Which Colorado eviction notice do you need?
The notice depends on the reason. For apartment buildings, nonpayment and ordinary lease violations both take 10 days’ written notice under C.R.S. 13-40-104(1)(d) and (e). The shorter 5-day period applies only to an exempt residential agreement, which is limited to a landlord with five or fewer single-family homes, so it never applies to a 5+ unit building.
The demand must be in writing, name the premises, state the grounds and the date possession must be delivered, and be signed by you, your agent or your attorney under 13-40-106. It must also tell the tenant that anyone receiving SSI, SSDI or Colorado Works cash assistance has a right to mediation before you file. The Colorado Judicial Branch form JDF 99 A, Demand for Compliance, revised September 4, 2025, builds in those notices, which makes it the simplest way to get the content right.
- Unpaid rent: 10 days to pay in full or move out, 13-40-104(1)(d). A lease cannot waive this notice.
- Lease violation: 10 days to cure or move out, 13-40-104(1)(e).
- Repeat of the same violation after a prior notice: 10-day notice to quit with no right to cure, 13-40-104(1)(e.5).
- Substantial violation, such as a violent or drug-related felony or conduct that endangers people on the premises: 3-day notice to quit, 13-40-107.5.
- No-fault end of tenancy: notice under 13-40-107, plus the for-cause rules for tenants past 12 months covered in our Colorado landlord-tenant law guide.
How to serve the demand
Under 13-40-108, you can hand the notice to the tenant, leave it with a household member over 15 who lives there, or post it in a conspicuous place if no one is home. Write down the date, time and method, because the tenant can attack defective notice in the answer or a pre-hearing motion under 13-40-113(3).
If your building has a federally backed mortgage or federal housing program, use the 30-day line on JDF 99 A instead of the 10-day line. HB25-1240, signed May 29, 2025, also requires landlords to follow federal notice rules before a nonpayment eviction of a tenant who uses a housing subsidy.
Mandatory mediation for SSI, SSDI and Colorado Works tenants
This is the step owners most often miss. Before you file against a residential tenant who receives SSI, SSDI or Colorado Works cash assistance, you must go through free mediation with a trained neutral, under 13-40-110(1). The Office of Dispute Resolution has to schedule it no later than 14 calendar days after you request it.
Your complaint then needs a signed affidavit stating that mediation happened and failed, that the tenant didn’t disclose such benefits after a written inquiry, that the tenant doesn’t receive them, or that you are exempt. Skipping mediation is an affirmative defense, and the court dismisses the case without prejudice, so you start over. The practical fix is simple: send every tenant a written benefits inquiry when you serve the demand.
Filing, summons and the tenant’s answer
File a complaint for forcible entry and detainer in the county court for the county where the building sits. Under 13-40-111, the clerk or your attorney issues a summons setting an appearance date no sooner than 7 and no later than 14 days after issuance. The summons must include an answer form, a document request form and a list of legal aid and rental assistance resources.
Serve the summons and complaint personally, or by posting after diligent attempts plus first-class mail by the next business day after filing, at least 7 days before the appearance date under 13-40-112. Either side can appear in person or by phone or video.
The tenant answers in writing by the appearance date under 13-40-113. If the tenant claims you failed to repair, the tenant must pay the rent due, less repair costs, into the court registry with the answer unless the court waives it for income. Records stay suppressed from the public until the court grants you possession, under 13-40-111(4).
Default, trial and judgment
If the tenant doesn’t answer, the court can enter a default judgment for possession, but not before the close of business on the appearance date. If the tenant answers, 13-40-113(4) has the court set trial 7 to 10 days after the answer, unless the tenant waives it or a party shows good cause.
A judgment can include unpaid rent, damages and reasonable attorney fees and costs, within the court’s jurisdictional limit, under 13-40-115(2). Either side can appeal to district court under 13-40-117, which stays the case, and the appeal carries bond and rent-deposit requirements under 13-40-117(3) and 13-40-118.
The writ of restitution and the sheriff
The court can’t issue the writ until 48 hours after judgment, and the sheriff can’t carry out a residential writ until at least 10 days after judgment, under 13-40-122. For tenants on SSI, SSDI or Colorado Works, that wait is 30 days, and the writ itself must say so. The writ is executed in daylight, between sunrise and sunset, and it expires 49 days after issuance under 13-40-115(3), so schedule the lockout promptly.
You have no duty to store or inventory belongings removed during the writ, and a landlord who follows the officer’s directions is immune from liability for that property under 13-40-122(2) and (3). The officer must check for pets and hand them to the tenant or animal control.
