Colorado eviction law

Before filing an eviction for unpaid rent, serve a written demand giving the tenant ten days to pay the rent or give up possession. The lease cannot waive this notice.

C.R.S. § 13-40-104(1)(d)

• The period is five days under an exempt residential agreement: a lease of a single-family home by a landlord who owns five or fewer single-family rentals and says in the lease that the ten-day period does not apply. Employer-provided housing uses three days. C.R.S. § 13-40-104(1)(d) C.R.S. § 13-40-104(5)(c), (d)
• The demand must state the grounds and a specific description, describe the premises, give the date and time to deliver possession, be signed, and be written in English, Spanish or the tenant's primary language if you know it. C.R.S. § 13-40-106(1), (3)
• It must also tell the tenant that a tenant receiving SSI, SSDI or Colorado Works cash assistance has a right to mediation before you file, and that a tenant who missed rent because of domestic violence, domestic abuse, stalking or unlawful sexual behavior may be entitled to a repayment plan of up to nine months. C.R.S. § 13-40-106(2), (4)
• Serve it by handing it to the tenant, leaving it with a household member older than fifteen, or posting it on the premises after trying in person on two separate days. C.R.S. § 13-40-108
• You must accept full payment of all amounts due under the notice, plus rent that has since come due, at any time until judgment, and the tenant cannot waive that right. C.R.S. § 13-40-115(4), (5)
• An unpaid late fee is not grounds for eviction. C.R.S. § 38-12-105(1)(d)
• For properties covered by the federal CARES Act notice rule, you must also follow 15 U.S.C. 9058(c) as enacted on March 27, 2020. C.R.S. § 38-12-1502(1)

For a breach of a material lease term, serve written notice giving the tenant ten days to comply or give up possession (five days under an exempt residential agreement, three for employer-provided housing).

C.R.S. § 13-40-104(1)(e)

• If the tenant violates the same term again after that notice, the tenancy may be ended on ten days' written notice to terminate. C.R.S. § 13-40-104(1)(e.5)
• A substantial violation, such as conduct that endangers people or a violent or drug-related felony on or near the premises, allows termination three days after written notice that describes the property, the date and the grounds. C.R.S. § 13-40-107.5(3), (4)
• Conduct that disturbs others or causes a nuisance, or negligent damage, needs ten days' written notice describing the specific conduct and requiring it to stop. C.R.S. § 13-40-104(1)(j)
• A tenant who is a victim-survivor of domestic violence, domestic abuse, stalking or unlawful sexual behavior that caused the violation, and who documents it, is protected from eviction on these grounds, and changing the locks for safety is not a violation. C.R.S. § 13-40-104(4) C.R.S. § 38-12-402(7)(b)

For most residential tenancies an eviction needs a cause the law recognizes, a proper written notice, and a court judgment. Eviction cases are filed in county or district court on the court's standard complaint form, and a tenant is removed only under a writ of restitution after judgment.

C.R.S. § 13-40-104(1) C.R.S. § 38-12-1303(1) C.R.S. § 38-12-510(1)

• Cause includes unpaid rent, a substantial violation, a material or repeated lease violation, nuisance, and the no-fault grounds with 90 days' notice. C.R.S. § 38-12-1303(2), (3) See Ending a month-to-month tenancy on the Colorado page
• Before filing against a tenant who receives SSI, SSDI or Colorado Works cash assistance, you must go through mediation at no cost to the tenant, unless the tenant did not disclose that income when you asked in writing, or you are a landlord with five or fewer single-family rentals and no more than five units, or a qualifying nonprofit. C.R.S. § 13-40-110(1)
• The summons sets an appearance seven to fourteen days after it issues and tells the tenant that case records stay suppressed until possession is granted and that either side may appear remotely in county court. C.R.S. § 13-40-111(1), (4)
• County court judgments for rent and damages in eviction cases are limited to $25,000, not counting costs and attorney fees. C.R.S. § 13-40-109
• The court may not issue a writ until 48 hours after judgment, and a residential writ may not be carried out until ten days after judgment, or thirty days for a tenant receiving SSI, SSDI or Colorado Works cash assistance unless the judgment is for a substantial violation or the landlord has five or fewer single-family rentals and no more than five units. Writs are carried out only between sunrise and sunset and expire 49 days after issue. C.R.S. § 13-40-122(1) C.R.S. § 13-40-115(3)
• The tenant may raise the landlord's failure to follow the for-cause law, a habitability breach or retaliation as a defense. C.R.S. § 38-12-1306 C.R.S. § 38-12-507(2) C.R.S. § 38-12-509(1.5)
• The winning side recovers attorney fees only if the lease lets either party recover them, and a lease fee clause must favor the prevailing party. C.R.S. § 13-40-123 C.R.S. § 38-12-801(3)(a)(II)
• Use the Judicial Branch's current form list: JDF 99 A is the demand for compliance, JDF 99 B addresses repeated or substantial violations, and JDF 99 C addresses qualifying no-fault grounds. Choose the proper language version, complete any required pre-filing mediation and use JDF 101 for the complaint and JDF 102 for the summons. Colorado Judicial Branch: residential eviction steps
• For service, the court page lists the complaint and summons together with blank JDF 103 (Eviction Answer) and JDF 108 (Request for Documents). Give the server JDF 98, the Affidavit of Service, and file the completed return. These court papers serve a different purpose from the earlier demand or termination notice. Colorado Judicial Branch: residential eviction steps
• Prepare a clearly labeled hearing file with the lease, notice, service records, payment history, relevant messages and photographs. The court page also lists JDF 106 A and B for a stipulated agreement and its order. Review the actual settlement terms and court directions before assuming a discussion has resolved the case. Colorado Judicial Branch: residential eviction steps

