Colorado Mobile Home Park Eviction Process: A Step-by-Step Guide

Nonpayment of rent

In Colorado, a mobile home park lot tenancy can't be ended for nonpayment on a short 3- or 5-day demand. The Mobile Home Park Act requires you to serve a written Notice of Nonpayment of Rent giving the home owner at least TEN days to either pay the rent due or remove the home. C.R.S. §38-12-204(1) says a tenancy may be terminated upon the landlord's written notice to the home owner requiring, in the alternative, payment of rent or the removal of the home owner's unit from the premises, within a period of not less than ten days after the date notice is served or posted, for failure to pay rent when due.

Use the state's standardized mobile-home notice (JDF 139A / the §38-12-204.3 form) in at least 12-point type — it must state the ground, that mediation and the Mobile Home Park Act Dispute Resolution program are available, and the 10-day figure. Nonpayment is the one ground exempt from the longer 90-day cure period and from the mandatory pre-suit mediation offer, but you still cannot skip the 10-day notice.

If the home owner pays in full within the 10 days, the tenancy continues. Only after the 10 days lapse without payment may you file the eviction.

Other grounds for termination

For grounds other than nonpayment, Colorado is far more protective than most states — and this is where outdated guidance gets it wrong. If the home or lot is out of compliance with local codes/state law (§38-12-203(1)(a)) or with the park's written rules (§38-12-203(1)(c)), you must give a NINETY-day cure period, not 30. C.R.S. §38-12-202(3) requires the notice to advise the home owner that the home owner has a right to cure the noncompliance within ninety days, and that period runs concurrently with the 90 days to sell or remove the home. Accepting rent during those 90 days does not waive your right to terminate.

There are narrower tracks. Conduct that endangers life, causes willful damage, or involves certain felonies or a declared public nuisance (§38-12-203(1)(f)) carries only a 10-day period and no cure right (§38-12-202(1)(c)(II)). Materially false statements on the tenancy application (§38-12-203(1)(e)) are not curable. And closing or converting the park (change of use, §38-12-203(1)(d)) requires 12 months' written notice: the landlord shall give the owner of each mobile home a written notice of the landlord's intent to evict not less than twelve months before the change of use of the land.

Bottom line: assume a 90-day cure for ordinary rule and code violations unless the specific dangerous-conduct or false-application ground applies. A 30-day rule notice will get your case dismissed.

Filing the eviction (Forcible Entry & Detainer)

If the notice period runs out without a cure, you file a Forcible Entry and Detainer (FED) action in the County Court for the county where the park sits, under C.R.S. §13-40. Attach the notice you served (JDF 139A/B/C), file the Eviction Complaint (JDF 141) and Summons (JDF 102). Colorado caps county-court money judgments at $25,000.

Get the pre-suit steps exactly right, because the Act's requirements are strict and technical. The notice must be the standardized mobile-home form in at least 12-point type, must identify the park, address, space number and county, must state the ground and whether a cure right exists, and must disclose the right to mediation under §38-12-216 and the state Dispute Resolution and Enforcement Program. Serve it under §13-40-108 — posting counts only if the notice is affixed to the home's main entrance, plus a first-class mailing.

Offer mediation before filing for any dispute except nonpayment or an imminent health/safety situation (§38-12-216). After filing, the home owner must be served at least 7 days before the appearance date, and the court typically sets a hearing about 7-14 days out. Make sure the park is registered with the Mobile Home Park Oversight Program — an unregistered park faces added restrictions.

What happens to the home (Colorado-specific)

The home owner owns the mobile home; your judgment is for possession of the LOT, not the home itself. So even after you win, Colorado gives the resident a real window to sell or move the home. Under the mandatory statutory notice, §38-12-204.3: if the court rules in favor of the landlord, the home owner has not less than thirty days from the time of the ruling to either remove or sell the mobile home and to vacate the premises. The home owner may extend that to up to 60 days by prepaying a pro-rata share of rent for the additional days. The short 10-day window applies only where the ground was nonpayment or dangerous conduct.

During that window the home owner has the right to sell the home in place — you can't force removal or self-help disposal. The mobile-home writ of restitution (JDF 144) is executed by the sheriff only after the removal window closes, and the sheriff supervises an orderly removal.

If you are closing or converting the park, the resident is also owed compensation under §38-12-203.5: either relocation costs to move the home within 100 miles (based on the lowest mover's estimate) or your binding offer to purchase the home for the greater of $7,500 (single-section) or $10,000 (multi-section). Any waiver of those rights is void. As a practical matter, a negotiated cash-for-keys payment to secure a clean, faster surrender of the lot is common market practice and often cheaper than a contested removal — it is a business deal, not a statutory requirement.

Typical timeline in Colorado

• Rent overdue
  serve the 10-day Notice of Nonpayment of Rent (JDF 139A / §38-12-204.3 form); home owner has at least 10 days to pay or remove (§38-12-204(1)).
• Rule or code violation
  serve notice stating the ground and the 90-day right to cure; the 90 days to cure and the 90 days to sell/remove run together (§38-12-202(3)). Dangerous-conduct grounds get 10 days (§38-12-202(1)(c)(II)); change of use requires 12 months (§38-12-203(1)(d)).
• Offer mediation before filing (required except nonpayment or imminent health/safety) (§38-12-216).
• Cure/notice period expires with no cure or payment
  file the FED — Complaint (JDF 141) + Summons (JDF 102) — in county court, attaching the notice.
• Serve the home owner at least 7 days before the appearance date; court sets a hearing roughly 7-14 days after filing.
• Judgment for management
  home owner then has at least 30 days (extendable to 60 by prepaying pro-rata rent) to sell or move the home — or only 10 days for nonpayment/dangerous-conduct cases (§38-12-204.3).
• After the removal window closes, the sheriff executes the mobile-home writ of restitution (JDF 144) and supervises removal.

Operator best practices in Colorado

• Build a relationship with a Colorado MHP attorney
  the Mobile Home Park Act was heavily rewritten (HB19-1309, HB20-1196, HB22-1287) and a defective notice or missed cure period will sink your case.
• Always use the current state-standardized mobile-home notice forms (JDF 139A/B/C) in at least 12-point type, with the required grounds, cure, mediation, and Dispute Resolution program language (§38-12-204.3).
• Default to a 90-day cure for rule and code violations
  never a 30-day notice; the 30-day figure is repealed, pre-2019 law.
• Serve the 10-day Notice of Nonpayment before any nonpayment filing, and confirm service is personal or posted to the home's main entrance plus mailed (§13-40-108).
• Offer mediation in writing before filing (except pure nonpayment or imminent safety), and keep proof
  it is a statutory prerequisite (§38-12-216).
• Register the park with the state Mobile Home Park Oversight Program and keep registration current before pursuing rent increases or evictions.
• Respect the post-judgment sell-or-remove window (30-60 days, or 10 for nonpayment/dangerous conduct) and the resident's right to sell the home in place before the sheriff executes the writ.
• For park closures/change of use, calendar the 12-month notice and budget the §38-12-203.5 relocation-or-purchase compensation up front.
• Consider a documented cash-for-keys offer as a faster, cheaper alternative to a contested removal
  standard market practice, but put it in writing and never present it as waiving statutory rights.
• Keep a clean paper trail of every notice, service, ledger, and mediation offer
  Colorado places the burden on management to prove it followed each step.