Denver, CO asked in Real Estate Law and Landlord - Tenant for Colorado

Q: Returned from deployment and want to move back into my house that is currently rented out. Can I legally move back in?

Active Duty Army. Returned to Fort Carson and own a home in Peyton, CO. My family desperately needs to move back in, but my property manager said that we have to wait until the lease is up (April 2019). What are my options?

3 Lawyer Answers

A: The lease gives the tenants the right to possession until it expires. Unless they violate some covenant of the lease, you will have to wait.

Ashley Dean Powell and Donald C Eby agree with this answer

A: Unfortunately, you are bound to the lease. But, can inspect the condition of the home and then enforce the lease strictly. When you inspect you are likely to find violations of the lease which you can then demand compliance or possession. Otherwise you may be able to entice the tenants out, this means paying them obtain their agreement to terminate the lease early.

Good luck!

Ashley Dean Powell agrees with this answer

A: I think both answers are correct, unfortunately.

As a practical matter, to the extent that you use a property manager again in the future, I would suggest you consider using a different one. As a landlord, you have a lot of discretion about the terms and conditions of a lease. Your return from deployment and your family's need to move back in were not completely unexpected (even if it wasn't the initial plan). A good property manager or real estate attorney, thinking about your situation and your best interests, could have built flexibility into the length ("term") of the lease to allow you to terminate the lease (with an appropriate amount of advanced written notice) due to a return from deployment, change in status, PCS, or otherwise need to move back into the house.

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