Colorado Squatters Rights: Adverse Possession and How Removal Actually Works
How long adverse possession takes in Colorado, whether there is a fast-track removal law, and what you legally can and cannot do about an unauthorized occupant. Last reviewed August 2026.
The question that decides everything: is the occupant a squatter or a tenant? Anyone who ever had permission to be there — a former tenant, someone who paid you rent even once, an ex-partner of your tenant on the lease — is generally a tenant in the law's eyes and must go through the eviction process. Colorado's squatter rules below apply to true trespassers only.
How long does adverse possession take in Colorado?
Colorado requires eighteen years of actual, adverse, hostile, exclusive, and uninterrupted possession under a claim of right (C.R.S. § 38-41-101), shortened to seven years for a claimant holding color of title in good faith who pays all taxes legally assessed for those seven years (C.R.S. § 38-41-108). Since the 2008 reform (HB08-1148), a claimant in a contested case must also prove by clear and convincing evidence a good-faith belief that the property was their own, and the court may order the successful claimant to compensate the record owner for the land's value and back taxes. That combination makes a knowing residential squatter's path to title effectively closed.
How to remove a squatter in Colorado
Colorado built its expedited path six years before the national wave. Under C.R.S. § 13-40.1-101 (SB18-015, effective July 1, 2018), the owner of residential premises or an authorized agent files a complaint in county court with a verified motion for a temporary mandatory injunction, declaring under penalty of perjury that the occupant is an 'unauthorized person' — someone occupying vacant or uninhabited residential premises with no current or prior agreement or consent of the owner. The court holds a hearing within one court day; if the motion is granted, the sheriff must remove the occupant within 24 hours of receiving the order, with a 14-day ban on returning enforced by criminal-trespass arrest. The Colorado Judicial Branch publishes the forms (JDF 149-153). False declarations expose the owner to sanctions, contempt, perjury prosecution, and a civil action by the removed person. Anyone with any current or prior consent falls outside the statute and must go through a standard FED eviction.
Squatter or tenant? Why it matters
The 'unauthorized person' definition excludes anyone who ever had the owner's agreement or consent, written or oral — so former tenants, holdovers, ex-partners, and guests who overstayed all require a forcible entry and detainer case under C.R.S. § 13-40-104 with the proper demand, and tenants of twelve months or more get Colorado's for-cause eviction protections (HB24-1098, C.R.S. §§ 38-12-1301 to -1305). Swearing that such a person is 'unauthorized' on the § 13-40.1 motion is perjury.
What you absolutely cannot do
C.R.S. § 38-12-510 makes removing or excluding a tenant without court process — including shutting off utilities or removing doors, windows, or locks — unlawful, at actual damages plus the greater of three months' rent or $5,000, plus attorney fees, with the court able to restore the tenant to possession. Against true unauthorized persons the § 13-40.1 process is fast enough that self-help is never worth the exposure.
Recent changes to the law
HB25-1104, which would have criminalized squatting itself, was postponed indefinitely by the House Judiciary Committee on February 4, 2025, so Colorado's 2018 civil mechanism (C.R.S. § 13-40.1-101) remains the squatter tool and no criminal squatting statute exists. The 2024-26 changes that did pass run the other way, on the tenant side: HB24-1098 for-cause eviction, HB25-1240's 30-day nonpayment notice for subsidized tenancies, and expanded enforcement under SB25-020.
What Colorado property owners get wrong
Colorado owners routinely miss that the state has had a days-not-months squatter remedy since 2018 — filing a standard FED against a true break-in squatter wastes weeks the § 13-40.1 injunction would save. The statute's limits are just as widely missed: it covers only vacant or uninhabited residential premises occupied by someone with no current or prior consent, so it is useless against holdovers, ex-roommates, or anyone you once let in, and a false 'unauthorized person' declaration is perjury with civil liability stacked on top. With an 18-year period plus the 2008 good-faith requirement, actual adverse-possession loss to a squatter is a near-myth; boundary encroachments by neighbors are the real 18-year risk.
The law itself
Frequently asked questions
How long does a squatter have to stay in Colorado to claim ownership?
Eighteen years of continuous, hostile, exclusive possession — or seven years with color of title and payment of all assessed taxes (C.R.S. §§ 38-41-101, -108). Since 2008 the claimant must also prove, by clear and convincing evidence, a good-faith belief that the land was theirs, and can be ordered to pay the record owner for the property even when they win. A knowing squatter in a house fails the good-faith test outright.
How do I remove a squatter in Colorado?
If your property was vacant and the occupant never had your consent, file a complaint and verified motion for a temporary mandatory injunction in county court under C.R.S. § 13-40.1-101 (forms JDF 149-153). The court hears it within one court day, and the sheriff must remove the occupant within 24 hours of the order, with a 14-day return ban. If the occupant ever had permission — a former tenant, roommate, or guest — you must use the standard FED eviction process instead.
Does Colorado have one of those new 2024-style squatter laws?
It effectively got there early. SB18-015 (2018) created the removal-of-unauthorized-persons process at C.R.S. § 13-40.1-101: a one-court-day hearing and sheriff removal within 24 hours of the order. A 2025 bill to additionally criminalize squatting (HB25-1104) died in committee, so unlike Alabama or Arkansas, Colorado's remedy is civil — but it is faster than most of the 2024-wave laws in practice.
Can I use Colorado's fast removal process against a tenant who stopped paying?
No. The statute defines an unauthorized person as someone occupying vacant or uninhabited premises with no current or prior agreement or consent — a tenant, even a badly delinquent one, has prior consent by definition. Nonpayment cases go through FED with a 10-day demand (C.R.S. § 13-40-104), plus for-cause rules for tenants of a year or more. Falsely declaring a tenant 'unauthorized' is perjury and gives them a damages claim against you.
Keep reading
Vacant units attract squatters. Documented ones repel them.
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Start Free TrialThis page is general information, not legal advice. Squatter, trespass, and adverse possession law turns on specific facts — verify against the official statute text linked above, and talk to a local attorney or law enforcement before acting.