Full question:
We are landlords of a residential property (single family home). The tenant's last 'official' signed lease was month to month and expired February 2008. We have allowed him, per verbal agreement and acceptance of rent, to continue living there per the terms of last lease agreement (month to month, in other words, there is no official signed lease at this time since the last lease expired.) He paid only partial rent for July 2009 and is now late on August. Regardless of the back rent owed, we wish to terminate the lease by choice (to sell the house). We are not interested in collecting back rent or recovering any money owed. There was no security deposit on original lease. The last official and signed lease agreement stated if we wished to terminate lease for any reason, we would give him written notice by the 16th of the month and he'd have period of 2 weeks to vacate. Per Colorado law, regardless of delinquent rent, can we proceed with serving a written termination notice to have him out by the 30th of this month if we don't wish to recover any money? We gave him verbal notice today 8/5/09 and can give written notice before the 16th. He has lived there a total of 29 months now - first with a specified term lease of 6 months and then a specified month to month lease that we stated would be re-evaluated in February 2008 and that is when we agreed verbally to stick with the month to month terms an never resigned a new lease . We are trying to avoid formal eviction (3 day notice etc) as we planned on terminating lease regardless of this past due rent owed.
- Category: Landlord Tenant
- Subcategory: Lease Termination
- Date:
- State: Colorado
Answer:
A tenant without a written lease is typically considered a month-to-month tenant-at-will when rent is paid monthly. In Colorado, a tenancy at will can be terminated with a written notice of three days. However, if the tenant is still considered under a monthly lease, a ten-day written notice is required. It's important to note that verbal notices to quit are not legally enforceable.
According to Colorado law (C.R.S. § 13-40-107), a tenancy can be terminated by written notice served at least the following time before the end of the tenancy:
- A tenancy for one year or longer: three months
- A tenancy of six months or longer but less than a year: one month
- A tenancy of one month or longer but less than six months: ten days
- A tenancy of one week or longer but less than one month, or a tenancy at will: three days
- A tenancy for less than one week: one day
The notice must describe the property, specify the termination date, and be signed by the landlord or their agent. Since the last lease expired, you can proceed with serving a written termination notice before the 16th of the month, aiming for the tenant to vacate by the 30th, as long as you follow the required notice period.
This content is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Legal statutes mentioned reflect the law at the time the content was written and may no longer be current. Always verify the latest version of the law before relying on it.