Contracts, fees, and levels of care (Colorado)

Last reviewed: August 27, 2026

This page is for adult children on Colorado’s Western Slope who are about to read a resident agreement. It is educational only. It is not legal advice, financial advice, or a recommendation of any home. A Colorado lawyer can read a specific contract with you. This page cannot.

This directory is a separate business from High Desert Assisted Living in Clifton, Colorado. Jason and Laura Cheney operate both; the directory is not an official state list and is not a CDPHE, HCPF, or Medicare rating tool. Nothing on this page is a recommendation of that home.

Colorado’s current assisted-living rule is 6 CCR 1011-1 Chapter 7 (Board of Health adopted January 15, 2025; effective March 17, 2025). The money rules below come from that text and from CRS 25-27 (2024 official Title 25 printout). This is not a quote of any home’s fee sheet.

The short version

In Colorado, the money conversation is supposed to happen in writing, in a resident agreement that both sides sign and date at move-in.

That agreement has to list charges, refunds, and deposit rules; which services are in the rate; every optional service with a price; any fee to hold a place while the person is away; who provides linens and furnishings; a security-deposit refund if the home closes without 30 days’ written notice; and the reasons the home can discharge someone, including nonpayment. The agreement cannot waive state or federal law.

“Community fee” and “entrance fee” are not Chapter 7 terms. There is no official dollar cap on those charges. Ask anyway. If the home uses those words, get the amount and the refund rule in the signed list.

Colorado does not require a private-pay “points” or “care level” price list. If a home uses levels, each charge has to be specified. In the rule, “level of care” is also a discharge reason — whether the home can meet the person’s needs.

Who pays if the resident cannot is not answered by a “never sign as guarantor” statute. Chapter 7 is silent on adult-child personal liability. Ask who the agreement binds.

If the home starts an involuntary discharge, 30 calendar days’ written notice is the default. File a grievance in 14 days. The home answers in 5 business days. You can then appeal to CDPHE. Nonpayment discharge can happen on day 31.

Take the packet home. Do not sign on tour day.

The written resident agreement

At move-in, the home must make sure the resident and/or the resident’s legal representative has received a copy of the written agreement and agreed to it. Both sides sign and date it (Chapter 7, 11.3).

A Chapter 7 “legal representative” is a closed list (2.54):

a court-appointed guardian, acting within the guardianship
an agent named in a power of attorney, as that paper allows
a proxy decision-maker under CRS 15-18.5 — for medical treatment decisions only
a court-appointed conservator, acting within the conservatorship

A family member who is none of those is not a Chapter 7 legal representative. The rule does not create a third category called “responsible party.”

The agreement cannot waive the law (11.4). A clause that says the family “waives” Chapter 7 rights, the 30-day discharge notice, or the grievance path does not make those rights go away.

The home must review the agreement at least once a year. Amendments must be signed and dated by both sides (11.5). If the home is sold, the new owner must either honor each existing agreement or write a new one with each resident.

What the money section has to say (11.6)

In the rule	What to look for
(A) Charges, refunds, and deposit policies	The full price list, how refunds work, and every deposit rule — in the signed paper, not a verbal tour pitch.
(B) Services provided, not provided, and those the home will help you get elsewhere	What they do, what they do not do, and what they will help arrange.
(C) Services included in the agreed rate, and every optional service with the specified charge for each	This is the legal hook. Included vs add-on, and a price for each extra. If “care level 2,” incontinence supplies, or a “community fee” is extra, it belongs here with a number.
(D) Any fee to hold a place while the resident is away, and when it is charged	Hospital, rehab, a family visit — will they hold the bed, and what does that cost?
(E) Who provides linens, bath and hygiene supplies, furnishings, phones, and auxiliary aids	Who buys the sheets, the bed, a walker?
(F) A guarantee that any security deposit is fully refunded if the home closes without 30 days’ written notice	If they shut the doors with less than 30 days’ written notice, the security deposit comes back in full. The rule does not set a dollar cap on that deposit.
(G) Reasons the home could involuntarily discharge someone (11.11 and 11.12)	Those reasons must be in the agreement. They include nonpayment.

Room and board, personal services, protective oversight, and social care are the minimum services a licensed home must make available (12.1). How those are priced is 11.6, not 12.1.

CDPHE’s 2019 How to Choose an Assisted Living Residence (still linked from the consumer-resources page) asks the same money questions: charges, refunds, hold-a-bed, security-deposit reimbursement, services identified, discharge reasons. Use it as a checklist. It is not a substitute for the 2025 Chapter 7 text. Phones printed on that 2019 brochure are stale; do not use them.

Deposits, hold-a-place, and “community fees”

Chapter 7 uses the words deposit, security deposit, and hold a place. A full-text search of the current rule found zero hits for “community fee” or “entrance fee.”

