Colorado Eviction Rights (2026)

Colorado requires landlords to have a statutory cause to evict most residential tenants, under the "For Cause Eviction Policy" added by HB 24-1098 (C.R.S. § 38-12-1301 to -1307). The act carried a safety clause and took effect on 19 April 2024:

• Cause is required (C.R.S. § 38-12-1303(1)): a landlord may not serve a notice to terminate tenancy, demand possession, or file an unlawful detainer action unless cause exists. "No-cause" terminations are unavailable for covered tenancies.
• Fault-based causes (C.R.S. § 38-12-1303(2)): these track the grounds in C.R.S. § 13-40-104(1) — nonpayment of rent, a substantial violation, a material violation of the lease, a repeat violation after proper notice, and conduct creating a nuisance or disturbance that interferes with quiet enjoyment or negligently damaging the property.
• No-fault grounds (C.R.S. § 38-12-1303(3)): demolition or conversion of the premises; substantial repairs or renovations; occupancy by the landlord or a family member; withdrawal from the rental market to sell; the tenant's refusal to sign a new lease with reasonable terms; and a history of late rent payments (more than two late payments during the rental agreement). Each of these is available only at the end of the lease term and requires at least 90 days' written notice (45 days where the landlord is on active military duty or is the spouse of someone who is).
• Exemptions (C.R.S. § 38-12-1302(1)): the cause requirement does not apply to short-term rentals; owner-occupied or owner-adjacent single-family homes (with or without an ADU), duplexes and triplexes that are not part of a property of four or more units; mobile home spaces leased to a home owner or under a lease-to-own agreement; employer-provided housing; tenants who have not been a tenant of the premises for at least 12 months; and tenants not known to the landlord to be a tenant.
• For nonpayment of rent, landlords must give 10 days' written notice to pay or vacate (C.R.S. § 13-40-104(1)(d)). Three days applies to nonresidential and employer-provided housing agreements, and five days to an exempt residential agreement.
• For a material lease violation, landlords must give 10 days' notice with an opportunity to cure (C.R.S. § 13-40-104(1)(e)).
• Where a tenancy is exempt from the cause requirement, the notice-to-terminate ladder in C.R.S. § 13-40-107 still applies: 91 days for a tenancy of a year or more, 28 days for six months to a year, 21 days for one to six months, 3 days for a week to a month, and 1 day for less than a week.
• Landlords must file a Forcible Entry and Detainer (FED) action in county court — "self-help" evictions are illegal, and tenants have the right to a court hearing.
• Mandatory pre-eviction mediation (HB 23-1120, effective 6 June 2023): where the tenant receives SSI, federal social security disability insurance, or Colorado Works cash assistance, the landlord and tenant must mediate before an eviction action is filed, at no cost to the tenant.
• Colorado prohibits retaliatory evictions (C.R.S. § 38-12-509).