Free Colorado Lease Termination Letter Template

A Colorado lease termination letter is the written notice that ends a periodic tenancy, or declines to renew a fixed term, under Colorado Revised Statutes Section 13-40-107. How much warning you owe depends on how long the tenancy has already run. Landlords and tenants also sit under different rules here.

Notice length scales with the length of the tenancy, which sets Colorado apart from a flat 30-day rule.

Notice Periods

Section 13-40-107(2) sets five tiers, each measured before the end of the period or fixed term:

• A tenancy of one year or longer — at least 91 days
• Six months or longer but less than a year — at least 28 days
• One month or longer but less than six months — at least 21 days
• One week or longer but less than a month, or a tenancy at will — at least three days
• Less than one week — at least one day

Statutory periods change over time, so confirm the current figures before you count back.

What the Notice Must Say

Subsection (3) is specific. The notice must describe the property and the particular date when the tenancy will terminate, and it must carry the signature of the party giving it, or that party’s agent or attorney.

Who May Use This Section

Subsection (1) draws a line between the two sides. A tenant of any property or premises may terminate this way. Landlords are narrower: the section reaches them only for nonresidential real property, or for residential premises described in Section 38-12-1302(1)(a), (1)(b), (1)(d), (1)(e), or (1)(f). Colorado’s cause-for-eviction rules in Section 38-12-1303 govern most other residential terminations.

Fixed-Term Leases

Subsection (4) removes the paperwork for one group. No written notice is necessary from a tenant whose fixed-term tenancy is, by agreement, to end at a time certain.

That one question sets your notice period. Someone a year into a lease owes 91 days, while someone four months into a monthly arrangement owes 21. Work out the length of the tenancy first, then match it to the tier.

The count also runs backward from the end of the period rather than forward from the day you write. Therefore a notice served 21 days before mid-month will not end a monthly tenancy mid-month, because the notice has to expire at the end of the period.

A Colorado lease termination letter depends on arithmetic more than wording, so start with the calendar.

1. Work out how long the tenancy has run.
2. Match that length to the tier in Section 13-40-107(2).
3. Choose a termination date that falls at the end of a rental period.
4. Count back the required days and serve the notice by then.
5. Keep proof of the date you served it.

Section 13-40-107(3) supplies most of the checklist already.

• A description of the property
• The particular date the tenancy terminates
• The names of the parties
• The signature of the party giving notice, or their agent or attorney
• A forwarding address for the deposit

Deposits follow a separate clock. Section 38-12-103(1)(a) gives the landlord 30 days after termination of the lease or surrender of the premises, whichever happens last, to return the full deposit, and a lease may stretch that period without exceeding 60 days. Nothing may be withheld for normal wear and tear, or for damage or a defective condition that preexisted the tenancy. Send your Colorado lease termination letter with the tier in hand and the date already fixed.