Squatters in Colorado, and the owner’s legal options
Who counts as an unauthorized occupant under Colorado law, how the fast court process works, when a full eviction is required instead, and why adverse possession almost never applies to a house you are still paying taxes on.
Squatters in Colorado cannot gain ownership quickly. Adverse possession takes 18 years of possession, or seven years for someone holding a deed or similar title paper in good faith who also pays every property tax, and since 2008 the 18-year path also requires a reasonable good-faith belief about ownership. To remove someone who never had permission from a vacant house, owners can use the fast court process in C.R.S. 13-40.1-101 rather than a full eviction.
A real problem, with a faster fix than most owners expect.
A vacant house is the usual target. A rental between tenants, an inherited house waiting on probate, a property listed for months with nobody checking on it. An owner drives by and finds new locks, a car in the driveway, someone inside who says they live there now. Amy and Jenny hear from Northern Colorado owners in that spot, and the first question is always the same: what am I allowed to do?
Colorado gives owners a specific tool for this, a court process for unauthorized occupants that is far faster than an eviction. It also draws a line. Someone who once had a lease or paid rent is treated differently, and so is anyone the owner invited in, and getting that distinction wrong can cost you weeks or expose you to penalties.
This guide explains the law as it stands, using the Colorado Revised Statutes cited in each section. It is general information, not legal advice; confirm with a Colorado attorney before you act, and do not try to remove anyone yourself.
Who counts as a squatter under Colorado law
Colorado’s statute uses the term unauthorized person. Under C.R.S. 13-40.1-101, that is someone who occupies an uninhabited or vacant residential property without any current or prior agreement or consent from the owner. The definition is narrow on purpose.
Three groups fall outside it. Anyone the owner or the owner’s agent accepted money or anything of value from, anyone who was previously given permission to enter and stay, and certain relatives of the owner are excluded. A former tenant who stayed past the lease, a guest who will not leave and a buyer who moved in before closing are not unauthorized persons under this law.
That split decides which process you use. Unauthorized persons go through the fast process below. Everyone else goes through a regular eviction under C.R.S. 13-40.
The fast removal process for unauthorized occupants
Colorado created this process with Senate Bill 18-015, signed in 2018. The owner or the owner’s authorized agent files a complaint and a verified motion in county court. The motion is signed under penalty of perjury and states, among other things, that the owner never gave permission, never had an agreement with the occupants, accepted nothing of value from them, asked them to leave, and told them about the filing.
Speed is the point. The statute calls for the hearing no later than the next court day after filing unless the owner asks for a later date, and the papers must be served personally or posted on the property at least 24 hours before the hearing. Occupants can appear and dispute their status. If the court finds they are unauthorized it issues an order and a writ before adjourning, and the sheriff must act within 24 hours of receiving it.
Every statement in that motion must be true. A false declaration can bring civil sanctions, a contempt finding or perjury charges. A judge who is not convinced denies the motion, which sends you back to a regular eviction.
Get the facts straight before you file.
When the occupant says they have a lease
Many disputes start here. The person inside produces a lease, a text about rent, or a story about a former owner who let them stay. Police called to the scene often cannot sort out who is lawfully there, which is why the court order matters: under C.R.S. 13-40.1-101, an order from the county court directs the sheriff to remove unauthorized persons and tell them to stay off the property or face arrest for criminal trespass.
If the claim is real, or at least plausible, the case belongs in a regular eviction, starting with the right written notice. Believe the lease is fake? Tell the court and your attorney exactly that; the judge decides whose story holds up.
Do not change the locks, shut off utilities or remove belongings while that question is open. Colorado law makes it unlawful to remove or exclude a tenant without court process under C.R.S. 38-12-510, with damages of at least three times the monthly rent or $5,000, whichever is greater, plus fees.
Read more: The Colorado Eviction Process for Landlords, Step by Step →
Adverse possession, and why squatters rarely get there
Squatters’ rights online usually means adverse possession, the old rule that open possession for long enough can become ownership. In Colorado that period is 18 years under C.R.S. 38-41-101. A shorter seven-year path under C.R.S. 38-41-108 applies only to someone in possession under color of title in good faith (a deed or similar document that appears valid) who also pays all the property taxes for those seven years.
The bar went up in 2008. In cases filed on or after July 1, 2008, a claimant must prove every element by clear and convincing evidence. For title that vests on or after that date, the claimant must also show that they, or someone before them, held a good-faith belief, reasonable under the circumstances, that the person in possession was the actual owner. A squatter who knows the house belongs to someone else does not meet that test.
Even a winning claimant may have to pay. The statute lets the court award the former owner compensation based on the assessed value and the taxes paid, after a separate hearing.
The realistic risk for an owner who pays the taxes and checks on the house is damage and delay. A lost title is unlikely.
