Free Colorado Unconditional Quit Notice

Only on a narrow route. C.R.S. § 13-40-107.5(4)(a) says a tenancy may be terminated at any time on the basis of a substantial violation, and the termination is effective three days after service of written notice to terminate tenancy. That is the residential three-day path, and it is picked up as unlawful detention by § 13-40-104(1)(d.5). Nothing in this route gives the tenant a chance to fix the problem. If the conduct is ordinary lease-breaking, or the tenant simply has not paid, this is the wrong form and the wrong number of days.

C.R.S. § 13-40-107.5(3) defines it as any act or series of acts by the tenant or any guest or invitee that, taken together, either occurs on or near the premises and endangers a person or willfully and substantially endangers the property of the landlord, a co-tenant or a person living on or near the premises; or occurs on or near the premises and constitutes a violent or drug-related felony under the listed articles of title 18; or occurs on the leased premises or the building’s common areas and is a criminal act carrying a potential sentence of one hundred eighty days or more that has also been declared a public nuisance. Document which limb you are relying on.

Not for an ordinary residential tenancy. The repeat-violation route is C.R.S. § 13-40-104(1)(e.5). Under (1)(e.5)(II) a residential tenancy may be terminated at any time for a subsequent violation of the same condition or covenant, but the termination is effective ten days after service of written notice to terminate. Three days applies only to a nonresidential agreement or an employer-provided housing agreement, and five days to an exempt residential agreement. Serving three days on a month-to-month apartment tenant for a repeat rule violation is a short notice, and a short notice is a defect the tenant can raise.

C.R.S. § 13-40-107.5(4)(b) is specific and short. The notice to terminate tenancy must describe the property, state the particular date when the tenancy will terminate, and state the grounds for termination. It must be signed by the landlord or by the landlord’s agent or attorney. Note what the statute asks for: a termination date, not a cure deadline, because there is no cure on this route. Stating the grounds means describing the conduct you say was a substantial violation, not just reciting the statute number. A notice that omits the date or the grounds is the easiest thing for a tenant to attack.

Yes, but not for a standard apartment or house rental. C.R.S. § 13-40-104(1)(d), (1)(e), (1)(e.5) and (1)(j) each set three days’ notice for a nonresidential agreement or an employer-provided housing agreement, covering nonpayment, a material covenant breach, a repeat breach, and nuisance or negligent damage. Separately, § 13-40-107(2)(d) allows three days to end a tenancy of one week or longer but less than one month, or a tenancy at will. Those are different instruments with different content requirements. Do not reuse an unconditional quit form for them.

The landlord does. C.R.S. § 13-40-107.5(5)(a) puts the burden on the landlord to prove the occurrence of a substantial violation by a preponderance of the evidence. Subsection (5)(b)(II) also gives the tenant a defence where a guest or invitee committed the violation, the tenant did not know of it and could not reasonably have known of or prevented it, and the tenant immediately notified a law enforcement officer. That is why dated logs, photographs, witness statements and incident or police report numbers matter more on this route than on any other Colorado notice.

Yes. C.R.S. § 13-40-107.5(5)(c)(I) says a landlord has no basis for possession under that section if the tenant is a victim-survivor of unlawful sexual behavior, stalking, domestic violence or domestic abuse that caused, contributed to or resulted in the alleged substantial violation, where it has been documented under § 13-40-104(4). The documentation options in § 13-40-104(4)(a) include a police report, a protection order, a self-attestation affidavit, or a letter from a qualified third party. Under (5)(c)(II) you may still seek possession against the tenant or lessee who is the responsible party.

No, and using it would be a mistake. Ending a periodic tenancy or declining to renew a fixed term is governed by C.R.S. § 13-40-107, which requires written notice served before the end of the period or term: at least ninety-one days for a tenancy of one year or longer, twenty-eight days for six months or longer but less than a year, twenty-one days for one month or longer but less than six months, three days for one week or longer but less than one month or a tenancy at will, and one day for less than a week. Under § 13-40-107(4) no notice is needed from a tenant whose fixed term ends at a time certain.