The Colorado Eviction Process: A Step-by-Step Guide for Landlords

Colorado rewrote its eviction rulebook between 2021 and 2024, and a landlord who follows an old three-day playbook will lose. The nonpayment notice is now ten days, not three; many tenancies can only be ended “for cause” under House Bill 24-1098; some tenants must be offered mediation before a case is filed; and a court cannot hand you the keys until well after judgment. This guide walks the current Colorado process end to end — grounds, the ten-day demand, filing the Forcible Entry and Detainer action in County Court, the hearing, the Writ of Restitution, and the sheriff lockout — with the timelines, costs, tenant defenses, and the one step that keeps most landlords out of court entirely: thorough screening.

Everything below is built on Colorado Revised Statutes Title 13, Article 40 (the eviction statute) and the tenant-protection reforms in Title 38, Article 12. The sequence itself never changes — a written demand comes before any lawsuit, a County Court judge (not the landlord) orders the tenant out, and only a sheriff acting on a Writ of Restitution may physically remove anyone. What changed in Colorado is the timing and the guardrails, and that is exactly where cases are now won and lost.

A short overview video summarizes the whole Colorado process; the sections that follow break down each stage in detail, flag the mistakes that get cases dismissed, and show the screening step that keeps most Colorado landlords out of the courthouse in the first place.

If you have evicted a tenant in Colorado before and think you know the drill, start here. A string of statutes reshaped the process, and each one is a place a landlord can now stumble. Understanding these four changes up front makes every step that follows make sense.

The demand period tripled. Senate Bill 21-173, effective in October 2021, raised the residential Demand for Compliance or Possession from three days to ten days for both nonpayment of rent and lease violations (C.R.S. 13-40-104). The old three-day notice now survives only for employer-provided and nonresidential housing, and for a narrow small-landlord exemption discussed below. The same law made clear that a late fee is not rent — you cannot demand late fees in a nonpayment notice, and you cannot evict for unpaid late fees alone.

Many evictions now require “cause.” House Bill 24-1098, effective April 2024, bars ending or refusing to renew a covered residential tenancy without a legally recognized reason. A landlord can no longer simply decline to renew at lease end. No-fault grounds still exist, but they require a 90-day written notice.

Some tenants must be offered mediation first. House Bill 23-1120 requires a landlord to offer mediation before filing when the tenant receives certain public assistance, and the demand itself must tell the tenant of that right.

The back end got slower too. Even after you win, a court may not issue the Writ of Restitution until forty-eight hours after judgment, and the sheriff generally may not execute a residential writ until at least ten days after judgment — thirty days if the tenant receives disability or cash assistance.

Before serving any demand, confirm two things: that your reason to evict is legally recognized, and that the tenancy is not shielded by the HB 24-1098 for-cause requirement. A County Court will dismiss an eviction filed without valid grounds, and in Colorado that now includes a non-renewal of a covered tenancy with no stated cause.

Grounds That Support a Colorado Eviction

Nonpayment of Rent

The most common ground. When rent is unpaid past any grace period, you serve a ten-day Demand for Compliance or Possession stating the exact base rent due. If the tenant pays that amount in full within the ten days, the tenancy continues and you cannot proceed. Remember the SB 21-173 rule: demand rent only — never late fees, and never charges the lease merely labels as rent. Our guide on how to deal with a non-paying tenant covers the demand, partial-payment traps, and payment plans in depth.

Lease and Covenant Violations

A breach of the lease — an unauthorized pet, an extra occupant, a nuisance — also runs on the same ten-day Demand for Compliance or Possession, giving the tenant ten days to cure the violation or leave. A first violation is generally curable; a repeat of the same violation within a lease term can allow you to proceed without giving another cure period, but confirm the wording and count before relying on it.

Substantial (Criminal) Violations

Colorado carves out a faster track for the most serious conduct. Under C.R.S. 13-40-107.5, a “substantial violation” — a violent or drug-related criminal act, or one that endangers others on the premises — supports a three-day notice with no right to cure. Because the consequences are severe and the definition is specific, document the conduct carefully; a substantial-violation case that fails its own definition simply collapses back into an ordinary ten-day track.

