Colorado: Landlord Entry Notice Requirements
The short answer
Colorado has no general statute setting a landlord-entry-notice rule. For an ordinary entry — repairs, inspections, showings — your lease controls what notice the landlord owes and why they may enter, and the common-law right to quiet enjoyment stops a landlord from coming in at will. There is one statutory entry rule: for a bedbug inspection or treatment, a landlord must give you reasonable written or electronic notice at least 48 hours before entering, unless your lease sets a shorter time or you waive it. Colorado has no general 24-hour entry law, despite what some websites claim.
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This is the general rule in Colorado. Ezel applies current Colorado law to your specific facts and answers with citations to the statutes.
| Governing law | No general landlord-entry statute. Colorado's residential landlord-tenant law (C.R.S. Title 38, Article 12) does not include a URLTA-style access section, so ordinary entry is governed by the lease and the common-law covenant of quiet enjoyment. The one statutory entry-notice rule is the bedbug provision, C.R.S. § 38-12-1004 (part of the 2019 Bed Bugs in Residential Premises Act). Separately, the statutory warranty of habitability (Part 5) requires landlords to make repairs, which implies access, but fixes no entry-notice figure |
|---|---|
| Advance notice required | No general statutory period — not 24 hours, not any number. The lease sets whatever notice applies to a routine entry. The only statutory figure is for bedbugs: 'reasonable written or electronic notice ... at least forty-eight hours before' a bedbug inspection or treatment entry (§ 38-12-1004(1)(a)) — and even that may be shortened by the rental agreement or waived by the tenant (§ 38-12-1004(1)(b)) |
| Reasons a landlord may enter | No general statutory list of entry reasons. The lease defines them for ordinary entries. Colorado law addresses two specific access situations: entry to inspect for or treat bed bugs (§ 38-12-1004), and the landlord's underlying duty to keep the unit habitable under the warranty of habitability (Part 5), which necessarily requires access to make repairs. Beyond these, the reasons a landlord may enter are whatever the lease allows |
| Permitted hours | No statutory hours limit. Colorado law fixes no time-of-day window for entry; any limit comes from the lease or from the reasonableness the quiet-enjoyment covenant implies |
| When no notice is needed | No general statutory emergency scheme. Under the one statutory rule, the bedbug 48-hour notice may be waived by the tenant (§ 38-12-1004(1)(b)). If a landlord must go to court to compel bedbug access, 'any court order granting a landlord access to a dwelling unit must be served upon the tenant at least twenty-four hours before' entry (§ 38-12-1006(4)). A genuine emergency (fire, flood, gas leak) rests on the lease and common-law necessity, not a Colorado statute |
| Form and delivery of the notice | No general statutory form or delivery rule; the lease governs how notice of a routine entry is given. The bedbug rule requires 'reasonable written or electronic notice' of the fact of the entry at least 48 hours ahead (§ 38-12-1004(1)(a)) — electronic notice is expressly allowed for that purpose |
| Special rules for showings | None. Colorado has no statute addressing entry to show an occupied unit to buyers or new renters; whether and how a landlord may do so is governed entirely by the lease |
| Tenant's remedies for unlawful entry | For an ordinary wrongful entry there is no statutory penalty — a tenant's recourse is a common-law claim for breach of quiet enjoyment or trespass, an injunction, damages, or a lease remedy. For a violation of the bedbug rules, 'a landlord who fails to comply with this part 10 is liable to the tenant for the tenant's actual damages' (§ 38-12-1006(1)). The tenant's mirror duty under that part: a tenant 'who receives such notice shall not unreasonably deny' bedbug access (§ 38-12-1004(1)(a)) |
Compare this rule across all 50 states + DC →
How entry works in Colorado without a general entry statute
Colorado is one of the states with no across-the-board landlord-entry-notice law. Its
residential landlord-tenant statutes (Title 38, Article 12) cover deposits,
habitability, eviction notice, and — since 2019 — bed bugs, but they contain no
general "the landlord may enter only after X hours' notice" section like California's
or the many URLTA states'. So for an ordinary entry — a repair, an inspection, a
showing — the rules come from two other places.
Your lease. Because Colorado supplies no default, the lease is where the entry
rule lives. If your lease says how much notice the landlord must give and for what
reasons, that clause controls. If you want a hard notice rule, get one written into
the lease.