You may not remove or exclude a tenant without going to court, except with the tenant's consent, under the rules for cleaning up an illegal drug laboratory, or when the tenant has clearly abandoned the home. Willfully shutting off utilities or removing doors, windows or locks, other than for repairs, counts as an unlawful exclusion.

C.R.S. § 38-12-510(1)

• Abandonment is shown by returned keys, substantial removal of belongings, notice from the tenant, or an extended absence while rent is unpaid, if any of these would lead a reasonable person to believe the tenant permanently gave up possession. C.R.S. § 38-12-510(1)
• A tenant who is unlawfully excluded is owed actual damages plus the greater of three times the monthly rent or $5,000, attorney fees and costs, and the court may restore possession. C.R.S. § 38-12-510(2), (3)
• You may bill utilities only at the utility's charge, plus a fee of up to 2 percent of the bill or $10 a month (not both), or through a ratio billing system that stays within the total bill, excludes common areas and is disclosed in the lease. C.R.S. § 6-1-737(4)(a), (4.5) C.R.S. § 38-12-801(3)(a)(VI)

Colorado's statutes read for this page address property left behind in a few settings only. After an eviction, you have no duty to store belongings removed when the writ is carried out; if you choose to store them, you may charge reasonable storage costs and either release them once those are paid or dispose of them under your landlord's lien.

C.R.S. § 13-40-122(3), (4)

• A landlord has a lien for unpaid rent on the tenant's furniture, goods and appliances in the home, but not on pets, small kitchen appliances, cooking utensils, beds, bedding, necessary clothing, records or personal effects. Once the tenant has moved out, allow reasonable access to remove property not covered by the lien. C.R.S. § 38-20-102(3)
• Property under a lien is presumed abandoned after at least 30 days without contact from the owner, and you must send at least 15 days' notice by registered or certified mail before selling or disposing of it. C.R.S. § 38-20-116(1), (2)
• The officer carrying out a writ checks for pets and hands them to the tenant or animal control; no pet may be left unattended. C.R.S. § 13-40-122(2.5)
• After a tenant's death, you may take possession without an eviction if the estate's representative gives notice of surrender, or if 30 days after the death rent is unpaid or substantially all property is gone. C.R.S. § 38-12-801(3.5)(b)

You may not retaliate against a tenant for a good faith complaint about habitability to you, a nonprofit or a government agency, for organizing or joining a tenants' association, or for using habitability remedies. Retaliation includes raising rent, cutting services, ending or not renewing the tenancy, threatening or filing an eviction, harassment, and charging fees.

C.R.S. § 38-12-509(1)

• The tenant need only show that the protected activity was a motivating factor, not the sole reason. C.R.S. § 38-12-509(1.7)
• A retaliating landlord owes up to the greater of three months' rent or three times the tenant's actual damages, plus attorney fees and costs, and the tenant may end the lease. Retaliation is also a defense to eviction. C.R.S. § 38-12-509(1.5), (2)
• You may not retaliate against a victim-survivor for changing locks or taking reasonable safety measures, or against a tenant for asserting rights on immigration status. C.R.S. § 38-12-402(7)(a) C.R.S. § 38-12-1203(1)(c)
• Replacing a broken appliance with a different model of substantially the same features is presumed not retaliatory. C.R.S. § 38-12-509(3)