Lease Renewal Clause
in Your Lease
What it actually means, what Colorado law says, what's specific to Denver - and exactly what to do. In plain English.
Quick Summary - What You Need to Know
- Colorado landlords need a legal ground from C.R.S. § 38-12-1303 to decline renewing your lease.
- Most no-fault grounds require at least 90 days' written notice before the day you must vacate.
- Tenants in active military service get 45 days under the same statute.
- C.R.S. § 38-12-1302 exempts tenancies under 12 months, owner-occupied one-to-three-unit homes and short-term rentals.
- Periodic tenancies of a year or longer take 91 days' notice under C.R.S. § 13-40-107.
Understanding the Lease Renewal Clause
This page is for Denver renters whose lease is ending and who want to know whether the landlord can say no to a renewal, and how much warning they get. Colorado law changed this: a landlord now needs a reason from the statute to let your lease lapse.
Start by checking whether your tenancy is covered, because short tenancies and some small owner-occupied homes are left out. Then count the notice back from the day you would have to move out.
What renters assume
When my one-year lease ends, my Denver landlord can decline to renew it without giving any reason.
What is actually true
C.R.S. § 38-12-1303 requires a legal ground to decline renewal. Most no-fault grounds need 90 days' written notice, unless your tenancy is exempt under § 38-12-1302.
Colorado tops this chart for a reason. Texas, Illinois, Arizona and Tennessee landlords owe zero notice when a fixed term expires, and California and Seattle stop at 60 days.
Colorado's 90 days comes attached to something a bar chart can't show - your landlord needs a reason at all.
Lease Renewal Clause Example - What the Wording Looks Like in Denver, CO
The sample clause below is real lease language - a court quoted it word for word, and then ruled on it. What the judge decided is at the bottom of this block.
Find the equivalent paragraph in your own lease and read the two side by side. The wording will differ; the moving parts rarely do.
The lease paragraph a Pennsylvania appellate court read in 2025, subsection (c), quoted exactly as the opinion has it:
(c) Landlord may increase the rent or change any other term of the Lease for any renewal period by sending written notice to Tenant. Landlord must send this notice at least 60 days before the end of the Term or of any renewal term. Tenant may reject the renewal terms by sending written notice to Landlord 60 days prior to the end of the current lease ending date. Tenant must then vacate at the end of the current Term. The Lease will renew on the terms set forth in Landlord's renewal notice if Tenant does not send notice ending the Lease.
Quoted from the published opinion in Cooper v. SGYS St. Ives, LLC, 333 A.3d 1046, 2025 PA Super 66 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2025). Judicial opinions are not subject to copyright; the lease language is reproduced in limited part for commentary under 17 U.S.C. § 107.
What the 4 highlighted phrases mean
“by sending written notice to Tenant”
In Colorado a notice like this has to do more than announce a decision. Under C.R.S. § 38-12-1303 a no-cause non-renewal is barred and the permitted no-fault grounds are listed; most of them require at least 90 days' written notice before the tenant must vacate, cut to 45 days for a tenant in active military service. A letter that names no ground is a letter with a gap in it.
“Tenant must then vacate”
That demand is what the 90-day clock is built around, because the statute measures its notice before the tenant must vacate rather than before the paperwork goes out. Whether it reaches you at all depends on C.R.S. 38-12-1302, which exempts tenants of under 12 months, owner-occupied homes of one to three units, and short-term rentals. Your own tenure and your building's size are the first two facts to establish.
See the example
“The Lease will renew on the terms set forth”
Renewal on the landlord's stated terms is the default this clause creates. In Colorado the more useful question is whether the landlord could have refused at all, because the for-cause rule in C.R.S. § 38-12-1303 changes the shape of the conversation: a landlord with no listed ground is not choosing between renewing and not renewing, only between the terms offered.
“ending the Lease”
Two very different acts sit behind the same idea. A tenant ending a lease at the end of its term is doing something the lease governs; a landlord ending a tenancy in Colorado is doing something HB24-1098 governs, and that needs a ground from the statutory list. The asymmetry is the single most useful thing a Denver renter can know when a non-renewal letter turns up.
See the example
The clause was enforced exactly as written, and it came back on the landlord who wrote it. The underlying dispute was not about renewal at all - it was a claim under Philadelphia's lead-disclosure ordinance, and the landlord's answer was that the Coopers were former tenants with no right to bring it. The Superior Court disagreed. Because paragraph 24 renewed the lease automatically unless a party gave 60 days' written notice, and this landlord gave none, brought no eviction and filed no suit, the lease was still alive and the Coopers were still tenants - even though they had stopped paying rent. The landlord, the court held, “had a duty to take specific action against Appellants in order to end the lease,” and a tenant's own breach does not quietly turn them into a former tenant. Two things to keep in view. This is a standing holding that construes an automatic-renewal clause, not a renewal dispute, and it should not be read as one. And the same paragraph priced the renewal it created: subsection (b) raised the rent for each renewal term to market rent, as determined by Landlord, with a minimum increase of 7% above current rent. Automatic renewal runs in whichever direction the paperwork points, and here the paperwork pointed at the landlord.
How this state's law treats this clause
One court, one lease, one state. That answer is not automatically yours, and your lease may be worded to land differently. Use this to know what to look for and what to ask - your state's tenant hotline or a local tenant attorney can answer it for your document.