There is no Chapter 7 dollar cap on a security deposit, a community fee, or an entrance fee. This page does not invent one.

What the rule does require: any charge that is part of the deal belongs in 11.6(A) and 11.6(C) with the amount and the refund rule. If a one-time move-in, “community,” “entrance,” or “reservation” fee is not on the included list and not on the optional list with a specified charge, ask them to add it before anyone signs.

Ask: the amount; refundable or not; and what happens on death, a hospital transfer, or a 30-day move-out notice.

A national cost survey asked providers whether they charge a non-refundable community or entrance fee. That question is why families should ask. That fee is not part of any published monthly median, and this page does not treat a survey question as a Colorado cap.

Life-care / CCRC entrance fees are a different product. Colorado has a separate life-care statute (CRS 11-49) for some campus contracts. Those rules were not opened for this page, and this directory has not confirmed whether any Mesa County assisted living home is also a life-care provider. Do not treat a life-care escrow rule as a Chapter 7 community-fee cap.

Hold-a-place (11.6(D))

The agreement must state the amount of any fee to hold a place while the resident is absent, and the circumstances under which it is charged. The rule does not set that amount.

Ask: hospital, rehab, family visit, vacation; daily vs monthly; whether a care-level add-on continues; who packs the room if the person does not come back.

The rent-forfeiture rule is not a community-fee cap

CRS 25-27-104.5 is about rent when a resident moves for a medical condition or dies.

If a lease or contract says the home keeps more than 30 days of rent in those two situations, that forfeiture clause is against public policy and is void. Forfeiture of 30 days of rent after a medical move-out or death does not violate the section. The rest of the contract can still stand.

The forfeiture language must appear on the front page, in no less than 12-point bold type, in the form the statute prints (month-to-month; the lessor shall not require forfeiture of rent beyond a 30-day period if the lessee moves due to a medical condition or dies).

If the resident moves for a medical condition or dies, the home must return rent paid beyond those 30 days to the resident or the estate. The home may charge a daily rental for days the person’s belongings stay in the room after the paid-rent period, plus usual cleaning time. “Daily rental charges” means an amount not more than one-thirtieth of 30 days’ rent, plus reasonable expenses.

That is a rent-forfeiture rule. It is not a community-fee cap and not a security-deposit dollar maximum. Article 25-27 does not use the words “community fee” or “entrance fee.”

Levels of care (not a state points system)

Chapter 7 does not require a private-pay “points,” “care level 1–4,” or “substantial care” schedule. Homes may still use one. If they do, 11.6(C) requires each optional service with the specified charge.

In the rule, “level of care” is a discharge reason, not a state price list:

11.16: 30 days’ written notice except when the resident needs a level of care the home cannot meet, or is a danger to self or others
11.17(D): if discharge is because of a medical or physical condition that needs a level of care the home cannot treat with routine staff or an outside provider, the notice must include an assessment by the resident’s health-care or behavioral-health provider

Ask:

Is the monthly rate all-in for the care in the care plan?
If not, what is the level or points schedule, and where is each charge on the 11.6(C) list?
What event moves someone up a level, who decides, and is that a 30-day written notice — or do they claim a “documented decline” exception?
Get the current care plan (11.7(H)) next to the rate sheet.

Do not expect a Colorado-wide points schedule. There is no official private-pay level price list on a government page this directory opened.

Fit is not a price list. A home may accept only people whose needs existing staff, the building, and current services can fully meet (11.1). It may not move in — and later must discharge — a person who needs regular 24-hour medical or nursing care, cannot manage medications if the home has no licensed or QMAP staff, has unmanageable acute illness, mobility, incontinence, or stage 3–4 pressure sores (unless 12.4 applies), is profoundly disoriented and needs a secure environment the home does not have, or needs more services than the home or an outside provider can routinely give (11.2, 11.11).

30 days’ written notice before they change the charge

Residents have “the right to thirty (30) calendar days’ written notice of changes in services … including, but not limited to, involuntary change of room or changes in charges for a service” (13.1(D)(9)).

Two exceptions in the same subpart:

a documented decline that increases the care needed to protect health and safety
the resident or family requests additional services on the care plan

A mid-stay “we’re raising the level” should either be a signed 11.5 amendment after 30 days’ written notice, or fit one of those two exceptions. Ask which, in writing.

Who can be on the hook

Chapter 7 and CRS Article 25-27 are silent on “responsible party,” “guarantor,” and “personally liable.” A full-text search of both found zero hits.

This page does not say “Colorado law says never sign as guarantor.” That statute is not there. Whether a family member who signs a line labeled “responsible party,” “guarantor,” or “financially responsible person” is personally liable is a contract and other-law question this page does not answer.

