Colorado eviction notice and late fee rules

Notice for unpaid rent

10 days — Unlawful detention occurs when a tenant holds over after default in rent and ten days' written notice has been served requiring payment of the rent or possession of the premises.

Ending a month-to-month tenancy

Where § 13-40-107 applies, a periodic tenancy may be ended by written notice served before the end of the period: at least twenty-one days for a tenancy of one month to under six months, and at least three days for a tenancy of one week to under one month or at will.

Late-fee limit

A landlord may not charge a late fee exceeding the greater of fifty dollars or five percent of the past-due rent payment.

Grace period before a late fee

A landlord may not charge a late fee unless the rent payment is late by at least seven calendar days.

What we could not verify for Colorado: Partial-currency note (facts are recorded): Colorado facts are quoted from the official 2024 C.R.S. PDFs on content.leg.colorado.gov (marked 'Uncertified Printout'). A 2025 edition was not available at that path, so 2025-session amendments to these sections were not checked.

Notice for unpaid rent

Unlawful detention occurs when a tenant holds over after default in rent and ten days' written notice has been served requiring payment of the rent or possession of the premises.

“When such tenant or lessee holds over without permission of the tenant's or lessee's landlord after any default in the payment of rent pursuant to the agreement under which the tenant or lessee holds, and, ten days' notice in writing has been duly served upon the tenant or lessee holding over, requiring in the alternative the payment of the rent or the possession of the premises;”
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-40-104(1)(d) (2024)

A rental agreement may not waive the tenant's right to this notice.

“No such agreement shall contain a waiver by the tenant of the notice requirement of this subsection (1)(d).”
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-40-104(1)(d) (2024)

Notice for other lease violations

For a material lease violation, ten days' written notice requiring compliance or delivery of possession must be served before the holdover is an unlawful detention.

“When a tenant or lessee holds over without permission, contrary to any material condition or covenant of the agreement under which the tenant or lessee holds, and ten days' notice in writing has been duly served upon the tenant or lessee requiring either compliance with the condition or covenant or the delivery of the possession of the premises;”
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-40-104(1)(e) (2024)

Ending a month-to-month or other periodic tenancy

Where § 13-40-107 applies, a periodic tenancy may be ended by written notice served before the end of the period: at least twenty-one days for a tenancy of one month to under six months, and at least three days for a tenancy of one week to under one month or at will.

“(c) A tenancy of one month or longer but less than six months, at least twenty-one days; (d) A tenancy of one week or longer but less than one month, or a tenancy at will, at least three days;”
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-40-107(2) (2024)

Section 13-40-107's termination notice applies to landlords of nonresidential property or of residential premises described in § 38-12-1302(1)(a), (b), (d), (e) or (f), and to tenants of any property.

“A landlord of nonresidential real property or a residential premises described in section 38-12-1302 (1)(a), (1)(b), (1)(d), (1)(e), or (1)(f) or a tenant of any property or premises may terminate a periodic tenancy at the end of the tenancy period or elect to not renew a fixed term tenancy at the end of the fixed term by serving written notice that expires at the end of the period or fixed term,”
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-40-107(1) (2024)

Just cause and good cause

A landlord may not serve a notice to terminate tenancy or a demand for possession, or proceed with an unlawful detainer action, unless there is cause for the eviction as defined in the statute (HB 24-1098).

“A landlord shall not serve a notice to terminate tenancy or a demand for possession or otherwise proceed with an action for unlawful detainer pursuant to article 40 of title 13 unless there is cause for the eviction.”
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 38-12-1303(1) (2024)

Lockouts and utility shutoffs

Unlawful removal or exclusion includes willful termination of utilities or removal of doors, windows or locks.

“Unlawful removal or exclusion includes the willful termination of utilities or the willful removal of doors, windows, or locks to the premises other than as required for repair or maintenance.”
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 38-12-510(1) (2024)

For an unlawful removal, the tenant must be awarded statutory damages equal to actual damages plus the higher of three times the monthly rent or five thousand dollars, along with other damages, fees and costs.

“In the case of a violation, the tenant must be awarded statutory damages equal to the tenant's actual damages and the higher amount of either three times the monthly rent or five thousand dollars, as well as any other damages, attorney fees, and costs that may be owed.”
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 38-12-510(2) (2024)

Retaliation

A landlord may not retaliate against a tenant by engaging in the prohibited activities listed in the statute in response to the tenant actions listed in the statute.

“A landlord shall not retaliate against a tenant by engaging in any of the activities specified in subsection (1)(b) of this section in response to the tenant:”
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 38-12-509(1)(a) (2024)

What the notice must say and how it is delivered

The demand or notice must be written, specify the grounds including a specific description of the violation or no-fault ground, describe the premises, give the date and time for delivering possession, and be signed.