No-Fault Terminations and the For-Cause Rule

This is the biggest trap for Colorado landlords in 2026. Under House Bill 24-1098, you generally cannot end or refuse to renew a covered residential tenancy without cause. If your reason is not a tenant fault — you want to move in, sell, or substantially renovate — you must use an enumerated no-fault ground and give a 90-day written notice. The law exempts several situations, including tenancies under twelve months, certain owner-occupied buildings of a few units, short-term rentals, employer-provided housing, and mobile home lots. Because the exemptions and grounds are detailed and were recently enacted, confirm the current statute against your exact facts before relying on a non-renewal.

The demand is the foundation of the entire case. If it is defective — wrong period, wrong amount, late fees folded in, or improperly served — the County Court will dismiss the eviction and you start over. More Colorado cases are lost on demand defects than on any other single mistake, so this step deserves your full attention.

What the Ten-Day Demand Must Contain

1. Every adult tenant’s name exactly as it appears on the lease — omitting one is a common, fatal error.
2. The full property address, including the unit number.
3. For nonpayment, the exact base rent owed — and only rent. Adding late fees, utilities, or other charges can void the demand under SB 21-173.
4. A ten-day deadline to pay, cure, or vacate (unless a valid exemption or a three-day substantial-violation track applies).
5. The consequence — that an eviction action will follow if the tenant does not comply.
6. The mediation notice, where required, telling a tenant on public assistance of the right to mediation before a case is filed.
7. The date and signature of the landlord or authorized agent.

How to Serve the Demand

Content is only half the battle; how you deliver the demand decides whether a court accepts it. Approved methods, from most to least defensible:

Colorado added a pre-filing step that many landlords miss. Under House Bill 23-1120, if the tenant receives Supplemental Security Income, federal disability benefits, or Colorado Works cash assistance, you must offer mediation before filing the eviction, and the ten-day demand must inform the tenant of that right. A neutral mediator is scheduled, generally within about two weeks of a request; the process is free to the tenant, and the lease may not waive it or push its cost onto the tenant.

The requirement does not reach every landlord. It does not apply when the tenant declines in writing to disclose that they receive assistance, when the landlord is a qualifying nonprofit, or when the landlord owns five or fewer single-family rental homes and no more than five total rental units. Even where it does not strictly apply, a good-faith conversation or a payment plan often resolves the problem faster and cheaper than a filing — and creates a record that helps you later if the case does proceed.

Once the demand period expires and the tenant has not paid, cured, or vacated, file your eviction — the Forcible Entry and Detainer, or FED — in the County Court for the county where the property sits. Every extra day is lost rent, so file promptly. But never file before the period ends: filing even one day early causes dismissal. Our overview of what an unlawful detainer is explains why this action moves faster than an ordinary lawsuit — forcible entry and detainer is Colorado’s name for the same expedited possession case.

What to Bring When You File

• The completed FED complaint and summons (Colorado Judicial Branch forms, available at the courthouse or the court’s website)
• A copy of the signed lease
• A copy of the demand you served, with the proof of service
• A rent ledger showing every charge, payment, and the running balance
• The filing fee — a County Court cost tiered by the amount claimed, commonly in the range of roughly eighty-five to one hundred thirty-five dollars

Serving the Summons and the Return Date

After you file, the tenant must be served with the summons and complaint — a separate step from the demand. The summons sets a return date, generally seven to fourteen days out, and service must be completed at least seven days before that date. Use a process server or the county sheriff so service is properly documented; defective service can unravel a judgment later.

If the tenant answers, the case goes to a hearing — scheduled fast because FED actions are expedited. County Court judges decide these cases almost entirely on documentation, so preparation, not eloquence, wins. Bring the originals and organized copies of everything.

What to Bring to the Hearing

• The original signed lease
• The original demand with proof of service
• A rent ledger showing all charges, payments, and the balance
• Proof that mediation was offered or completed, where it was required
• Copies of every written communication with the tenant
• Photos, repair records, or police reports supporting a violation or substantial-violation claim

Common Colorado Tenant Defenses and How to Counter Them

A tenant who genuinely will not leave despite a valid case can still drag things out. Our guide on what to do when a tenant won’t leave covers the tactics tenants use and how to keep the case moving.

