Free Colorado Lease Renewal Agreement

▶ Watch overview

Free Colorado Lease Renewal Agreement — overview

A Colorado Lease Renewal Agreement renews an existing residential lease for an additional term, allowing the parties to update rent, term length, and any other terms while continuing the rental relationship.

Complete the Lease Renewal Agreement Form

Complete the form below to generate a comprehensive Colorado Lease Renewal Agreement. The form produces a multi-page PDF in legal-document format with all sections, signature lines, and full statutory references. Both parties must sign the printed copy for the lease renewal to take effect.

About the Colorado Lease Renewal Agreement

A Colorado lease renewal is a bilateral agreement extending the rental relationship for an additional term with the same parties. CRS Title 38, Article 12 governs residential landlord-tenant relations. Key provisions for renewals: rent may be increased only once in any 12-month period of consecutive occupancy (CRS 38-12-702), with 60 days written notice where there is no written rental agreement (CRS 38-12-701), implied warranty of habitability under CRS 38-12-503, and the two-month deposit cap under CRS 38-12-102.5 and the thirty-day return rule under CRS 38-12-103.

Colorado’s Lease Renewal Agreement Framework

• Statute: CRS Title 38, Article 12 (Tenants and Landlords)
• Rent increase: once per 12-month period of consecutive occupancy (CRS 38-12-702); at least 60 days written notice where there is no written rental agreement (CRS 38-12-701)
• Implied warranty of habitability: CRS 38-12-503 (Habitability Act of 2008)
• Security deposit: capped at two monthly rent payments (CRS 38-12-102.5); must be returned within thirty days of termination or surrender, or up to sixty days if the lease so provides (CRS 38-12-103)
• Form: signed writing by both parties is sufficient — no statutory form required

What This Document Does

• Identifies both parties and the original lease being renewed
• Establishes the new renewal term start and end dates
• Specifies rent for the renewal term and any other charge changes
• Addresses security deposit treatment (carry over, additional, refund)
• Confirms which original lease terms remain in effect

Notice Requirements and Best Practices

Colorado does not require statutory notice to renew a lease, but best practice is to communicate renewal intentions 60-90 days before the original lease end date. This gives both parties time to negotiate terms or seek alternatives. Rent may not be increased more than once in any 12-month period of consecutive occupancy (CRS 38-12-702), and where there is no written rental agreement at least 60 days written notice is required (CRS 38-12-701). Under a written renewal the agreed rent governs for its term. If the parties cannot agree on renewal terms, the lease will terminate on its original end date.

Related Resources

• Colorado landlord tenant laws
• Colorado habitability laws
• Colorado security deposit laws
• Colorado eviction notice laws
• Colorado late fee laws
• Landlord forms

Colorado’s Just-Cause Rule: When a Landlord Can’t Simply Decline to Renew

Colorado has no statute requiring a landlord to send an advance notice offering renewal. But since HB24-1098 took effect on April 19, 2024 — codified at C.R.S. §§ 38-12-1301 to 38-12-1307 — most Colorado landlords can no longer decline to renew a lease without a reason once a tenant has been in place long enough. Under §38-12-1303(1), a landlord may not serve a notice to terminate tenancy or proceed with an eviction action unless there is “cause” for it, and §38-12-1303(2)(c) makes simply holding over after the lease term ends one of the listed causes — meaning a landlord can decline to renew, but generally only by using one of the specific paths the statute allows, discussed below.

The 12-Month Threshold

This just-cause protection does not apply to every tenancy. C.R.S. §38-12-1302(1)(e) exempts “a residential tenant who has not been a tenant of a residential premises for at least twelve months.” In practice: for the first 12 months, a landlord can still choose not to renew without giving a reason, subject only to whatever notice the lease itself requires. Once a tenant passes the 12-month mark, the landlord needs one of the statute’s recognized grounds to end the tenancy at renewal time. A few property types are exempt regardless of tenancy length under §38-12-1302(1)(a)-(d) and (f), including short-term rentals, an owner-occupied single-family home/duplex/triplex where the owner lives on site or next door, certain mobile home spaces, and employer-provided housing.

How a Landlord Can Still Decline to Renew: “Reasonable Terms” and No-Fault Grounds

Two of the statute’s cause categories are the ones most relevant to a lease renewal specifically:

• Tenant refuses a new lease with reasonable terms — C.R.S. §38-12-1303(3)(e). If the landlord offers a renewal on reasonable terms and the tenant refuses to sign, the landlord may proceed with a no-fault eviction, but must give the tenant at least 90 days after the refusal to vacate and must provide proper written notice stating the vacate date. This is the path that most directly governs a renewal negotiation that breaks down.
• No-fault grounds unrelated to the tenant’s conduct — C.R.S. §38-12-1303(3)(a)-(d), (f). A landlord may also end a tenancy at renewal time for reasons such as planned demolition or conversion of the property, substantial repairs or renovations, the landlord or a family member moving in, taking the unit off the rental market to sell it, or a documented history of late rent payment (late more than twice during the rental agreement). Each of these requires at least 90 days’ written notice (45 days if the landlord is on active military duty) stating the specific factual and legal basis, and several carry their own conditions — for example, a sale-based no-fault eviction bars re-listing the unit as a rental for at least 90 days after the tenant vacates.

If a landlord fails to meet these requirements, C.R.S. §38-12-1303(5) and the statute’s affirmative-defense provision allow the tenant to raise the failure in court, and a judge who finds noncompliance must dismiss the eviction proceeding.

Notice Before a Rent Increase at Renewal

A lease renewal often comes bundled with a rent change, and Colorado law treats that separately from the just-cause renewal rules above. C.R.S. §38-12-702(1) caps how often rent can go up at all: a landlord may not increase rent more than once in any 12-month period of consecutive occupancy, regardless of whether there is a written agreement, the length of the tenancy, or whether it is a fixed, month-to-month, or indefinite term. Where there is no written agreement between the parties, C.R.S. §38-12-701(2)(a) requires at least 60 days’ written notice before a residential rent increase (21 days for a nonresidential tenancy of one month to six months under §38-12-701(1)). §38-12-701(2)(b) also blocks a landlord from ending a no-written-agreement tenancy through a notice to quit if the landlord’s real purpose is to raise rent in a way this section wouldn’t otherwise allow.

Frequently Asked: Colorado Lease Renewal

• Can a Colorado landlord just not renew a lease? During the tenant’s first 12 months, generally yes, subject to the lease’s own notice terms. After 12 months, only for one of the specific reasons in C.R.S. §38-12-1303, with at least 90 days’ written notice in most cases.
• Does refusing to sign a renewal automatically mean eviction? Refusing a renewal offered on reasonable terms is one of the statute’s listed no-fault grounds under §38-12-1303(3)(e), but the landlord still must give at least 90 days’ written notice before the tenant has to vacate.
• How often can rent go up when renewing? No more than once in any 12-month period of consecutive occupancy, per C.R.S. §38-12-702(1), regardless of how the renewal is documented.
• Is there a state-mandated advance-notice period for offering a renewal itself? No — Colorado does not require a landlord to send notice of an intent to renew or not renew before the 12-month just-cause threshold applies; any such requirement would come from the lease itself.

Published by Tenant Screening Background Check

Established 2004 · 20+ Years · All U.S. States & Territories · Statute-Based · Attorney-Reviewed

A Private Eye Reports™ service trusted by landlords, property managers, and attorneys.