Inside Real Estate: Leases in Colorado, part 1

Let's discuss leases in Colorado. A lease is an agreement between a landlord/owner/lessor (whatever word you want to use) and a tenant/renter/lessee (again, whatever word you want to use). Because of the statute of frauds, a lease for longer than one year has to be in writing to be effective. However, it's always best to get a written lease because the written paper reminds people what the arrangements are.

There are four kinds of leases. There is a lease called a "tenancy for years." It's a lease for a definite time period, which could be for 1 day, 6 weeks, 4 months, 1 year, or 50 years. Because it's clear when the lease ends, no one needs to "give notice" unless he/she wants to change the length of time.

Another kind of lease is called a "periodic tenancy." This is a lease that is for a time that constantly renews. If it's a weekly or monthly lease, it continues until either the landlord or tenant gives the other party notice that he/she doesn't want it to continue. For this change, it needs to be written notice and here are some guidelines according to Colorado statutes 13-40-107:

1 year, or longer, lease—3 months notice

6 months up to 1 year lease—1 month notice

1 month up to 6 months lease—10 days

1 week up to 1 month lease—3 days

I'll describe the other two kinds of leases on Wednesday.