In Colorado, you may not begin any lien enforcement until the tenant has been in default for 30 continuous days. After that, you deliver a written notice giving at least 15 days to pay, advertise the sale once a week for two weeks, and sell at the facility, the nearest suitable place or an online auction site.
This page is general information, not legal advice. Review your notices and sale plan with your attorney before you act.
Colorado lien timeline at a glance
Colorado's Self-Service Storage Facility Act begins at C.R.S. § 38-21.5-101. The 30-day wait is the key number. The statute does not say whether the 30 days start at the due date or the end of a grace period, so most owners count from the due date and add a margin.
| Step | Earliest timing | What the law requires | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Rent due, default | Day 0 | Failure to timely perform an obligation under the act or lease. Your lease must warn that goods will be sold after 30 continuous days of nonpayment, and you must post an office notice. | § 38-21.5-101(1), § 38-21.5-101.5(1), § 38-21.5-104 |
| 2. Late fee | Per your lease | Allowed if stated in the lease or an addendum. | § 38-21.5-101.5(3) |
| 3. Lien notice | Day 30 at the earliest | Deliver in person, by verified mail or by email. Itemize the claim, describe the property, demand payment at least 15 days after delivery, and include a conspicuous sale statement. Notify known lienholders. | § 38-21.5-103(1)(a) to (d) |
| 4. Advertisement | After the notice period ends (day 45 or later) | Once a week for two consecutive weeks in a weekly-or-more periodical in the facility's county, or another commercially reasonable manner. | § 38-21.5-103(1)(e) |
| 5. Sale | After the ads | At the facility, the nearest suitable place, or an online auction website. Tenant may redeem before the sale. | § 38-21.5-103(1)(g), (h) |
Worked example: rent is due January 1 and stays unpaid. Day 30 of default is January 31, when you may deliver the notice. With the full 15 days to pay, the deadline is February 15. You publish on February 16 and February 23. The statute does not set a minimum gap between the ad and the sale, so a cautious owner waits until after the second ad runs. These dates are derived, so check them with your attorney.
What the Colorado lien notice must say and how to send it
The lien notice must be in writing and contain (§ 38-21.5-103(1)(c)):
- An itemized statement of the claim.
- A general description of the property.
- A demand for payment within a time not less than 15 days after delivery.
- A conspicuous statement that the property will be sold if the claim is not paid.
- Notice of access denial, if your lease permits denying access.
Deliver it in person, by verified mail (a USPS method that provides evidence of mailing) or by email to the last-known address. That address is the one in the latest rental agreement or a later written change. If you email a notice of a pending sale and get no response, return receipt or delivery confirmation from that address, you must send the sale notice by verified mail to the last-known postal address before you sell (§ 38-21.5-103(1)(b), (d)). The statute does not say when email counts as delivered, so keep proof of sending.
Alternate contacts and lienholders
Colorado has no alternate contact rule. It does require care with lienholders. Your lease must tell the tenant to disclose lienholders. You must notify those known through that disclosure, through a financing statement filed with the Secretary of State, or through written notice from the lienholder (§ 38-21.5-101.5(1)(b), § 38-21.5-102). Search the Secretary of State records before you enforce.
Advertising the sale
After the notice period ends, advertise in one of two ways (§ 38-21.5-103(1)(e)):
- Periodical. Publish once a week for two consecutive weeks in a periodical that circulates weekly or more often in the facility's county.
- Other commercially reasonable manner. An online listing or other method works. It is deemed reasonable if at least three independent bidders attend.
Late fee limits
A reasonable late fee is allowed each month. The greater of $20 or 20% of monthly rent is presumed reasonable and not a penalty. You can include it in the lien only if the rental agreement or an addendum states it (§ 38-21.5-101.5(3)).
Sale rules, surplus and records
- Where. An online auction website that customarily conducts public auctions, the facility, or the nearest suitable place (§ 38-21.5-103(1)(g)).
- Redemption. The tenant may pay and keep the goods before the sale.
- Surplus. Pay the lien from the proceeds, subject to prior lienholders, and hold the balance for the tenant, lienholder or other person in interest. If unclaimed 3 years after the sale, it becomes yours (§ 38-21.5-103(1)(i), (j)).
- Buyer protection. A good faith purchaser takes free of the tenant's and secured creditors' rights even if you missed a step.
- Records. The act does not set a retention period. Keep the lease, notices, proof of delivery, ad proof and sale records, and ask your attorney how long.
Vehicles and boats
For a vehicle that requires registration, or a watercraft, if rent and charges stay unpaid for 60 days you may have it towed by an independent towing carrier that holds valid Colorado Public Utilities Commission operating authority. You are not liable once the carrier takes possession. Otherwise sale procedures follow § 38-21.5-103 (§ 38-21.5-103(1)(g)(II), § 38-21.5-101(8), (10)).
Active-duty military (SCRA)
Federal law adds protections for servicemembers, and owners must check military status before a sale. See 50 U.S.C. 3958.
Common mistakes checklist
- Starting enforcement before 30 continuous days of default.
- Giving fewer than 15 days to pay.
- Emailing the sale notice, getting no response, and selling without a follow-up by verified mail.
- Skipping the Secretary of State search for secured creditors.
- Publishing only one week instead of two consecutive weeks.
- Charging a late fee that is not in the lease or addendum.
- Leaving out the office notice or the lease warning about the 30-day rule.
- Selling before checking servicemember status.
Tools to help
Use the lien timeline calculator to count your dates, read about lien and auction management, and see all state lien laws. The self storage auction process guide covers the sale itself, and the lien notice template gives you a starting draft.
What we could not confirm
We read the statute on Public.Law, which cites the 2024 C.R.S. PDF and is current through fall 2025. We did not fetch the official site. The statute does not define the day the 30-day count starts, a minimum gap between the ad and the sale, or when an email counts as delivered. Overlock timing is left to your lease. The most recent amendment year is not confirmed. Check the current statute with your attorney.
Last reviewed: October 19, 2026. This page is general information, not legal advice. Review every notice and sale with your attorney.