The common-law covenant of quiet enjoyment. Even where the lease is silent, a
Colorado landlord cannot lawfully enter an occupied home whenever they please. Every
tenancy carries an implied right to quiet enjoyment, and a pattern of unannounced,
unjustified entries can breach it. Separately, the statutory warranty of habitability
(Part 5 of Article 12) requires landlords to keep the unit fit to live in, which
necessarily means they need reasonable access to make repairs — but the habitability
statute sets no entry-notice figure of its own.
The one statutory entry rule: bed bugs. Colorado's 2019 Bed Bugs in Residential
Premises Act is the single place the statutes put a number on landlord entry. If a
landlord, inspector, or pest-control agent "must enter a dwelling unit for the purpose
of conducting an inspection for, or treating the presence of, bed bugs," the landlord
must give "reasonable written or electronic notice ... at least forty-eight hours
before" the entry (§ 38-12-1004(1)(a)). The lease may set a different minimum time,
and the tenant may waive the notice entirely (§ 38-12-1004(1)(b)). Once noticed, the
tenant "shall not unreasonably deny" access. If a landlord has to go to court to force
bedbug access, the order "must be served upon the tenant at least twenty-four hours
before" entry (§ 38-12-1006(4)).
So the practical answer to "how much notice?" in Colorado is: whatever your lease
says for ordinary entries, 48 hours for a bedbug inspection or treatment, and — for a
non-emergency entry with no lease authorization — enough that an unannounced entry may
breach your quiet enjoyment.
What trips people up
There is no general 24-hour entry rule in Colorado, whatever a website says. Some
online guides state that Colorado law requires 24 hours' notice before any entry, and
at least one attributes a new entry rule to a 2026 statute. That is wrong: Colorado has
no general entry-notice statute, and the 2026 law those sites point to governs pricing
disclosures, not landlord entry. The only statutory notice figure that exists is the
48-hour bedbug rule.
The bedbug 48-hour notice can be shortened or waived. Unlike a fixed statutory
floor, the bedbug notice period yields to the lease (which may set a shorter minimum)
and to the tenant's own waiver (§ 38-12-1004(1)). It is a floor only in the absence of
those.
Your real protection for ordinary entries is the lease. Because the state sets no
default, a tenant who wants a dependable notice rule for repairs, inspections, or
showings should negotiate one into the lease. Relying on an assumed statutory right can
leave you with nothing to point to.
Common questions
Does my Colorado landlord have to give notice before entering? Not by general
statute. For ordinary entries, your lease controls, and the common-law right to quiet
enjoyment limits how a landlord may use any entry right. The one statutory notice rule
is 48 hours for a bedbug inspection or treatment (§ 38-12-1004).
How much notice for a bedbug inspection? At least 48 hours' reasonable written or
electronic notice before entry, unless your lease sets a shorter time or you waive it
(§ 38-12-1004(1)). After proper notice, you may not unreasonably refuse access.
Is there a Colorado law requiring 24 hours' notice to enter? No. Despite what some
sites claim, Colorado has no general entry-notice statute. Do not assume a 24-hour
right exists — check your lease.
What can I do if my landlord keeps entering without warning? For ordinary entries,
you can pursue a common-law claim for breach of quiet enjoyment or trespass, seek an
injunction, and claim damages. For a violation of the bedbug rules specifically, the
landlord "is liable to the tenant for the tenant's actual damages" (§ 38-12-1006(1)).
Statutes and sources
- C.R.S. § 38-12-1004 — the bedbug access section: 48 hours' reasonable written or electronic notice before a bedbug inspection or treatment entry, subject to a different lease-set minimum, plus the tenant's right to waive the notice and duty not to unreasonably deny access (1).
https://leg.colorado.gov/laws/session-laws/HB19-1328/426/download (accessed 2026-07-11) - C.R.S. § 38-12-1006 — remedies under the Bed Bugs Act: the landlord's actual-damages liability for noncompliance (1), the landlord's route to injunctive relief when a tenant refuses reasonable access (2), and the requirement that a court order granting access be served at least 24 hours before entry (4).
https://leg.colorado.gov/laws/session-laws/HB19-1328/426/download (accessed 2026-07-11)
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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