- Home
- Lease agreement
- Colorado
- Month-to-month
Colorado month-to-month lease agreement
Written for Colorado law, checked September 24, 2026 General information, not legal advice
A month-to-month tenancy renews each month until the landlord or the tenant gives notice. Choose month-to-month as the lease type, or set a fixed-term lease to convert to month-to-month when its term ends.
Colorado rules that apply
- Ending a month-to-month tenancy
- 21 days
- for a tenancy of one month to under six months; 28 or 91 days for longer ones
- C.R.S. § 13-40-107(2)
- Rent increase notice
- 60 days
- where there is no written agreement; once per 12 months
- C.R.S. § 38-12-701(2)(a)C.R.S. § 38-12-702(1)
Ending a month-to-month tenancy
Written notice to end a periodic tenancy at the end of a period, or not to renew a fixed term, depends on the length of the tenancy: at least 91 days for one year or longer, 28 days for six months to under a year, 21 days for one month to under six months, three days for one week to under a month, and one day for less than a week. A tenant may use these notices for any home, but a landlord may end a covered residential tenancy only with a cause the for-cause eviction law allows.
C.R.S. § 13-40-107(1), (2) C.R.S. § 38-12-1303(1)
More detail (5)
- The for-cause rule does not cover, among others, short-term rentals, single-family homes, duplexes and triplexes where the owner lives on site or next door, employer-provided housing, and tenants who have been in the home less than twelve months; for those, the landlord may use the notice periods alone. C.R.S. § 38-12-1302(1) C.R.S. § 13-40-107(1)
- For a covered tenancy, no-fault grounds such as sale, demolition, substantial renovation, the owner or a family member moving in, or refusal to sign a new lease with reasonable terms generally need at least 90 days' written notice stating the legal and factual basis; an owner on active military duty moving in needs 45 days. C.R.S. § 38-12-1303(3), (5)
- The notice must describe the property and the date the tenancy ends, and be signed by the party or their agent or attorney. C.R.S. § 13-40-107(3)
- A tenant whose fixed term ends on a set date does not need to give notice. C.R.S. § 13-40-107(4)
- A lease may not charge a fee or penalty for a tenant's failure to give notice of nonrenewal, beyond your actual losses. C.R.S. § 38-12-801(3)(a)(IV)
Rent increases
You may raise the rent no more than once in any twelve-month period of the tenant's consecutive occupancy, whatever the length or type of tenancy and whether or not there is a written agreement. Where there is no written agreement, a rent increase needs at least 60 days' written notice.
C.R.S. § 38-12-702(1) C.R.S. § 38-12-701(2)(a)
More detail (5)
- For a tenancy with no written agreement, you may not serve a notice to end the tenancy mainly to raise the rent in a way that avoids the 60-day rule. C.R.S. § 38-12-701(2)(b)
- Part 7 sets no notice period for an increase when there is a written agreement; the lease terms govern. C.R.S. § 38-12-701 C.R.S. § 38-12-702
- You may not raise rent in a discriminatory, retaliatory or unconscionable way to get around the for-cause eviction law, and raising rent in response to a protected complaint or repair request is prohibited retaliation. C.R.S. § 38-12-1307 C.R.S. § 38-12-509(1)(b)(I) See Retaliation on the Colorado page
- Counties and cities may not control rent on private residential property. C.R.S. § 38-12-301(1) See Rent control and local rules on the Colorado page
- Before preparing an increase letter, record whether the tenancy has a written agreement, the current rent, the date of the last increase and the proposed start date. Identify the property and tenants, show the old and new rent and the dollar difference, and explain how to ask questions or discuss a renewal. Check the applicable lease terms, notice period and twelve-month limit before delivery. Keep the letter, delivery record and any response together, and update the payment schedule only for the properly established effective date. A disagreement about the proposed rent does not by itself resolve the separate renewal or possession rules. C.R.S. § 38-12-702(1) C.R.S. § 38-12-701(2)(a) C.R.S. § 38-12-1307
The Colorado lease limits rent increases to once in any twelve months of consecutive occupancy and states the 60-day written notice where there is no written agreement.