Colorado eviction rules for tenants

If you get an eviction notice

1. Read it closely: the kind of notice, the amount, the dates and how it was delivered. Use the timeline below.
2. Don't move out or stop paying because of a notice alone. Only a court can order an eviction; the notice is the first step.
3. Get free legal help now. Legal aid and the court's self-help center can check whether the notice is valid.
4. If you are served with court papers, respond by the deadline and go to every hearing. Missing one can mean losing by default.
5. Keep copies of the notice, your lease, rent receipts, texts and photos.

Eviction in Colorado

Notice for unpaid rent

10-day written demand to pay rent or move out (5 days for an 'exempt residential agreement': a single-family home rented by a landlord who owns five or fewer single-family rentals and says so in the lease). The notice must describe the grounds, mention the right to mediation for tenants on SSI, SSDI or Colorado Works, and be in English, Spanish or your primary language. C.R.S. §§ 13-40-104(1)(d), 13-40-106.

Notice for a lease violation

10-day notice to comply with the lease or move out (5 days for exempt residential agreements). A repeat violation of the same rule allows a 10-day notice to terminate with no chance to cure. A 'substantial violation' (certain serious crimes or acts endangering others) allows a 3-day notice to terminate. C.R.S. §§ 13-40-104(1)(e), (e.5), 13-40-107.5.

Ending a month-to-month tenancy

If you have lived there at least 12 months, most landlords need a legal 'cause' to end your tenancy or refuse to renew (for-cause eviction law, HB24-1098, since April 19, 2024). Not covered: tenants of less than 12 months, short-term rentals, and units in an owner-occupied (or owner-adjacent) single-family home, duplex or triplex. 'No-fault' causes are limited to demolition or conversion, major renovation, owner or family move-in, sale, refusing a new lease with reasonable terms, and a history of nonpayment; demolition/conversion and renovation require at least 90 days' written notice. Where a periodic tenancy can be ended, and for tenants ending one, the notice is: tenancy of 1 to 6 months (including month-to-month), 21 days; 6 months to 1 year, 28 days; 1 year or longer, 91 days. C.R.S. §§ 13-40-107, 38-12-1302, 38-12-1303.

Time to respond to an eviction lawsuit

The summons sets an appearance date 7 to 14 days after it is issued. You must file a written answer at or before that date and time (or appear) or the court can enter a default judgment for possession. C.R.S. §§ 13-40-111, 13-40-113.

Lockouts and utility shutoffs

Yes. The landlord may not remove or lock you out, willfully shut off utilities (heat, water, hot water, electricity, gas), or remove doors, windows or locks without a court order. You can sue to get back in and recover your actual damages plus statutory damages of three times the monthly rent or $5,000, whichever is higher, plus attorney fees. C.R.S. § 38-12-510.

Court self-help

The court's eviction self-help page

Law

C.R.S. §§ 13-40-104, 13-40-106, 13-40-107, 13-40-111, 13-40-113, 38-12-510, 38-12-1303

Eviction notice timeline for Colorado

Got a notice from your landlord? Enter the kind of notice and the day you got it to see the dates that follow from your state's rule, what your landlord may not do, and where to get free help fast.

Where to get free help in Colorado

• Colorado Judicial Branch: Self-Help Forms (Housing Cases / Residential Evictions)
• Colorado Division of Real Estate: HB25-1249 tenant security deposit summary
• Colorado Legal Services (statewide free legal aid)

Retaliation in Colorado

The landlord may not raise rent, cut services, end or refuse to renew your lease, sue or threaten to evict you, harass you, or charge fees because you made a good-faith complaint about conditions (to the landlord, a nonprofit or a government agency), joined a tenants' association, or used your habitability rights. You only need to show your complaint was a 'motivating factor.' Damages: three months' rent or three times your actual damages, whichever is greater, plus attorney fees, and you may end the lease. It is also a defense to eviction. The statute sets no presumption period. C.R.S. § 38-12-509.

Rent increases and rent control in Colorado

Notice of a rent increase

At least 60 days' written notice if you have no written lease. Rent may be raised only once in any 12 months, whether or not there is a written lease. A fixed-term lease cannot be raised during its term unless it allows it. C.R.S. §§ 38-12-701, 38-12-702.

Rent control

No statewide rent cap. Cities and counties are not allowed to control rents on private housing (C.R.S. § 38-12-301), except through voluntary affordable-housing agreements.

Questions about eviction in Colorado

More for Colorado renters

• All Colorado tenant rights
• Security deposit: Colorado
• Repairs: Colorado
• Eviction notice periods by state
• Guide: what to do if you get an eviction notice

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