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Colorado Notice to Vacate Letter

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[Your full name]

[Date]

[Your landlord's name]

Re: Notice to vacate — [Rental property address]

Dear [Your landlord's name],

Please accept this letter as my formal written notice that I will terminate my tenancy at [Rental property address] and vacate the premises on [Move-out date].

Under Colorado Revised Statutes — Notice to Terminate Tenancy (Forcible Entry and Detainer) (C.R.S. § 13-40-107(1)(c)), a month-to-month tenancy may be terminated by the tenant on 21 days written notice. This notice is given in accordance with that requirement and with any additional notice period my lease provides.

I will leave the unit clean and in good condition, ordinary wear and tear excepted, and will return all keys and access devices on or before my move-out date. I would like a move-out inspection during my final week; please propose a date and time.

Please send my security deposit, with any itemized statement required by law, to my forwarding address: [Your forwarding address]. Kindly confirm receipt of this notice in writing.

Sincerely,

[Your full name]

Know your rights

Notice to vacate law in Colorado

Tenant notice required: 21 days
Governing statute: C.R.S. § 13-40-107(1)(c)
How the clock runs: For a month-to-month tenancy (a 'tenancy of one month or longer but less than six months'), written notice must be given at least 21 days before the end of the rental period, and the termination date must fall at the end of that rental period — you cannot end mid-month.
Delivering the notice: The notice must be in writing, describe the property, state the particular date the tenancy will terminate, and be signed by the tenant or the tenant's agent or attorney (§ 13-40-107(2)); serve it by delivering a copy to the landlord (§ 13-40-108 also allows leaving it with a family member over age 15 or posting when no one can be found).
Fixed-term leases: A fixed-term lease ends on its stated date, and Colorado leases commonly impose their own 30-60 day written non-renewal requirement, which controls. A tenant who holds over with rent accepted typically becomes month-to-month; since 2024, HB 24-1098 requires landlords to have cause to refuse renewal, but that restricts only the landlord's side.

Worth knowing: The 21-day figure dates to SB 17-245 (2017), which tripled the old 7-day rule — older forms and websites still circulate the outdated number. Shorter tenancies scale down sharply: one week to one month (or a tenancy at will) requires only 3 days' notice, and under one week just 1 day; six months to a year requires 28 days and a year or longer 91 days — the tiers key to the length of the tenancy term. Mobile home park residents fall under a separate act with far longer landlord notice periods.

Last reviewed August 2026 · General information, not legal advice · Read the statute · Also for Colorado: security deposit demand letter

Field notes

Three tips before you send

The notice must be in writing, describe the property, state the particular date the tenancy will terminate, and be signed by the tenant or the tenant's agent or attorney (§ 13-40-107(2)); serve it by delivering a copy to the landlord (§ 13-40-108 also allows leaving it with a family member over age 15 or posting when no one can be found).
For a month-to-month tenancy (a 'tenancy of one month or longer but less than six months'), written notice must be given at least 21 days before the end of the rental period, and the termination date must fall at the end of that rental period — you cannot end mid-month.
Date math is unforgiving — the clock usually runs from the day your landlord receives the notice, not the day you write it. Build in a few days of cushion, and photograph the empty unit when you hand back the keys.

Straight answers

Questions people ask

How much notice does a tenant have to give in Colorado?

For a month-to-month tenancy (a 'tenancy of one month or longer but less than six months'), written notice must be given at least 21 days before the end of the rental period, and the termination date must fall at the end of that rental period — you cannot end mid-month. The governing statute is Colorado Revised Statutes — Notice to Terminate Tenancy (Forcible Entry and Detainer).

What happens when a fixed-term lease ends in Colorado?

A fixed-term lease ends on its stated date, and Colorado leases commonly impose their own 30-60 day written non-renewal requirement, which controls. A tenant who holds over with rent accepted typically becomes month-to-month; since 2024, HB 24-1098 requires landlords to have cause to refuse renewal, but that restricts only the landlord's side. Check your lease for a renewal or notice clause — where the statute allows it, the lease controls.

Anything else Colorado renters should know before moving out?

The 21-day figure dates to SB 17-245 (2017), which tripled the old 7-day rule — older forms and websites still circulate the outdated number. Shorter tenancies scale down sharply: one week to one month (or a tenancy at will) requires only 3 days' notice, and under one week just 1 day; six months to a year requires 28 days and a year or longer 91 days — the tiers key to the length of the tenancy term. Mobile home park residents fall under a separate act with far longer landlord notice periods.

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When to use this letter

Moving out should be the easy part — but in Colorado, when you give notice and how you deliver it decide whether you owe another month of rent. The rule that matters: for a month-to-month tenancy, Colorado law generally requires 21 days written notice from the tenant, under Colorado Revised Statutes — Notice to Terminate Tenancy (Forcible Entry and Detainer). This generator writes a tenant's notice to vacate that cites C.R.S. § 13-40-107(1)(c) by name, states your move-out date, and asks for the move-out inspection and your deposit instructions in the same letter — so nothing gets renegotiated later. No blank template to fight with: fill in your landlord, the address, and the date, then send it in a way you can prove, because notice clocks here run from delivery, not from the day you write it.