Colorado Eviction Notice
Colorado eviction notice: the 10-day pay-or-quit and cure-or-quit rules under C.R.S. 13-40-104. Free template, statute cites. Attorney review available.
Introduction
An eviction notice is a written notice a landlord serves on a tenant to begin ending a tenancy for cause, before filing a forcible entry and detainer case (Colorado's court eviction process). This page's compact notice document is the actual form to fill out and serve, not a broader guide to Colorado eviction law. Nonpayment of rent and curable lease violations give the tenant a chance to fix the problem; a substantial violation, such as a violent or drug-related felony or willfully endangering the property, gets a 3-day notice to terminate tenancy with no opportunity to cure. Colorado's notice period is unusual: it turns on the rental agreement type as well as the cause. A standard residential agreement gives 10 days to pay or cure, an exempt residential agreement (a single-family home leased by a landlord who owns five or fewer rental homes) gives 5 days, and a nonresidential or employer-provided housing agreement gives 3 days. Colorado's forcible entry and detainer statute, Colorado Revised Statutes Title 13, Article 40, governs the pre-filing notice process, and Title 38, Article 12, Part 13 requires landlords to state a specific cause for most residential evictions. There is no mandatory government form for the notice itself, but the law requires specific content: the notice must state the grounds for possession, describe the premises, and give the date and time for possession, and for tenants receiving SSI, SSDI, or Colorado Works assistance, state their right to mediation before an eviction is filed. Serve the wrong notice, the wrong day count, or skip required content, and the eviction case can be dismissed before it starts.
Key Things to Know
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An eviction notice is a written notice a landlord must serve on a tenant to begin ending a tenancy for cause, before filing a forcible entry and detainer lawsuit (Colorado's eviction case) in court.
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Colorado's notice period depends on both the reason for eviction and the rental agreement type, not just the cause: nonpayment of rent and curable lease violations both get 10 days to pay or cure under a standard residential agreement, 5 days under an exempt residential agreement (a single-family home leased by a landlord who owns five or fewer rental homes), or 3 days under a nonresidential or employer-provided housing agreement. (Colorado Revised Statutes Section 13-40-104(1)(d), (1)(e))
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A curable lease violation, like a material breach of a lease term, gives the tenant a chance to keep the lease by complying with the violated term within the notice period. (Colorado Revised Statutes Section 13-40-104(1)(e))
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A substantial violation, such as a violent or drug-related felony, willfully and substantially endangering the property or other tenants, or a criminal act declared a public nuisance, gets a 3-day notice to terminate tenancy with no chance to cure. (Colorado Revised Statutes Section 13-40-107.5)
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The governing law is Colorado's forcible entry and detainer statute, Colorado Revised Statutes Title 13, Article 40, which sets the notice rules and the court process that follows if the tenant doesn't comply.
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Notices must be served personally first. If the tenant can't be found, the notice may be left with a family member over age 15 who lives at or is in charge of the premises. Posting the notice on the property is allowed only after two separate failed attempts at personal service; no mailing is required. (Colorado Revised Statutes Section 13-40-108)
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There's no state-mandated form for the notice itself, but the law requires specific content: the grounds for possession, a description of the premises, and the date and time for possession. For tenants receiving Supplemental Security Income, Social Security Disability Insurance, or Colorado Works cash assistance, the notice must also state their right to mediation before an eviction is filed. (Colorado Revised Statutes Section 13-40-106)
Key decisions before you file
Before you file a Eviction Notice in Colorado, a few decisions shape the document: which option to choose and what each one means. The Eviction Notice guide walks through them.
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Colorado Requirements for Eviction Notice
10-day notice to pay rent or vacate for a standard residential agreement, 5 days for an exempt residential agreement (a single-family home leased by a landlord who owns five or fewer rental homes), and 3 days for a nonresidential or employer-provided housing agreement. The tenant may pay the rent due within the notice period to avoid eviction; no agreement may waive this notice requirement.
