advice. Which collection tool fits, what’s exempt, how interest and payments are calculated, and when a judgment expires depend on your court, your judgment, your lease, and the facts. Confirm current forms and fees with the court clerk, current ledger and payment behavior in each vendor’s help center and your live account, and talk to a Colorado attorney before you serve a writ you’re unsure about or hand a file to a third party.