Pueblo Real Estate Resources

If you are in the rental business, sooner or later, you are going to have a tenant who inexplicably stops paying rent. They may give you the run around with stories about why they can't pay and promises of a full payment plus late fees just around the corner. Or, they may simply ignore your phone calls and refuse to answer the door if you show up in person to try to collect rent. Bottom line is, when it comes to this point, these tenants will need to be served with a three day notice to vacate to initiate the eviction process.

While you may be frustrated and tempted to take measures into your own hands, it is very important to follow the legal procedure for removing a non-paying tenant from your property. Specifically, the law expressly forbids you from doing the following:

Removing or Changing Locks

In no way is it legal for you to remove the locks, or put new locks on the property to “lock out” your tenant. It doesn't matter if they are months behind on their rent, have totally trashed the house and are in violation of every provision in the lease. They are legally protected against a “lock out” and can take you to court to regain entry.

Furthermore, cute tricks like removing the front door are also clearly illegal.

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