Winning the judgment does not put you back in the unit — it earns you the right to ask the court to remove the tenant. In Colorado that final removal runs on its own timed track, and the clock is deliberately slow.

How long a Colorado eviction takes depends on whether the tenant contests, whether a no-fault 90-day notice is involved, and whether the tenant receives assistance that lengthens the writ delay. Use these ranges to set expectations, then confirm your own county’s scheduling.

For the specific notice wording, day counts, and current forms, see the dedicated Colorado eviction notice laws page, and compare Colorado against other states on the eviction notice laws by state hub.

The out-of-pocket fees are only part of the picture, and usually the smaller part. Think of the cost in four buckets, then weigh the total against the cost of preventing it.

• Filing fee. A County Court cost tiered by the amount claimed, commonly in the range of roughly eighty-five to one hundred thirty-five dollars. The tenant pays no answer fee.
• Service fee. A process server or the sheriff typically charges a few tens of dollars per defendant to serve the summons.
• Writ and sheriff fee. Executing the Writ of Restitution usually runs in the low hundreds of dollars plus mileage, varying by county.
• Lost rent and turnover. Almost always the biggest cost — the rent you never collect while the process runs, plus cleaning, repairs, and marketing to re-rent. On a contested multi-month case this dwarfs every court fee.

County Court judges dismiss eviction cases for procedural defects far more often than for weak facts. Avoid these and you avoid most of the delays that plague Colorado landlords.

1. Using a three-day notice where ten days is required. The residential demand is now ten days. A three-day notice on an ordinary tenancy is the fastest way to a dismissal.

2. Demanding late fees as rent. SB 21-173 makes a late fee legally distinct from rent. Fold late fees into a nonpayment demand and the demand can be voided.

3. Non-renewing a protected tenancy without cause. Under HB 24-1098 you generally cannot simply decline to renew a covered tenancy. Confirm an exemption or use a valid for-cause or 90-day no-fault ground.

4. Skipping required mediation. If the tenant receives qualifying assistance, offer mediation before filing and say so in the demand, or the case can be undone.

5. Filing before the demand period expires. Even one day early causes dismissal. Count carefully, exclude the service day, and add days for posting-and-mailing.

6. Self-help. Changing locks, removing belongings, or cutting utilities is illegal under C.R.S. 38-12-510 and converts your case into the tenant’s lawsuit against you.

7. Thin documentation. Without the lease, the served demand, proof of service, a rent ledger, and any mediation record, you can lose even when the tenant plainly owes money. If it is not documented, to the court it did not happen.

Because a Colorado eviction is slow and expensive, a resolution that keeps a payment coming or clears the unit sooner is often the better business decision — even when you would win in court.

Put any alternative in writing. A cash-for-keys deal, in particular, should be a signed agreement specifying the move-out date, the condition of the unit, and that the payment is contingent on the tenant leaving on time and turning over the keys.

Every experienced Colorado landlord learns the same lesson: the surest way to avoid an eviction is to avoid renting to someone likely to require one. Nonpayment, repeat violations, and prior evictions rarely come out of nowhere — they usually leave a paper trail an applicant’s history reveals before they ever get the keys. Thorough screening is not about being harsh; it is about matching the right tenant to your property so the relationship never reaches a County Court.

Colorado does regulate screening, and doing it correctly is part of doing it well. Under the Rental Application Fairness Act, an application fee may not exceed your actual cost to process the application, must be the same for every applicant for a similar unit, and comes with a receipt and a disclosure of your screening criteria. When you use rental or credit history, you generally may not look back more than seven years. And under Colorado’s portable-screening-report law, if an applicant supplies a qualifying recent report, you generally cannot charge them a separate application fee. Screen fairly, consistently, and in compliance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act and Fair Housing rules, and the information lets you approve strong applicants with confidence.

Weigh the numbers. The cost of screening an applicant is a small, one-time fee. The cost of a single Colorado eviction — filing, service, the writ, possibly an attorney, and weeks or months of lost rent and turnover — runs into the equivalent of multiple months’ rent. Screening is the cheapest insurance a Colorado landlord can buy.

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