Colorado Law on Lease Renewal Clause
- HB24-1098, codified at C.R.S. 38-12-1303, bars no-cause non-renewal and lists the permitted no-fault grounds.
- Most no-fault grounds require at least 90 days' written notice; 45 days for tenants in active military service.
- C.R.S. 38-12-1302 exempts tenants of under 12 months, owner-occupied one-to-three-unit homes, and short-term rentals.
- For periodic tenancies, C.R.S. 13-40-107 requires 91 days' notice when the tenancy is one year or longer.
Sources include C.R.S. § 38-12-1303 - statutes change; verify the current text for your situation.
Count it for your dates
90 days before: the last day to act
What it means: For most no-fault grounds, written notice of non-renewal must be given at least 90 days before that day. Applies to a Colorado landlord declining renewal on most no-fault grounds; 45 days for tenants in active military service; does not apply to tenancies under 12 months, owner-occupied one-to-three-unit homes or short-term rentals (C.R.S. § 38-12-1302); a periodic tenancy of one year or longer takes 91 days under C.R.S. § 13-40-107 (C.R.S. § 38-12-1303). Calendar arithmetic only; check how the section counts days before you rely on a date.
Copy and send: As soon as a non-renewal notice arrives
Ask which ground applies
Fill in the brackets and keep a copy of what you send.
Colorado's renewal rule is C.R.S. § 38-12-1303, added by HB24-1098. It bars no-cause non-renewal and lists the grounds a landlord may use, including no-fault ones such as an owner move-in or taking the unit off the rental market.
- No-fault grounds. Most require at least 90 days' written notice before the day you must vacate.
- Active military service. Tenants in active military service get 45 days.
- Exemptions. C.R.S. § 38-12-1302 exempts tenants of under 12 months, owner-occupied homes of one to three units, and short-term rentals.
- Periodic tenancies. On a periodic tenancy of one year or longer, C.R.S. § 13-40-107 requires 91 days' notice.
The notice has to be in writing. Colorado publishes its official statutes through LexisNexis, and statutes change, so check the current text of § 38-12-1303 before you count a day.
What's Specific to Denver
Figures are the state rule, or the stronger city ordinance where one exists. Verify the current law for your own situation before relying on it.
Our record of Denver's rules shows no renewal notice period of its own, and the statewide for-cause law in C.R.S. § 38-12-1303 governs here. Denver's own rules cover rental licensing and eviction assistance, which matter once a notice arrives.
The practical step is timing: put the 90-day mark on your calendar the week you sign, and ask for renewal terms in writing.
A named date or window lets you plan to stay or move before any notice period starts.
"Market rate" with no figure is hard to weigh. A stated rent or a ceiling lets you compare staying with moving.
A silent full-year rollover with a short opt-out window can lock you into a year you never chose. Find that window.
The rights in § 38-12-1303 come from statute, not your lease. Language signing them away is worth questioning before you sign.
Sources
The law this guide relies on, and where to read it. Statutes change, so confirm the current text before you act on it.
- C.R.S. § 38-12-1303, read on codes.findlaw.com. Colorado publishes its official statutes through LexisNexis; there is no free government edition. FindLaw marks its copy of this section current as of January 1, 2025; Colorado publishes its official statutes through LexisNexis, so confirm the current text before relying on it.
Red Flags to Watch Out For
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Non-renewal with no reason given
A notice that only says the lease won't be renewed. § 38-12-1303 requires a stated ground, so ask in writing which one applies.
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Renewal at "then-current market rate"
The clause promises a renewal but leaves the price open. Ask for a stated number or a ceiling before you rely on it.
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Automatic one-year rollover
The lease renews for another full year unless you cancel inside a narrow window. Find that window and calendar it the day you sign.
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Notice counted from the wrong day
The notice period runs to the day you must vacate. Count it yourself, from the day the written notice reaches you to move-out.
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Portal-only renewal notice
An app banner is easy to miss and hard to prove later. Ask for the notice in writing and keep a dated copy.
Your Rights as a Denver Tenant
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A stated cause for non-renewal
§ 38-12-1303 bars no-cause non-renewal. Your landlord has to name a ground from the statute instead of letting the term lapse.
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90 days on most no-fault grounds
Most no-fault grounds, such as an owner move-in, need at least 90 days' written notice before you must be out. Active military service: 45 days.
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91 days on periodic tenancies
On a periodic tenancy that has run a year or longer, C.R.S. § 13-40-107 requires 91 days' notice to end it.
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Written notice, not a call
The statute asks for written notice. A verbal heads-up from the leasing office is not that notice, and it proves nothing later.
What To Do - Step by Step
Find your lease end date
Take the expiration date off your lease, not your move-in date. The steps below count from the day you would have to move out.
Check whether you're covered
§ 38-12-1302 exempts tenancies under 12 months, owner-occupied one-to-three-unit homes and short-term rentals. Confirm yours is not one of them.
Calendar the 90-day mark
Count 90 days back from that move-out date and set a reminder yourself instead of waiting on the leasing office.
Ask for terms in writing
Email the property manager for the renewal rent and term. The thread dates your request and gives you something to point to later.
Read the notice for a ground
A non-renewal must name a ground under § 38-12-1303. If none is on the page, ask in writing which one applies.
Get help before you pack
If the notice still looks wrong, contact Denver's rental licensing or eviction-assistance programs, or a Colorado legal-aid line.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Lease Renewal rules near Colorado
The same clause in the nearest states we cover.
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