“The demand or notice required by section 13-40-104 or 38-12-1303 shall be made in writing, specifying the grounds of the demandant's right to the possession of the premises, including a specific description of the alleged violation or no-fault eviction grounds, describing the premises, and indicating the date and time when the premises shall be delivered up, and shall be signed by the person claiming such possession, the person's agent, or the person's attorney.”
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-40-106(1) (2024)

The demand or notice must be in English, Spanish, or another language the landlord knows or has reason to know is the tenant's primary language.

“The demand or notice required by section 13-40-104 or 38-12-1303 must be written in English, Spanish, or any other language that the landlord knows, or has reason to know, is the primary language of the tenant.”
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-40-106(3) (2024)

A notice to vacate or demand may be served by delivering a copy to the tenant, leaving it with a family member over fifteen residing on or in charge of the premises, or, if no one is present after personal service attempts on two separate days, posting it conspicuously on the premises.

“A written notice to vacate or demand as required by section 13-40-104, 38-12-202, 38-12-204, or 38-12-1303 may be served by delivering a copy of the notice to a known tenant occupying the premises, or by leaving such copy with some person, a member of the tenant's family above the age of fifteen years, residing on or in charge of the premises, or, in case no one is on the premises after attempts at personal service at least once on two separate days, by posting the copy in some conspicuous place on the premises.”
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-40-108 (2024)

Court deadlines and the eviction case

The summons must command the defendant to appear and answer on a day not less than seven nor more than fourteen days after it is issued.

“named in the summons and at a time and on a day not less than seven days but not more than fourteen days after the day of issuing the same to answer the complaint of plaintiff.”
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-40-111(1) (2024)

Late fees and grace periods

A landlord may not charge a late fee exceeding the greater of fifty dollars or five percent of the past-due rent payment.

“Charge a tenant or home owner a late fee in an amount that exceeds the greater of: (I) Fifty dollars; or (II) Five percent of the amount of the past due rent payment;”
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 38-12-105(1)(b) (2024)

A landlord may not charge a late fee unless the rent payment is late by at least seven calendar days.

“Charge a tenant or home owner a late fee unless a rent payment is late by at least seven calendar days;”
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 38-12-105(1)(a) (2024)

A late fee must be disclosed in the rental agreement, and a landlord may not remove a tenant or start a court process for removal because the tenant fails to pay late fees.

“(c) Require a tenant or home owner to pay a late fee unless the late fee is disclosed in the rental agreement; (d) Remove or exclude a tenant from a dwelling or initiate a court process for the removal or exclusion of a tenant from a dwelling because the tenant fails to pay one or more late fees to the landlord;”
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 38-12-105(1)(c)-(d) (2024)

A landlord who violates the late-fee rules must pay the aggrieved tenant fifty dollars per violation.

“A landlord who violates subsection (1) of this section shall pay to an aggrieved tenant or home owner a penalty in the amount of fifty dollars for each violation.”
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 38-12-105(3) (2024)

A landlord may not impose a late fee for any portion of rent that a rent subsidy provider is responsible for paying.

“Impose a late fee on a tenant or home owner for the late payment or nonpayment of any portion of the rent that a rent subsidy provider, rather than the tenant or home owner, is responsible for paying;”
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 38-12-105(1)(f) (2024)

If you have received a notice

1. Write down the date you received it and how it was delivered.
2. Check what it asks for — payment, fixing a problem, or moving out — and the deadline it gives against the Colorado rules above.
3. Keep paying what you can document; ask for receipts.
4. If you receive court papers, note the response deadline on them; a legal-aid office or the court’s self-help center can help.

Check another situation with the eviction notice checker or the late fee checker.

Common questions

How much notice does a landlord in Colorado have to give for unpaid rent?

Unlawful detention occurs when a tenant holds over after default in rent and ten days' written notice has been served requiring payment of the rent or possession of the premises. (Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-40-104(1)(d) (2024)).

How much notice is needed to end a month-to-month tenancy in Colorado?

Where § 13-40-107 applies, a periodic tenancy may be ended by written notice served before the end of the period: at least twenty-one days for a tenancy of one month to under six months, and at least three days for a tenancy of one week to under one month or at will. (Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-40-107(2) (2024)).

Is there a limit on rent late fees in Colorado?

A landlord may not charge a late fee exceeding the greater of fifty dollars or five percent of the past-due rent payment. (Colo. Rev. Stat. § 38-12-105(1)(b) (2024)).