Colorado Month to Month Lease

Colorado Month to Month Lease — Notice Rules and Your Rights (2026)

By Oleg Kachko · Updated September 29, 2026

✓ Law Verified September 2026

Colorado month to month lease rules answer the question every renter without a current lease eventually asks: how much notice do I have to give, how much does the landlord have to give me, and can they raise the rent or end it whenever they like? This guide gives the Colorado answers in plain English, verified against official Colorado sources as of September 2026.

Colorado Month to Month Lease Rules at a Glance

Notice YOU must give to leave A Colorado tenant ending a month-to-month tenancy must give at least 21 days of written notice under C.R.S. 13-40-107(1). The notice must describe the property, give the specific date the tenancy ends, and be signed by the tenant or the tenant’s agent. The statute sets no rule that the notice must line up with the rent due date, but check your lease for any extra terms.
Notice the LANDLORD must give A Colorado landlord must give at least 21 days of written notice to end a month-to-month tenancy under C.R.S. 13-40-107(1). If you have lived in the unit 12 months or more, HB24-1098 (C.R.S. 38-12-1303) also requires the landlord to have a legal cause. For most no-fault reasons (demolition or conversion, major repairs, the owner or a family member moving in, taking the unit off the market to sell), the landlord must give at least 90 days of written notice.
Notice before a rent increase 60 days. Under C.R.S. 38-12-701, a landlord may raise rent on a tenant with no written agreement only after at least 60 days of written notice. Rent can go up only once in any 12-month period, and a landlord may not end your tenancy mainly to get around these limits.
Reason required to end the tenancy YES. Under HB24-1098 (C.R.S. 38-12-1301 to 1303, signed April 19, 2024), a landlord needs cause to end a tenancy once the tenant has been in possession 12 months or more, including month-to-month tenancies. Fault reasons include nonpayment and substantial or lease violations. No-fault reasons are demolition or conversion, substantial repairs, the owner or a family member moving in, taking the unit off the market to sell, the tenant refusing a new lease with reasonable terms, and a history of nonpayment. Exemptions include tenancies under 12 months, rentals under 30 days, owner-occupied properties with fewer than 4 units, mobile home spaces, and employer-provided housing.

How a Month to Month Tenancy Starts in Colorado

A month-to-month tenancy in Colorado can start with an oral agreement, a written month-to-month lease, or a tenant staying on and paying rent after a fixed-term lease ends. C.R.S. 13-40-107 sets termination notice by the length of the rental period, and a tenancy of 1 month or longer but less than 6 months falls in the 21-day category.

When a fixed lease ends and you stay: UNVERIFIED as a specific statute. Generally in Colorado, if you stay after a fixed-term lease ends and the landlord accepts rent, a periodic tenancy (usually month-to-month) is formed. The 21-day notice rule under C.R.S. 13-40-107 then applies, unless your lease has its own holdover clause.

After 12 months in possession, HB24-1098 means the landlord cannot simply decline to renew without a legal cause.

Most renters land on a Colorado month to month lease without ever signing one: the year lease ends, nobody calls, rent keeps getting paid and accepted. From that point the notice rules on this page control, not the expired lease’s term, though its other clauses usually carry over.

Ending A Colorado Month to Month Lease: The Notice Rules

If you want to leave: A Colorado tenant ending a month-to-month tenancy must give at least 21 days of written notice under C.R.S. 13-40-107(1). The notice must describe the property, give the specific date the tenancy ends, and be signed by the tenant or the tenant’s agent.

The statute sets no rule that the notice must line up with the rent due date, but check your lease for any extra terms.

If the landlord wants you out: A Colorado landlord must give at least 21 days of written notice to end a month-to-month tenancy under C.R.S. 13-40-107(1). If you have lived in the unit 12 months or more, HB24-1098 (C.R.S. 38-12-1303) also requires the landlord to have a legal cause.

For most no-fault reasons (demolition or conversion, major repairs, the owner or a family member moving in, taking the unit off the market to sell), the landlord must give at least 90 days of written notice.

How the notice has to be given: The notice must be in writing, describe the property, give the exact termination date, and be signed by the party giving it or their agent or attorney (C.R.S. 13-40-107). Under C.R.S. 13-40-108, it can be handed to the tenant or to a household member older than 15.

If personal service fails, it can be posted in a conspicuous place on the premises and also sent by certified mail or a courier with proof of delivery.

The Colorado Judicial Branch says eviction notices must be in the tenant’s primary language.

The mistake that costs renters a month of rent is timing. Under the Colorado month to month lease rules, notice that arrives after the rent due date usually does not take effect until the end of the following rental period. Give notice in writing, keep proof of the date it was delivered, and count the days from that date.

Rent Increases on a Month to Month Tenancy

Required notice: 60 days. Under C.R.S. 38-12-701, a landlord may raise rent on a tenant with no written agreement only after at least 60 days of written notice. Rent can go up only once in any 12-month period, and a landlord may not end your tenancy mainly to get around these limits.

