Colorado Legislature Enacts New Notice Provisions for Landlord/Tenant Law

The Colorado Legislature recently passed HB19-1118 which amends the notice requirements outlined in C.R.S. § 13-40-104. Colorado law requires landlords to provide notice to a person who is guilty of an unlawful detention of real property. HB19-1118 extends this notice period from three days to ten days for certain tenant violations. A landlord must provide a ten-day notice to a tenant if that tenant fails to pay rent, violates any other covenant or condition of the agreement or lease, or repeatedly violates the same agreement/lease provision. HB19-1118 does not amend the notice period required for substantial violations so a landlord can still provide a three-day notice if a tenant commits a substantial violation. See C.R.S. § 13-40-104(d.5).

HB19-1118 does allow for certain exemptions to the new ten-day notice requirement. A landlord can give a three-day notice if the agreement or lease is a nonresidential agreement or employer-provided housing agreement. An employer-provided housing agreement is a residential tenancy agreement between an employee and an employer when the employer or an affiliate of the employer acts as a landlord. C.R.S. § 13-40-104(5)(a).

Additionally, a landlord can give a five-day notice for an exempt residential agreement. An exempt residential agreement is a residential agreement leasing a single family home by a landlord who owns five or fewer single family rental homes, but the landlord must provide notice in the agreement or lease that the ten-day notice period required under Colorado law does not apply to the tenancy entered into pursuant to the agreement. C.R.S. § 13-40-104(5)(b). Because HB19-1118 is so new, it is unclear whether courts will require landlords to prove they own five or fewer single family rental homes.

HB19-1118 was signed into law by Governor Polis on May 20, 2019 and was effective immediately. We recommend updating any new leases and agreements to provide for the ten-day notice period, unless it is for a substantial violation and considering whether you are a landlord to a nonresidential agreement, employer- provided housing, or an exempt residential agreement. We also recommend notifying existing tenants of the new notice requirements by sending a letter of the change. Some landlords may not have to make a change to their notice requirements as their lease requires ten days or they are required to provide a ten-day notice under existing policies regulating affordable or subsidized housing.

Please notify our office if you have any questions or concerns regarding this issue or any of your landlord-tenant issues.