Outline of the eviction process in Colorado

Colorado evictions are called forcible entry and detainer (FED) actions. The procedure is in C.R.S. Title 13, Article 40, and residential cases are ordinarily filed in the county court of the county where the property sits. The residential nonpayment notice is ten days, not three, and since April 19, 2024 most residential tenants who have been in place for 12 months can be removed, or non-renewed, only for a cause listed in the statute (C.R.S. § 38-12-1301 to 38-12-1307, added by HB 24-1098). Notices have required content, so use the current Judicial Branch JDF 99 forms, not an old template.

1. Grounds

Cause is required. A landlord may not serve a notice to terminate or a demand for possession, or file an FED case, unless there is cause (§ 38-12-1303(1)). Cause means one of the grounds in § 13-40-104: unpaid rent, a substantial violation, a material lease violation, a repeat violation, nuisance or negligent damage, or a statutory no-fault ground. The end of the lease term is not, by itself, cause.

Who is not covered (§ 38-12-1302). The for-cause part does not apply to short-term rentals; a single-family home, duplex or triplex that is the owner’s or master tenant’s primary residence; mobile home spaces; employer-provided housing; a tenant who has not been a tenant of the premises for at least 12 months; or an occupant the landlord does not know to be a tenant.

No-fault grounds (§ 38-12-1303(3)). Each requires written notice at least 90 days before the move-out date (45 days on the owner-occupancy ground if the landlord is an individual on active military duty or that person’s spouse): demolition or conversion of the premises; substantial repairs or renovations; occupancy by the landlord or a family member; withdrawing a single-family home, townhome, duplex, triplex or individual condominium unit from the rental market to sell it; the tenant’s refusal to sign a new rental agreement with reasonable terms; and late rent more than two times during the rental agreement. Most can be used only at the end of the lease term and each has its own conditions, so read the subsection you rely on before you serve.

Enforcement. Rent may not be raised in a discriminatory, retaliatory or unconscionable manner to get around the for-cause law (§ 38-12-1307). Noncompliance with the for-cause part is an affirmative defense, and the court must dismiss if the landlord cannot show compliance (§ 38-12-1306).

2. Notices

• Nonpayment: ten days (§ 13-40-104(1)(d)). A written demand for the rent or possession. The period is five days for an “exempt residential agreement” and three days for nonresidential and employer-provided housing agreements. An exempt residential agreement is a lease of a single-family home by a landlord who owns five or fewer single-family rental homes, and only if the lease itself states that the ten-day notice period does not apply (§ 13-40-104(5)). The court form is JDF 99 A.
• Lease violation: ten days to comply or leave (§ 13-40-104(1)(e)), with the same five-day and three-day exceptions. Nuisance conduct and negligent damage get the same notice (§ 13-40-104(1)(j)).
• Repeat violation: ten-day notice to terminate, no cure (§ 13-40-104(1)(e.5)). After a compliance demand, a later violation of the same covenant allows termination ten days after service of a written notice to terminate tenancy.
• Substantial violation: three days, no cure (§ 13-40-107.5). For conduct by the tenant or a guest that endangers persons or property or is one of the serious crimes the section lists. Termination is effective three days after service of a written notice to terminate tenancy.
• No-fault eviction: at least 90 days (§ 38-12-1303(3)), on JDF 99 C, stating the legal and factual basis for the no-fault ground.
• Ending or not renewing a tenancy that is exempt from the for-cause law (§ 13-40-107). Written notice expiring at the end of the period or fixed term: at least 91 days for a tenancy of one year or longer; 28 days for six months up to a year; 21 days for one month up to six months; shorter periods under a month. The exception for a fixed term ending at a time certain now excuses only the tenant from giving notice (§ 13-40-107(4)), so a landlord should serve notice even on a fixed-term lease. The court form is JDF 99 B.
• Federally backed or subsidized properties. The federal CARES Act 30-day notice may apply, and since May 29, 2025 Colorado law itself requires a landlord starting a nonpayment eviction to comply with the notice requirements of 15 U.S.C. § 9058(c) (§ 38-12-1502, HB 25-1240).

