Colorado victim lease termination: what 38-12-402 asks of a landlord
Under C.R.S. 38-12-402, a Colorado tenant who writes to the landlord that the tenant is a victim of unlawful sexual behavior, stalking, domestic violence or domestic abuse, with evidence, and wants to leave because of fear of imminent danger, can end the lease without further obligation. The tenant owes one month's rent after leaving, but only if the landlord has documented damages of at least one month's rent. You must keep the victim's status and new address private.
Who can end a Colorado lease this way?
A residential tenant who notifies the landlord in writing of being a victim of unlawful sexual behavior, stalking, domestic violence or domestic abuse, provides the required evidence, and seeks to vacate because of fear of imminent danger for self or children. The terms are defined in 38-12-401 by reference to other Colorado statutes.
What evidence counts?
| Victimization | Evidence the tenant may give |
|---|---|
| Unlawful sexual behavior, domestic violence, domestic abuse | A police report written within the prior sixty days, a valid protection order, or a written statement from a medical professional or application assistant who examined or consulted with the victim and confirms it. |
| Stalking | A police report written within the prior sixty days, a valid protection order, or a written statement from an application assistant who consulted with the victim and confirms it. |
The statute does not set a notice period. The tenant simply writes to you, gives the evidence and vacates.
What is owed after the tenant leaves?
Subsection (2)(b): the tenant is responsible for one month's rent following vacating, payable within ninety days after the tenant leaves. You need not refund the security deposit until that month is paid, and either side may offset what it owes the other against that month or the deposit, despite section 38-12-103. Then the key limit: this month's rent applies only if you have experienced and documented damages equal to at least one month's rent because of the early termination.
Example a made-up tenant in Denver pays $1,800 a month and leaves after written notice and a police report from 20 days ago. If you re-rent the unit within days and lose less than $1,800, no one month's rent is owed. If you document $1,800 or more in loss, the tenant owes $1,800 within ninety days, and you can hold the deposit until it is paid or offset it.
A practical way to handle a Colorado notice
- Date-stamp the written notice and the evidence the day they arrive.
- Check that the evidence is one of the listed types and, for a police report, that it was written within the prior sixty days.
- Reply in writing, confirm the move-out date the tenant gave, and ask for the new mailing address for the deposit statement. The tenant may choose not to give one.
- After the tenant leaves, compare your actual documented loss with one month's rent. Only if the documented damages reach at least one month's rent can that month be claimed.
- Hold the deposit only until any month's rent that is properly owed is paid, and account for it in writing.
Do not add a fee for the early exit or a reletting charge on top. The statute names one month's rent and no more.
Emergency calls and privacy
- You may not put a clause in a lease that lets you end the agreement or penalize a tenant for calling police or other emergency help in a situation involving domestic violence, domestic abuse, unlawful sexual behavior or stalking. A tenant cannot waive the right to call.
- Once told, you must not disclose the tenant's victim status to anyone, except with the victim's consent or as the law requires.
- If the tenant ends the lease this way and gives a new address, you must not disclose it to anyone, except with the victim's consent or as the law requires.
Subsection (3) adds that nothing in the part authorizes ending a tenancy and evicting a tenant solely because the tenant is a victim. The text I read has no lock change rule.
How DoorKeeping fits in Colorado
DoorKeeping keeps the written notice, the proof the tenant gave and your reply together in the Colorado tenant's file, with dates. A reminder can mark the ninety-day payment date, and your documented loss figure sits in the file before you approve any charge. Any rent, deposit or lock decision waits for your one-tap approval. This is general information, not legal advice. Check the current statute and your lease before you act.
Sources
Questions
- Does a Colorado tenant owe rent after leaving because of domestic violence?
- One month's rent following vacating, due within ninety days, and only if the landlord has experienced and documented damages equal to at least one month's rent (38-12-402(2)(b)).
- How recent must a Colorado police report be?
- Written within the prior sixty days, for the report option.
- Can I share the tenant's new address?
- No, except with the victim's consent or as the law requires.