What 11.8 does say: the home may not take power of attorney or guardianship over a resident unless a court orders it, and may not require the resident to sign over a loan, advance, financial interest, mortgage, or other property in exchange for future services.

That protects the resident. It does not, on its face, say an adult child who voluntarily signs as guarantor is off the hook.

The agreement is given to “the resident and/or the resident’s legal representative” — the 2.54 list above. A child who is paying the bill but has no POA, guardianship, or conservatorship is not that defined person.

Ask in writing before anyone signs: does this agreement bind only the resident (and a 2.54 legal representative acting in that role), or does a family signature make that person a guarantor? If they want a guarantor, that is a contract term, not a Chapter 7 requirement. This page does not tell you whether to sign.

CDPHE’s consumer pages do not publish a “do not sign as guarantor” warning. The 2019 Protecting Personal Property brochure is about belongings and theft, not adult-child bill liability.

If the home holds the resident’s money (11.9–11.10)

The home is not required to handle resident funds (11.9).

If it chooses to, it needs a policy and must:

get written, notarized authorization from the resident or legal representative, with terms and duration
keep any funds over five hundred dollars in an interest-bearing account, separate from the home’s operating money, with interest going to the resident (that five-hundred-dollar figure is in the official rule; it is a fund-handling threshold, not a community-fee or deposit cap)
post a surety bond large enough to protect residents’ personal funds
keep a dated record of every transaction for at least three years after the stay ends
give a receipt each time money goes out, plus a quarterly report

11.10 is about the home holding the resident’s cash. It is not a rule that makes a child personally liable for rent.

30-day discharge, grievance, and CDPHE appeal

Two official texts match on the family-facing clock: Chapter 7 Parts 11.11–11.18 and 9.3, and CRS 25-27-104.3 (2024 official printout; created by SB 22-154 in 2022). Later session amendments to 25-27-104.3 were not confirmed in a newer official HTML edition. Chapter 7 (effective March 17, 2025) implements the same timeline.

This is not legal advice on any one notice. If a notice arrives, call the ombudsman the same day.

When the home must, or may, discharge

The home shall arrange to discharge a resident who has an unmanageable acute illness; mobility limits staff and aids cannot cover; unmanageable incontinence; a stage 3 or 4 pressure sore that does not meet 12.4; profound disorientation that needs a secure environment the home does not have; conduct that is a danger the home cannot address; or more services than the home or an outside provider can routinely give (11.11).

The home may also discharge for nonpayment of basic services under the agreement, or for failure to comply with a valid, signed agreement (11.12).

Before a discharge for increased care needs, the home must make documented efforts to meet those needs another way (11.14).

30 calendar days — and the two exceptions

Default: written notice of any discharge 30 calendar days in advance, to the resident, the legal representative, and any relative or other person the resident named to get discharge notice.

Exception (11.16 and 25-27-104.3(1)(c)): if the stated reason is that the resident needs a level of care the home cannot meet, or has shown they are a danger to themselves or others, 30 days is not required. The home must still give as much written notice as is reasonable, to the same people and the state and local ombudsman. The resident may still file a grievance within 14 days after receiving the written notice, even if already moved.

A copy of any involuntary-discharge notice goes to the state long-term care ombudsman and the local ombudsman within five calendar days of the date it was given to the resident and legal representative (11.18).

What the notice must contain (11.17)

a detailed explanation, including facts and evidence for each reason, and a recounting of events leading to the discharge (what happened over time, what they tried, and when)
a statement that the person receiving the notice may file a grievance within 14 days (whether or not the resident has already been removed); that the home must respond within five business days; and that if dissatisfied they may appeal to the CDPHE Executive Director
names and contact information (phone, physical address, email) for the state ombudsman, the local ombudsman, and CDPHE
if the reason is a medical or physical condition and a level of care the home cannot treat with routine staff or an outside provider: an assessment by the resident’s physician or applicable health-care or behavioral-health provider

The grievance and appeal clock

The home must name a person to receive these grievances.
Anyone who was entitled to the 11.16 notice may file, within 14 calendar days after the written notice. File in writing or orally. If oral, keep proof (a witness); the home must keep the witness’s name and contact.
No later than 5 business days after you file, the home’s designee gives a written response to everyone who was entitled to notice, plus the state and local ombudsman.
That written response must tell you that if you are dissatisfied, you may appeal to the CDPHE Executive Director within 5 business days after receiving it. The appeal must include the original grievance, the original notice and supporting papers, and anything extra.
CDPHE reviews as soon as possible, but no later than 60 days after receiving the appeal, to decide whether the discharge followed the law and this process. It may talk with the resident, the home, and the ombudsman.
No retaliation. The home must keep helping plan a discharge or transfer while the grievance or appeal is pending.
If the resident, the filer, or the home is dissatisfied with CDPHE’s findings, they may request a hearing under CRS 24-4-105.

