On April 19, 2024, Governor Jared Polis signed House Bill 24-1098 (the “Bill”) into law. The Bill severely restricts the ability of landlords to initiate eviction actions and terminate tenancies.
I. How does the Bill restrict a landlord’s ability to terminate tenancies.
The Bill Creates a “For Cause” Eviction Standard, which means that under most circumstances, unless a landlord has a reason to terminate a tenancy based on the conduct of the tenant, a landlord may not serve a notice to terminate a tenancy or file a lawsuit to take back possession of their property. In other words, unless there is cause to evict a tenant, the tenant may have the right to continue renting a landlord’s property even if the term of their rental has expired.
Conduct that may provide a landlord with cause to terminate a tenancy and evict a tenant include:
- a tenant’s failure to pay rent;
- violation of a material term of the lease agreement between the landlord and tenant; and,
- when a tenant engages in conduct that that creates a nuisance or disturbance that interferes with another’s quiet enjoyment of the property.
II. Can a landlord ever evict a tenant without cause?
In certain situations, a landlord may initiate “No-Fault Evictions.” For example, The Bill permits “No-Fault Evictions” for:
- The demolition or conversion of a residential premises to a short-term rental property;
- Substantial repairs or renovations;
- Circumstances in which the landlord or family member of landlord will assume occupancy of the property;
- The withdrawal from the rental market for the purpose of selling the residential premises;
- Circumstances in which the tenant refuses to sign a new lease with reasonable terms; and if
- The tenant has a history of nonpayment of rent.
In each of these situations, the landlord may not terminate a tenancy early. Instead, the landlord may only initiate no-fault evictions following the end of a tenant’s rental and only after serving the tenant with 90 days’ written notice of the intent to terminate the tenancy based on one of the above-stated reasons.
III. Does the Bill apply to all residential leases and tenancies?
No, the Bill applies to most, but not all, residential tenancies. For example, it does not apply to:
- Short-term rental properties (defined as a rental of not more than 30 consecutive dates);
- Properties with an accessory dwelling unit, duplexes, or triplexes so long as the Owner lives on the property or in the adjacent property and maintains it as the Owner’s primary residence;
- Properties with three or fewer units so long as the Owner lives in and maintains a portion of the property as its primary residence;
- Mobile homes;
- A residential premises that is leased to a tenant pursuant to an employer-provided housing agreement;
- Properties with a residential tenant who has been a tenant for less than twelve (12) months, calculated as the length of time the tenant has been at the property, rather than the length of the lease (i.e. the bill would apply to a tenant who signed an 11-month lease but stayed for more than 12 months through renewal or hold over); or
- Properties with tenants who are not known to the landlord to be a tenant of the residential property.
IV. Conclusion
The Bill is a continuation of Colorado’s trending towards an extremely tenant friendly state. It should not impact short-term rentals, but clients that have rental properties consisting of multiple units that are rented out for extended periods should be aware of the new for-cause eviction standard.
For additional information, contact:
Macklin Henderson, mhenderson@garfieldhecht.com
Jason Buckley, jbuckley@garfieldhecht.com
Leah Gallant, lgallant@garfieldhecht.com
Andrew Atkins, aatkins@garfieldhecht.com