The tenant’s right to pay and stop the case
Colorado gives tenants a cure right that lasts much longer than the demand. Under 13-40-115(4), you must accept full payment of everything in the demand plus rent that has since come due at any time until the judge enters judgment for possession. The tenant can pay you or the court, and the court then vacates any judgment and dismisses the case with prejudice. The right can’t be waived in the lease.
That means a tenant who pays in court on the appearance date ends the case. Track the ledger carefully, because the amount owed changes as each new month comes due.
Lockouts and retaliation are expensive
Removing or excluding a tenant without court process is unlawful under 38-12-510, and that includes shutting off utilities or removing doors, windows or locks. The tenant recovers actual damages plus the higher of three months’ rent or $5,000, along with attorney fees and costs, and the court can put the tenant back in.
Retaliation is also a defense. Under 38-12-509, filing for possession after a good-faith habitability complaint or tenant association activity can cost up to three months’ rent or three times actual damages, plus fees. Keep your reason for filing documented and separate from any open repair request.
Federal rules: CARES Act notice and the SCRA
Section 4024(c) of the CARES Act, 15 U.S.C. 9058(c), bars a landlord of a covered property from requiring a tenant to leave until 30 days after a notice to vacate. The 120-day moratorium ended in 2020, but the 30-day text is still in the statute and courts have split on whether it still applies. Colorado’s own form treats it as live, so giving 30 days at a covered building is the safer course.
Before any default judgment, file a military status affidavit, as the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act requires under 50 U.S.C. 3931.
Colorado eviction timeline at a glance
These are the minimums for a nonpayment case with no mediation, no answer and no appeal.
| Step | Deadline | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Demand for compliance or possession | 10 days (30 at a CARES Act property) | C.R.S. 13-40-104(1)(d); JDF 99 A |
| Mediation for SSI, SSDI or Colorado Works tenants | Scheduled within 14 days of request | 13-40-110(1)(c) |
| Appearance date on summons | 7 to 14 days after issuance | 13-40-111(1) |
| Service of summons and complaint | At least 7 days before appearance | 13-40-112(3) |
| Trial if tenant answers | 7 to 10 days after answer | 13-40-113(4)(a) |
| Tenant pays in full | Any time before judgment for possession | 13-40-115(4) |
| Writ of restitution issues | 48 hours after judgment | 13-40-122(1)(a) |
| Sheriff executes writ | 10 days after judgment, or 30 for SSI tenants | 13-40-122(1)(b) |
| Writ expires | 49 days after issuance | 13-40-115(3) |
Worked example: what a minimum Colorado eviction costs
Assume a one-bedroom renting for $1,850 a month in a 16-unit Denver building, a tenant who misses rent on day 0 and never answers, and an assumed $1,500 in attorney fees. You serve the demand on day 1, it runs out on day 11, you file on day 12 with a summons set 7 days out, the court enters default on day 20, and the sheriff can act no earlier than day 30.
At $60.82 a day, those 30 days cost $1,824.66 in lost rent. Add the attorney estimate and the floor is $3,324.66, before turnover, repairs and any court delay.
If the tenant receives SSI, add up to 14 days for mediation before filing and 20 more days of writ delay. That stretches the minimum to 64 days, $3,892.60 in rent and about $5,392.60 all in.
| Scenario | Days to possession | Lost rent | With attorney |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard tenant, default | 30 | $1,824.66 | $3,324.66 |
| SSI tenant, mediation plus 30-day writ | 64 | $3,892.60 | $5,392.60 |
Alternatives to a full eviction
A written payment plan often beats a filing, especially since the tenant can cure until judgment anyway. Colorado also requires a repayment plan offer when a victim-survivor’s late rent is tied to the abuse, and JDF 99 A tells landlords to make that offer within 3 days.
For a tenant who won’t pay and won’t leave, cash for keys is a signed move-out agreement with a date, a payment released at key handover and a mutual release. It avoids the writ calendar and the risk of a dismissal over a mediation or notice defect.
Selling an occupied building with an eviction pending
You can sell mid-case. The buyer takes the building subject to the leases, and the purchase contract should say who controls a pending case, who pays the attorney and who keeps any judgment for back rent. Expect the buyer to want tenant estoppel certificates, the rent ledger, each demand served and proof of service, and any mediation records.
Disclose any tenant on SSI, SSDI or Colorado Works, since that changes the timeline the buyer inherits.
Selling your Colorado apartment building to Skyline
Skyline Capital Investments buys apartment buildings with five or more units across Colorado, including occupied buildings with problem tenants or evictions in progress. Send the address and unit count through the form on this page or call (469) 660-2977, and we typically respond within 48 hours.