Required content (§ 13-40-106). Every demand or notice must be in writing, specifically describe the violation or no-fault ground, describe the premises, give the date and time for delivering possession, and be signed by the landlord or the landlord’s agent or attorney. It must include a statement that a tenant who receives Supplemental Security Income, Social Security Disability Insurance or Colorado Works cash assistance has a right to mediation before an eviction is filed. It must be in English, Spanish or another language the landlord knows, or has reason to know, is the tenant’s primary language. If it demands unpaid rent, it must also state that a tenant who missed rent because of unlawful sexual behavior, stalking, domestic violence or domestic abuse may provide documentation and is entitled to a repayment plan of up to nine months; once documentation is provided, the landlord must offer the plan within three business days (§ 13-40-104(4)).

How notices are served (§ 13-40-108). Deliver a copy to a known tenant occupying the premises, or leave it with a person or a member of the tenant’s family who is older than 15 and who resides on or is in charge of the premises. Posting is allowed only if no one is on the premises after attempts at personal service at least once on two separate days. If the tenant has given notice of being a victim-survivor, the landlord must attempt personal service three times and then both post the notice and send it by certified mail or a courier with proof of delivery.

Counting days. The court form counts day 1 as the day after service is completed.

3. Filing

File the Complaint (JDF 101) and Summons (JDF 102) in the county where the property is located. A county court’s money judgment for rent, damages or a counterclaim is limited to $25,000, not counting costs and attorney fees (§ 13-40-109).

The mediation affidavit (§ 13-40-110). The complaint must include a signed affidavit stating that the tenant receives SSI, SSDI or Colorado Works cash assistance and mandatory mediation failed; or that the tenant did not disclose those benefits when asked in writing, or does not receive them; or that the plaintiff is exempt (a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that offers mediation, or a landlord with five or fewer single-family rental homes and no more than five total rental units). Noncompliance is an affirmative defense and leads to dismissal without prejudice, so ask the benefits question in writing and keep the answer.

Entity landlords. Courts generally expect an entity to appear through an attorney; confirm with the clerk. C.R.S. § 13-1-127 lets an officer appear for a closely held entity (no more than three owners) if the amount at issue does not exceed $15,000 and the officer gives the court satisfactory evidence of authority.

4. Summons, service and the hearing

The clerk or the plaintiff’s attorney issues the summons, which must command the tenant to appear on a day not less than 7 and not more than 14 days from the day it is issued (§ 13-40-111). The summons and complaint must be served at least seven days before that date, by the sheriff, a private process server or a non-party aged 18 or older (§ 13-40-112). If personal service fails despite diligent effort, the papers may be posted on the premises, and the plaintiff must mail a copy no later than the next business day after filing the complaint. A defendant who has given notice of being a victim-survivor must be served personally. A case served only by posting and mailing can produce a judgment for possession but not a money judgment (§ 13-40-115).

The tenant answers in writing at or before the time stated in the summons (§ 13-40-113; the form is JDF 103). If the tenant neither answers nor appears, the court may enter default. Once an answer is filed, the court sets trial no sooner than seven and not more than ten days later, unless the tenant waives that timing or the court extends it for good cause. Either party in a residential county court case may appear in person or remotely (§ 13-40-111). The Judicial Branch states that a jury trial is available.

5. Judgment, the right to pay, and appeal

Pay and stay (§ 13-40-115(4)). A landlord who has served a proper nonpayment notice must accept the tenant’s full payment of all amounts due under the notice, plus any rent that has since come due under the rental agreement, at any time until the judge issues a judgment for possession. The right cannot be waived (§ 13-40-115(5)).

Appeal. A county court judgment is appealed to the district court (§ 13-40-117). The appeal is taken as in other county court cases: the notice of appeal and appeal bond are due within 14 days after entry of judgment (§ 13-6-311). In a nonpayment case the tenant must also deposit with the court the rent found due in the judgment when the appeal is filed, or the appeal is not perfected, and must keep depositing rent as it comes due (§ 13-40-118).

