What are squatters’ rights in Colorado?

In Colorado, an action to recover title to or possession of real property must be started within 18 years, and 18 years of adverse possession of land is conclusive evidence of absolute ownership. In an action filed on or after July 1, 2008, the claimant must prove each element by clear and convincing evidence, and for title vesting on or after that date must also show that the claimant or a predecessor had a reasonable, good-faith belief that the person in possession was the actual owner. The period is seven years for a person in actual possession under claim and color of title made in good faith who pays all taxes legally assessed on the land during that time. Possession never ripens into title against the state, a county, a city, an irrigation district or a public, municipal or quasi-municipal corporation. The owner of a residential premises, or the owner’s authorized agent, can ask the county court to remove an unauthorized person by filing a complaint and a verified motion for a temporary mandatory injunction, and the court must hold a hearing no later than the next court day after the motion is filed unless the owner asks for a later date. An unauthorized person is someone occupying an uninhabited or vacant residential premises without any current or prior agreement or consent of the owner, and does not include a relative of the owner, a person the owner has accepted money or anything of value from, or a person previously given permission to enter and remain. If the court finds the occupant is an unauthorized person it issues a writ of restitution before the hearing ends, and a sheriff must remove the person no later than 24 hours after receiving the order. Until that period has run, a person occupying property without permission has no claim to its title. This is C.R.S. §§ 38-41-101, 38-41-108; C.R.S. § 13-40.1-101.

WhatColorado
Adverse possession period18 years
Removing an unauthorized occupantThrough a court proceeding, after notice

Source

C.R.S. §§ 38-41-101, 38-41-108; C.R.S. § 13-40.1-101

Read the statute in the Colorado Revised Statutes (Colorado General Assembly): leg.colorado.gov.

Checked against the statute on November 13, 2026.

This is a summary of the published procedure, not legal advice. Courts, local rules and the facts of a tenancy change what applies, and a defect in a notice or a filing can end a case. Have a lawyer review anything before it is served or filed.

How Seayora uses this rule

Seayora does not file, serve or appear in an eviction, and is not anybody’s lawyer. When a tenant has stopped paying, it lays out these steps for the property’s own state and city with the statute beside each one, holds back any step that would come too early, keeps an append-only record of the case — and shows the resident what would end it, legal-aid links included.

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