A rent increase on a Colorado month to month lease is really a notice ending the old terms and offering new ones, which is why Colorado ties it to the same notice clock. An increase served with short notice is not owed until the proper period has run, and paying the old amount on time while you say so in writing keeps you current.

Does the Landlord Need a Reason?

YES. Under HB24-1098 (C.R.S. 38-12-1301 to 1303, signed April 19, 2024), a landlord needs cause to end a tenancy once the tenant has been in possession 12 months or more, including month-to-month tenancies. Fault reasons include nonpayment and substantial or lease violations.

No-fault reasons are demolition or conversion, substantial repairs, the owner or a family member moving in, taking the unit off the market to sell, the tenant refusing a new lease with reasonable terms, and a history of nonpayment.

Exemptions include tenancies under 12 months, rentals under 30 days, owner-occupied properties with fewer than 4 units, mobile home spaces, and employer-provided housing.

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Even where no reason is required, the eviction process is. A landlord who ends a Colorado month to month lease and then changes the locks, shuts off utilities, or removes belongings has skipped the court, and that is illegal in every state.

The Rights You Keep on a Month to Month Lease

Month-to-month tenants in Colorado keep:

Nothing about the Colorado month to month lease weakens the deposit rules, the landlord’s duty to make repairs, the ban on retaliation, or the requirement to go through court before any eviction. The only thing that changes is how long each side has to say goodbye.

Leaving Cleanly: A Renter’s Checklist

Give the notice in writing with a specific move-out date, timed so it lands before the rent due date. Keep paying rent through the notice period; a landlord can accept rent and still hold you to the notice, and skipping the last month is the fastest way to lose a deposit.

Photograph the unit on the way out, return every key, and put your forwarding address in writing so the deposit deadline starts running. On a Colorado month to month lease the last month is where most deposit disputes are born, and a dated paper trail ends nearly all of them.

If You Want to Stay: Turning Flexibility Into Security

Month-to-month is convenient until you need certainty. If you want to stay put, ask for a fixed-term lease in writing; a landlord who is happy with you usually says yes, and a signed term takes the short-notice risk off the table for both sides.

If the answer is no, keep your position strong the ordinary way: rent on time, repair requests in writing, and a copy of every notice. The Colorado month to month lease gives the landlord a short clock, but it never gives them permission to skip the law.

Recent changes in Colorado: HB24-1098, effective April 19, 2024, requires cause to end most tenancies after 12 months and 90 days of notice for most no-fault reasons.

Relocation assistance of 2 months’ rent, plus 1 more month if the household has a minor, a senior 60 or older, a person with a disability, or income at or below 80% of area median income, may be owed when a landlord does not follow the no-fault rules (exact trigger UNVERIFIED).

HB21-1121 set the 60-day rent increase notice and the once-per-12-months limit, and HB25-1090 restricts hidden rental fees starting January 1, 2026.

Colorado Month to Month Lease: Quick Answers

How much notice do I have to give to move out? A Colorado tenant ending a month-to-month tenancy must give at least 21 days of written notice under C.R.S. 13-40-107(1). The notice must describe the property, give the specific date the tenancy ends, and be signed by the tenant or the tenant’s agent.

The statute sets no rule that the notice must line up with the rent due date, but check your lease for any extra terms.

Can the landlord end it for no reason? Only for a lawful reason; see the just-cause rules above for the Colorado month to month lease.

Does my old lease still apply? Usually its terms carry over to the Colorado month to month lease except the length; the notice rules on this page replace the fixed term.

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Official Colorado Sources & Resources

Making Your Colorado Month to Month Lease Work for You

Flexibility is the whole point of the Colorado month to month lease, and it cuts both ways: you can leave with short notice, and so can the landlord. Calendar the notice period the day you move to month-to-month, and give your own notice in writing, dated, and timed to the rent due date so it counts.

Every other tenant right still applies on the Colorado month to month lease, the deposit rules, the repair duty, the ban on retaliation, and the court process before any eviction. A landlord who treats the Colorado month to month lease as permission to skip those steps is breaking the law, not exercising a right.

This guide to the colorado month to month lease was last verified against official sources in September 2026. Notice periods and just-cause rules have changed in several states since 2024, re-check before relying on a deadline.

More Colorado Tenant Rights Guides

Disclaimer: This guide is informational only and is not legal advice. Landlord-tenant laws change and vary by city and county within a state. Verify current rules with your state, your local court, or a free legal-aid office before acting. If you are facing eviction, contact a local tenant attorney or legal-aid organization right away.

Renting? Protect your belongings — compare renters insurance at Home Insure Guide. Divorce involving a lease? See Divorce Help Guide. Unsafe housing / toxic mold injury? Some cases qualify — see Mass Tort Info.