Housing & Tenant · Landlord Entry
Landlord Entry Notice in Colorado
How much warning a landlord must give before entering your home in Colorado, the hours entry is allowed, and what to do if they walk in unannounced, cited to the statute.
The rules and your rights in Colorado
The notice, the allowed hours, the reasons a landlord may enter, and what to do about an unlawful entry.
Colorado has no statute that sets how much notice a landlord must give before entering. That means your lease controls, and a city or county ordinance may add its own rule. Read your lease first, then check for a local ordinance where you live.
| Advance notice | No notice period set by state statute |
| Allowed entry hours | Set by your lease for general entry. The statute fixes no hours. |
| Reasons a landlord may enter | There is no general statutory list of entry reasons in Colorado. The single statutory rule covers one purpose, a bed-bug inspection or treatment by the landlord, a qualified inspector, or a pest control agent. For every other reason the lease is the source. |
| Emergency entry | Because there is no general notice statute, there is no general emergency clause either. Your lease governs entry, and in a true emergency a landlord will act to protect the property. For a bed-bug entry the statute requires the 48-hour notice unless your lease sets a different period. |
| Local ordinance | Colorado has home-rule cities that can add their own rental rules, so check your city code. Statewide there is no general entry-notice ordinance to rely on. |
| Statute | No state entry statute |
If the landlord enters unlawfully
For a general improper entry Colorado gives no statutory remedy, so the route is your lease and your right to quiet enjoyment. For the bed-bug rule, the notice requirement sits inside the wider bed-bug article, which a local legal aid office can help you apply.
The bed-bug article is relatively recent Colorado legislation and sits in the same fast-moving part of the code as the state eviction provisions, so confirm the current 48-hour figure and re-read title 38 article 12 before treating the general silence as settled.
What you can do right now
Concrete, neutral steps if a landlord keeps entering your Colorado home without proper notice. This is legal information, not legal advice.
- Read your lease access clause first
For anything other than bed bugs, Colorado law sets no notice period, so your lease is the rule. Find the entry clause and see whether it requires notice, sets hours, or lists reasons the landlord can enter.
- Know your one statutory right
If the landlord is coming about bed bugs, you have a statutory right to 48 hours written or electronic notice under C.R.S. 38-12-1004, unless your lease sets a different minimum. For any other reason, check the lease.
- Document every improper entry
Write down the date, the time, and the reason given for each entry. A pattern of unannounced visits can support a claim that the landlord breached the lease or your right to quiet enjoyment.
- Check for a local rule and get help
Colorado home-rule cities can add protections, so check your city code. For a dispute, contact a local Colorado legal aid office to learn your options. Search for legal aid in your area.
This is general legal information, not legal advice. Read your own lease and check for a local ordinance, since either can change what applies to your home.
What Colorado renters get wrong
Colorado regulates landlord entry for exactly one reason, and it is bed bugs. If the landlord is coming about bed bugs, C.R.S. 38-12-1004 gives you a statutory right to 48 hours' written or electronic notice, and your lease may set a different minimum. If the landlord is coming for literally anything else, Colorado law says nothing, and the lease is the whole answer. That gap is the story of this page. It is also a useful warning against the common shortcut of writing "Colorado requires reasonable notice," which sounds authoritative and is simply not in the code. Because proving the general silence means reading title 38 in full rather than trusting the absence of a search hit, this page is marked as cited while that confirmation is pending. The practical takeaway does not change: outside the narrow bed-bug rule, read your lease, because it is the only place a Colorado entry rule is likely to live.
Common questions
Does Colorado require notice before a landlord enters?
Only for bed bugs. C.R.S. 38-12-1004 requires 48 hours written or electronic notice before a bed-bug inspection or treatment. For every other reason, Colorado has no general entry-notice statute, so your lease controls.
Why do bed bugs get their own rule in Colorado?
Colorado passed a dedicated bed-bug law that includes a notice requirement, but it never added a general entry-notice statute. The result is a single narrow rule surrounded by silence, which is why the lease matters so much for any other entry.
Can my Colorado lease set a shorter bed-bug notice?
Yes. The bed-bug rule lets the rental agreement set a different minimum notice period, so read your lease. For entries that are not about bed bugs, the lease is the only source of a notice rule at all.
What does my lease say about entry in Colorado?
That is the question to answer, because outside the bed-bug rule the lease governs. Look for an access or entry clause that sets notice, hours, or reasons, and if it is silent, the landlord generally needs your permission except in an emergency.
Not legal advicePlainStatute provides plain-language summaries of public law for general information only. This is not legal advice. Statutes change; always confirm current requirements with the official source linked above before acting.