Personal delivery to a known tenant occupying the premises is required first. If the tenant cannot be found, the notice may be left with a member of the tenant's family above age 15 who resides on or is in charge of the premises. Posting the notice in a conspicuous place on the premises is allowed only if no one is found after attempts at personal service on at least two separate days. No separate mailing step is required.
10-day notice to comply or vacate for a material lease violation other than nonpayment, for a standard residential agreement (5 days exempt residential, 3 days nonresidential or employer-provided). The tenant may cure by complying with the violated condition or covenant within the notice period. A repeat violation of the same lease term after a prior notice was served may be terminated on the same day schedule with no additional opportunity to cure.
3-day notice to terminate tenancy, with no opportunity to cure, for a substantial violation: an act or series of acts that endangers a person or willfully and substantially endangers property, constitutes a violent or drug-related felony, or constitutes a criminal act declared a public nuisance carrying a potential sentence of 180 days or more. The termination is effective 3 days after service.
There is no government-mandated notice form; the Colorado Judicial Branch's JDF 99 A/B/C forms are an optional resource. Specific content is legally required by statute: the notice must be in writing, specify the grounds for possession, describe the premises, and state the date and time possession must be delivered. It must also include a mediation-rights statement for tenants receiving SSI, SSDI, or Colorado Works cash assistance, and be written in English, Spanish, or the tenant's known primary language.
Distinct from the 3- and 10-day for-cause notices above: ending a tenancy of 12 months or more without tenant fault requires at least 90 days' notice (45 days if the landlord or the landlord's spouse is on active military duty), for reasons limited to demolition or conversion, substantial repairs, landlord or family-member occupancy, sale of the home, refusal of a new lease, or a history of more than two late rent payments.
The statutory basis for every notice type on this page and the court process that follows if the tenant does not comply: Colorado Revised Statutes Title 13, Article 40, "Forcible Entry and Detainer," Sections 13-40-101 through 13-40-128.
Frequently Asked Questions
It depends on the reason and the rental agreement type. Nonpayment of rent and curable lease violations both get 10 days' notice under a standard residential agreement (5 days for an exempt residential agreement, 3 days for a nonresidential or employer-provided housing agreement). A substantial violation, like a violent or drug-related felony, gets a 3-day notice with no chance to cure.
No. Colorado law requires a written notice before filing a forcible entry and detainer lawsuit for nonpayment of rent, a lease violation, or a substantial violation, under Colorado Revised Statutes Section 13-40-104. Skipping the notice, or serving it incorrectly, can get the eviction case dismissed.
Colorado law requires specific content even though no form is mandated: the notice must state the grounds for possession, describe the premises, and give the date and time for possession, under Colorado Revised Statutes Section 13-40-106. For tenants receiving SSI, SSDI, or Colorado Works cash assistance, the notice must also state their right to mediation before an eviction is filed.
No. Colorado has no state-mandated form for the notice itself. Colorado Judicial Branch form JDF 99 A (Demand for Compliance) is an optional template landlords can use, but a landlord can write their own notice as long as it includes the content the statute requires: the grounds for possession, a description of the premises, and the date and time for possession.
Nonpayment of rent and a curable lease violation both give the tenant a chance to pay or fix the problem within the notice period and keep the lease. A substantial violation, such as a violent or drug-related felony or willfully and substantially endangering the property, is not curable: Colorado Revised Statutes Section 13-40-107.5 provides no opportunity to cure and sets a flat 3-day notice regardless of agreement type.
Count from the date the notice is served, counting the day after service as day one, not the date written on the notice. The applicable period depends on agreement type: 10 days for a standard residential agreement, 5 days for an exempt residential agreement, 3 days for a nonresidential or employer-provided housing agreement, or a flat 3 days for a substantial violation with no cure option.
If the tenant hasn't paid, cured, or vacated by the deadline stated on the notice, the landlord can file a forcible entry and detainer case in the county or district court where the property is located.
Yes. Colorado Revised Statutes Section 13-40-106 requires the notice be signed by the landlord, the landlord's agent, or the landlord's attorney. Because the notice period runs from the date of service, the date the notice is served, not just the date written on it, should be recorded on the document.