Attorney fees. The prevailing party can recover reasonable attorney fees and costs, but in a residential case only if the rental agreement has a provision letting either party recover attorney fees (§ 13-40-123). If you want that option, put the clause in the lease.

6. The writ of restitution and the lockout

The court may not issue the writ of restitution (JDF 109) until 48 hours after judgment is entered (§ 13-40-122). In a residential case the officer may not execute the writ until at least ten days after entry of judgment, or at least 30 days if the tenant receives SSI, SSDI or Colorado Works cash assistance, as specified in the writ. The statute lists two exceptions: a judgment for a substantial violation under § 13-40-107.5, and a landlord with five or fewer single-family rental homes and no more than five total rental units. They are written as exceptions to the 30-day period; the text does not clearly lift the ten-day period as well, so follow the date on the writ. If the tenant raised the victim-survivor defense with documentation, the request for the writ must say so and the writ is not executable for 30 days (§ 13-40-122(1)(a.5)). A writ stays in effect for 49 days after it is issued and then expires automatically (§ 13-40-115).

The writ is executed by the sheriff’s office of the county where the property is located, only in the daytime, between sunrise and sunset. After the judge signs it, contact the sheriff to set the date.

Tenant property. A landlord has no duty to store a tenant’s personal property removed during or after execution of the writ, and one who follows the officer’s lawful directions is immune from liability for it (§ 13-40-122).

Self-help is unlawful (§ 38-12-510). A landlord may not remove or exclude a tenant without court process, willfully shut off utilities, or remove doors, windows or locks, unless the tenant agrees or has abandoned the unit. The tenant recovers actual damages plus the higher of three times the monthly rent or $5,000, with attorney fees and costs, and the court may restore possession.

7. Local overlay: Denver

• The city requires landlords to give tenants the current Denver Tenant Rights and Resources Notice with the executed written lease and any time the landlord makes a rent demand. The city funds free eviction legal services for households at or below 80 percent of area median income.

Recent law changes landlords should know

• For-cause eviction (April 19, 2024). HB 24-1098.
• Victim-survivor protections. HB 25-1168 took effect May 22, 2025; its notice-content, notice-service and summons changes took effect August 6, 2025.
• Federal notice rule made state law (May 29, 2025). HB 25-1240, § 38-12-1502.
• 2026 session. The larger eviction-procedure bills, HB 26-1106 and HB 26-1047, did not pass. HB 26-1196 (Tenant Data Information), signed June 2, 2026 and effective January 1, 2027, requires a landlord who screens applicants to disclose in writing the data it will use and the specific criteria that would lead to denial, and requires covered landlords to offer positive rent reporting to a consumer reporting agency at no charge to the tenant. It also requires landlords to follow the court rules on redacting personal identifying information in eviction filings and supporting documents.

What actually goes wrong

• Posting the notice on the first trip.
• Using a three-day or five-day notice on a tenancy that does not qualify.
• Leaving out the mediation or repayment-plan statement.
• Non-renewing a tenant of 12 months or more without a statutory ground.
• Refusing full payment before judgment.
• Serving the summons by posting and expecting a money judgment.
• Letting the writ expire at 49 days.

When to bring in an attorney

An individual landlord can often handle an uncontested nonpayment case with the court forms. Use counsel for no-fault, non-renewal, substantial-violation and contested cases, subsidized or federally backed properties, and entity owners outside the closely held entity exception. The Colorado attorneys listed below represent landlords.

Sources

• C.R.S. §§ 13-40-104 to 13-40-118 and 13-40-122; § 13-6-311; § 13-1-127.
• C.R.S. §§ 38-12-1301 to 38-12-1307, 38-12-1502 and 38-12-510.
• HB 24-1098; HB 25-1168; HB 25-1240; HB 26-1196.
• Colorado Judicial Branch, Residential Evictions self-help page and JDF forms.
• City and County of Denver eviction help page.

This guide is general information about Colorado procedure and is not legal advice. These statutes are amended often; confirm the current text before relying on any deadline.