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Tenant Abandoned Property Laws in Colorado

In Colorado, property is presumed abandoned under the lien statute after the owner fails to contact the landlord for 30 days, and at least 15 days' mailed notice is required before it is sold or disposed of; after an eviction the landlord has no duty to store removed property.

Last checked . General information, not legal advice.

Colorado at a glance

Written notice required
Yes under the lien route; not after eviction
A lienholder must mail notice at least 15 days before sale or disposal. After a writ of restitution, the landlord has no duty to store or inventory property.
Holding period
30 days without contact (lien route)
Property is presumed abandoned after the owner fails to contact the lienholder for at least 30 days. After an eviction there is no storage duty.
After the holding period
Sell or dispose after 15 days' notice
After an eviction, a landlord who stores property may charge reasonable storage costs and may dispose of it under its lien rights.

Sources

Last checked

The rules in Colorado

Does a landlord in Colorado have to notify the tenant before disposing of left-behind property?

Yes under the lien route; not after eviction. Written notice required in Colorado: yes under the lien route; not after eviction. A lienholder must mail notice at least 15 days before sale or disposal. After a writ of restitution, the landlord has no duty to store or inventory property.

How long must a landlord in Colorado keep a tenant's abandoned property?

Holding period in Colorado: 30 days without contact (lien route). Property is presumed abandoned after the owner fails to contact the lienholder for at least 30 days. After an eviction there is no storage duty.

What can a landlord in Colorado do with abandoned property after the waiting period?

After the holding period in Colorado: Sell or dispose after 15 days' notice. After an eviction, a landlord who stores property may charge reasonable storage costs and may dispose of it under its lien rights.

Where do the Colorado tenant abandoned property laws come from?

The rules above come from Colo. Rev. Stat. 38-20-116, Colo. Rev. Stat. 38-20-102 and Colo. Rev. Stat. 13-40-122. Each source is linked on this page. We last checked them in October 2026.

Good to know

The landlord lien covers household furniture and goods but excludes items such as beds, bedding, necessary clothing, kitchen utensils, records and pets (pets added effective January 1, 2024).

What this means in practice

Before treating anything as abandoned, confirm that the tenancy has actually ended. Some statutes define when a unit counts as abandoned, and removing property while a tenant still has a right to possession can expose a landlord to claims for wrongful eviction or conversion.

Keep a written record. Photos or a video of the items, a dated inventory, a copy of any notice sent and proof of how it was delivered make it much easier to show that the required steps were followed if the former tenant later asks for the property or its value.

Store items safely and in a reasonable way during any holding period. Where a statute allows the landlord to charge reasonable moving and storage costs, or to keep sale proceeds to cover those costs, the rules on what may be charged and what happens to any surplus vary, so check the exact text for your state.

General information, not legal advice. Laws change, and cities can add their own rules, so check the current statute before you rely on it.