The state or local ombudsman may help investigate, prepare, and file the grievance or the appeal.

Use the official ALR Involuntary Discharge Notification Form linked from CDPHE’s Assisted Living Residence Consumer Resources page. Include the required documents. If you need help, call the ombudsman.

Nonpayment — day 31, and return if they were current

If the stated reason is nonpayment of monthly services or room and board, the home may discharge on the thirty-first day after written notice. If the grievance and appeal process finds the resident substantially complied with payments due, the home shall allow the resident to return.

If Medicaid may pay services (ACF)

If the person is on Health First Colorado and the home is an Alternative Care Facility, Medicaid may pay services. The member still pays room and board. HCPF’s glossary says residences are licensed and certified, and “You pay the full cost of room and board and may have to share the cost of the services.”

An ACF is a licensed assisted living residence that is also certified by HCPF. This page does not name a single controlling HCPF rule number. Ask in writing: “Are you currently HCPF-certified as an ACF?” Do not accept “we take Medicaid” as a substitute.

ACF certification does not replace the resident-agreement, deposit, or 30-day discharge rules above. Room-and-board nonpayment is still an 11.12 / day-31 path.

Confirm current certification with the home and with the Case Management Agency (in Mesa County: Rocky Mountain Health Plans). This directory does not publish an official public ACF facility list.

If something goes wrong

Long-term care ombudsman — a free, confidential, resident-directed advocate for people in licensed assisted living. They help with grievances and involuntary-discharge appeals. They do not license or fine homes.

State office (on the CDPHE consumer-resources page, checked August 27, 2026): Office of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman, now at CDHS, 1575 Sherman, 9th Floor, Denver, CO 80203. Phone 303-862-3524. Email cdhs_ltcombudsman@state.co.us. Website coombudsman.org.
Mesa / Region 11 — call to confirm which line is current intake. Official pages list more than one number: 970-248-2717 (state directory), 970-683-2676, and 970-644-0407. This page does not pick one.

CDPHE licenses and investigates. Anyone can file; anonymous complaints are accepted; there is usually a one-year window. Use the health-facilities complaints process page. This page does not publish intake phone numbers.

Hilltop ADRC (Mesa County options counseling): 970-248-2746, option 1. Hilltop also operates senior-living communities (Commons, Fountains, and Cottages). That is a different role from ADRC counseling.

RMHP Case Management Agency is the Medicaid care-plan agency. It is not a complaint line.

Look the home up yourself on CDPHE Find and Compare (surveys and occurrences from about the last three years). That tool is not a star rating.

Checklist to take home

Every line below is something Chapter 7, CRS 25-27, or a CDPHE / HCPF page says you can ask for or must be given. This is not a fee-sheet template and not a quote.

Before / at signing

Also in the move-in packet (11.7) — these change what you are buying

How to get admission/discharge, grievance, house-rules, and (if they have one) resident-fund policies
Minimum staffing; whether staff are awake 24 hours; how much licensed or certified clinical staff is on site. Chapter 7 requires at least one qualifying staff member present whenever residents are present, and first-aid and CPR coverage on site. It does not by itself require awake night staff — 11.7 requires the home to tell you whether they have them
Automatic fire sprinklers — yes or no
Exit-alert devices, cameras or location monitoring, and whether they operate a secure environment
The resident’s individualized care plan, next to the 11.6 rate list
Most recent inspection report, readily available on site, plus Find and Compare
A copy of current Chapter 7, if you ask

If a discharge notice arrives

Keep the written notice
Confirm the ombudsman copy within 5 calendar days
Grievance within 14 days (oral or written) to the home’s designated person
Written response due in 5 business days
Appeal to the CDPHE Executive Director within 5 business days of that response, using the ALR Involuntary Discharge Notification Form
Nonpayment: clock is day 31; if the process finds substantial compliance, they shall take the resident back

Official pages this guide used

6 CCR 1011-1 Chapter 7 (current SOS PDF)
Colorado Revised Statutes 2024, Title 25 (25-27-104.3 and 25-27-104.5)
CDPHE Assisted Living Residence Consumer Resources
ALR Involuntary Discharge Notification Form
CDPHE Find and Compare Facilities
Health facilities complaints process
HCPF Alternative Care Facilities
HCPF LTSS Benefits and Services Glossary
Colorado Long-Term Care Ombudsman

This page does not invent private-pay prices, community-fee dollars, level-of-care prices, or deposit caps. It is not a quote and not a recommendation.