Keeping a vacant house protected
Make the house look watched. Visit on an irregular schedule, keep the utilities on at a low level and the yard or the snow handled. Ask a neighbor to call you if anything changes. Post no trespassing signs and keep every door, window and garage door locked.
Keep a paper trail. Dated photos of each room, your recorded deed, your insurance policy and receipts showing you pay the property taxes and insurance all make the verified motion easier to sign truthfully and quicker to prove. Tell your insurer the house is vacant; many homeowners policies treat a vacant property differently.
If you cannot get to the house often, that itself is a reason to decide its future sooner.
Selling a house after a squatter problem
Owners who have just been through a removal often find damage, trash and changed locks waiting for them, and a listing means cleaning, repairing and protecting the house again while it sits. Some choose to sell as-is instead. We buy houses in that condition across Northern Colorado and the Denver metro, as long as the numbers work for both of us, and you leave behind what you do not want, no cleanout.
Tell us who is still in the house and how they got in. Depending on the situation we can say whether a sale can go forward now or after the court process finishes.
Read more: Sell a Distressed Property: Any Condition, Any Situation →
The unauthorized occupant process or a regular eviction.
The unauthorized occupant process
- Who it covers People who never had permission, an agreement or a payment accepted, in a vacant or uninhabited house.
- How it starts A complaint and a verified motion filed in county court.
- Hearing Next court day after filing, unless the owner asks for later.
- Removal The sheriff acts within 24 hours of receiving the order.
A regular eviction
- Who it covers Tenants, former tenants who stayed, guests and anyone with a claimed right to be there.
- How it starts A written notice, then a complaint and summons in county court.
- Hearing The date on the summons, with service at least 7 days before it.
- Removal A writ of restitution after judgment, executed by the sheriff.
How it unfolds, start to close.
Ask them to leave, and tell them about the filing
The verified motion asks you to state that the occupants were asked to leave and were told about the court filing and given a copy. Do it and document it. Keep your distance.
File the complaint and verified motion
File in the county court where the property is located. The owner or an authorized agent signs, under penalty of perjury.
Serve the papers
Personal service or posting on the property, at least 24 hours before the hearing time.
The hearing
Held as soon as practicable and no later than the next court day after filing unless you ask for a later date. Occupants may appear and dispute their status.
The order and the sheriff
If the court finds the occupants unauthorized it issues the order and writ before adjourning, and the sheriff acts within 24 hours of receiving it.
Read it from the source.
- Colorado General Assembly, SB18-015 the bill that created the unauthorized occupant process
- Colorado Judicial Branch, residential evictions official forms and instructions for a regular eviction
- Colorado Revised Statutes the official statutes, including 13-40.1, 38-41 and 38-12
Questions homeowners ask us.
What is the minimum time for squatters rights in Colorado?
There is no short period. Adverse possession takes 18 years under C.R.S. 38-41-101, or seven years under C.R.S. 38-41-108 for someone holding a deed in good faith who also pays all the property taxes. Claimants must also show a reasonable good-faith belief about ownership.
How do I get a squatter out of my house in Colorado?
If the person never had permission, an agreement or a payment you accepted, and the house was vacant, use the unauthorized occupant process in C.R.S. 13-40.1-101: a complaint and verified motion in county court, a hearing by the next court day, and the sheriff must remove them within 24 hours of receiving the court’s order.
Can you lock a squatter out of your house?
Not safely. If the occupant can claim to be a tenant, a lockout, a utility shutoff or removing their belongings can expose you to damages under C.R.S. 38-12-510. Use the court process and let the sheriff do the removal.
Why can’t the police just remove a squatter?
Officers at the door often cannot tell who is lawfully there, especially when the occupant shows a lease or claims permission. A court order under the unauthorized occupant law directs the sheriff to remove the occupants and tell them to stay away or face arrest for criminal trespass.
Can a squatter take ownership of my house in Colorado?
Only in rare cases. The 18-year path requires a reasonable good-faith belief about ownership, proven by clear and convincing evidence, and the seven-year path requires a deed or similar title paper held in good faith with every property tax paid. An owner who pays the taxes and checks on the house is well protected.
What if the person in my house says they have a lease?
Then the fast process probably does not fit, because it excludes anyone given permission or anyone you took money from. A regular eviction, starting with the right notice, is the usual path. A lease you believe is fake is a question for the court and a Colorado attorney.
Pages that usually come next.
Sell a House With Tenants: Leases, Notice, Deposits, and Closing
The Colorado Eviction Process for Landlords, Step by Step
Sell a Distressed Property: Any Condition, Any Situation
Sell an Inherited House: Belongings, Siblings, Distance, One Sale
Sell My House As Is Fast: Any Condition, No Repairs, Colorado
Done with the vacant house? We can take it as it stands.
Tell us about the house and what happened. Within 24 hours of that conversation you will have a written cash offer. You pay no fees or commissions, and we cover the seller’s closing costs.