Your landlord must follow specific legal procedures to evict you from your rental apartment/house. As will be explained in the sections on LOCKOUTS, you may have claims you can sue your landlord for if you are illegally locked out of your apartment.

There are three steps in the legal process of eviction:

NOTICE TO QUIT. There are three separate kinds of eviction notices. Depending on your own situation, you could receive a DEMAND FOR PAYMENT OR POSSESSION, DEMAND FOR POSSESSION FOR A BREACH OF THE LEASE, or a NOTICE TO QUIT. Service of one of these notices is the first step in the eviction process. These notices do not have to be given to you in person. They may be posted on your door or given to a member of your family, age 15 or older, residing with you.

A. The Demand for Payment Notice is used when you have not paid your full rent on time. It must give you three days in which to pay the rent due or to vacate the premises. If you pay the rent or obtain a written agreement to stay in the dwelling unit even with late rent, the eviction process will stop.

B. The Notice of Breach of the Lease is used when the landlord believes you have violated a material term of your lease. It must give you three days in which to correct the breach or vacate the premises. You should correct the breach, and have witnesses to the fact that you have corrected the problem. You should contact a lawyer if you receive one of these notices.

Colorado Law now provides another situation in which a landlord can give a "notice to quit" based on an alleged lease violation. When a landlord has previously given a notice of an alleged violation of a specific lease provision allowing three days in which to correct the violation, there should be no court action if the breach has been corrected. (The landlord may have simply decided not to try to prove the lease violation in court.) Later, during the same tenancy, if the landlord claims that the tenant has violated the same specific lease provision, the landlord can simply give the tenant a notice to quit for a second violation. The tenant does not get a second chance to correct the specific lease violation to avoid a court action by the landlord. Presumably, the landlord will have to prove in court that there was the first violation and then prove there was a second violation of the specific lease provision. You should contact a lawyer if you receive such a notice to quit from your landlord.

C. The NOTICE TO QUIT is used when the landlord wishes to terminate the tenancy at the end of the lease term. No reason need be given by the landlord for not renewing the lease. Depending on the length of your lease, this notice must be delivered or posted anywhere from three to ninety days in advance of the end of the lease term. You should contact a lawyer if you receive one of these notices.

Colorado law now provides another situation in which a landlord can give a notice to quit. If a tenant (or a guest) commits an act on or near the premises which endangers another person or the rental property or which is a violent or drug related felony, the landlord can give a NOTICE TO QUIT. If the landlord seeks an eviction order in court, it is a valid defense for the tenant if the violent action was an act of domestic violence directed at the tenant and it was documented by a police report or the issuance of a restraining order. The only other valid defense which can be raised in court by the tenant is if the tenant did not know of or could not have prevented the violence or drug activity by a guest. But this defense is only valid if the tenant notifies a law enforcement officer immediately after learning of the prohibited activity.

II. GOING TO COURT. The second step in the eviction process begins when your landlord files a Complaint in court and a Summons is issued telling you when you have to appear in court. You will then be served with a copy of the Summons and Complaint. If you receive a Summons and Complaint, you should call a lawyer immediately, if you require assistance.

You might be served personally with the Summons and Complaint. However, if you can't be found for personal service, Colorado law allows for service by posting. A copy of the Summons and Complaint win be posted on your front door and on the same day the Complaint is filed, your landlord must mail a copy to you by first class mail. With either type of service, you must have at least five days before the date you are to appear in court. If you don't appear as directed by the Summons, or if you fail to Answer the Complaint, your landlord will get a judgment against you by default.

If you feel you are not able to prepare your Answer on your own, contact the County Human Relations Office immediately after you receive the Summon and Complaint. If you can't afford to pay the fee for filing your answer, there are ways to ask that the fee be waived. Ask the Court Clerk about the form you need to have the fee waived.

If you were personally served and fail to answer, your landlord can get a judgment against you for return of the rental property (eviction) and also a money judgment for money you allegedly owe. If the Complaint was posted and you fail to answer, your landlord cannot get a money judgment against you but can get a judgment for return of the rental property.

A trial date is set once you file your Answer. The trial will be within 5 days of the date you Answer. At the trial, you have the opportunity to tell a judge your defenses and any claims you have against your landlord. Again, don't be afraid to call a lawyer about your case.

III. WRIT OF RESTITUTION. This is a court order directing the Sheriff to move you out of the rental property. If your landlord does get a Writ of Restitution (either by you failing to Answer or from a judge in a trial), you cannot be moved from the apartment for 48 hours or slightly longer if the 48 hours expires on a weekend or legal holiday. Once the Sheriff has the Writ of Restitution, however, the Sheriff will enforce the Writ by removing you, your furniture and belongings from the apartment/house.

Source: "A Landlord - Tenant Relations Guide - 1997", A Publication of
Pikes Peak/Arkansas River Legal Aid and City of Colorado Springs Human Relations Office