State Specific Question About: COLORADO (CO)

My tenant, Nov.1, "out of the blue", gave 30-day notice to vacate 4 months into his year-long lease, giving no reason and instructing all communications be by letter or e-mail, writing that he'd mail the keys. That was it. His GF had already moved out, I guess a month or so earlier without giving notice; he was paying everything so affordability was not the issue. His notice had both names but only his signature. He moved out today (with new GF's help). Turned in HIS keys; one of each, probably hers, are missing.

1) Must I abide by his communication rules? I did, but he (they) didn't pick up certified letters and he seemed to ignore e-mailed attempts to get him to notice he's under a lease. A letter I put on the porch was finally picked up a few days ago. (Gave him buy-out option that I thought was fair and economical...no response to anything.) Does the tenant have any responsibility to facilitate communication? i.e., In court, I can show attempts to give notices of violation, but he never got them. (I worried he was playing the ignore-then-skip game.)

2) Has she vacated? I understand joint & several liability, but am I free to rerent if she's on the lease and hasn't given notice? Has she abandoned? More on the saga later....

What Jeffrey said.

A few are going to pipe up about your right to sue him, get a judgement, and ten other legal exercises... that in 90+% of instances are either more trouble than the amount of money at issue is worth or the ex-tenant won't be able to pay in any case.

A few instances do warrant the effort but of those still fewer will yield anything.

In the same way that your investment money is earned when you buy your properties... your income money is earned when you get your tenant into the unit.

SCREEN! SCREEN! SCREEN!

Dead on above; I'll add that I've had a few break leases and every time, I've actually made more money when all was said and done. But it all starts with screening correctly to get the right kind of person to start with. If you do that, they'll want to keep their rental history in tact.

In each and every case, I accepted that they were going to leave and acknowledged the fact with the Resident. And from there go at ideas all the while letting them know I want to work with them to keep their rental history in tact. In fact, in all but one I would recommend them to another LL. On the one, I made the mistake of allowing them to use part of their deposit for the last months rent...never again will I do that.

Yes, I did screen, contacted references, did credit check, etc. The biggest stressor was that I didn't know why he was moving and he wouldn't respond to anything I put in writing. I posted more of this story right after this post, with more questions. Steve: I'm confused about the eviction process--if he doesn't (and he is refusing) to pay rent and is taking utilities out of his name today, is it still the pay or quit and eviction? He's out and gone, no forwarding adress..yet. I have been trying to get it rented but the tenant pool hasn't been very impressive this time of year.

1) No. I recommend keeping verbal communication lines open but back it with written.

Keep the tension level low and you MIGHT see some money.

Does CO law have an "implied jointly and severally" or must it be written in the lease?

2) I'd photograph the empty place to verify they are out. Is her stuff still there? If anything is questionable, I post a 24 hour notice on the door, stating "Appears abandoned. All remaining items will be disposed in 24 hours." Take a pic of the notice on the door and any items left.

Just because they don't play kissy face anymore does not mean a contract is void.

I need a new lease clause - "no catting around during tenancy" or "be sure to have your new honey help you move." Did he go to her place??

I amazes me how much sexual sin affects our businesses. When God said "No adultery" He knew it would affect leases.

Thanks, Brad, for the ideas. I have joint and several liability written into the lease. I was fortunate in that they left the place pretty clean-I only had to clean the oven/range and kitchen floor. There were some things left which I put in the storage shed and e-mailed him to pick up by Saturday noon. I'll put a notice on the door like you suggested, though, on Friday. I'll try to contact ex-GF by phone to return keys. Today is the 5th-he is NOT paying rent. Guess I have the deposit to work with now; I'm glad I learned to give myself 60 days for its return. I agree with your last few statements. To answer your question: I suspect he has moved in with the new GF who has her own house.