There can be many reasons why you would need to
move out of a rented apartment or house.
In this video we'll cover the basics of
the process as well as the other
possible scenarios such as breaking a 
lease and eviction. Just remember that
this video can only scratch the surface
of these things and it's intended only
for educational purposes and not for
legal advice. First up is if you simply
found a new place and want to move out.
If this is the case, then you should let
your landlord know as soon as possible.
Remember the important lease document
that we talked about in the previous
video? Well now's the time to refer to it.
Let your landlord know ahead of time
according to what the lease says and do
so in writing. This will help keep
everything on record. If there's nothing
on the lease about it, then ten days is
typically the accepted time for notice.
Now comes the security deposit, which you
probably want as soon as possible. In
Colorado, the landlord will have 60 days
to return this money to you unless the
least says otherwise. This deposit will be
used for any damages or cleaning that
needs to be done after you leave so be
sure to request for an itemized list of
how your money was used. Oh, and of course,
leave a forwarding address so the money
and the list can be sent to you. Know
that if your landlord does not return
the security deposit to you within 60
days, you can take them to a small claims
court and receive triple the amount.
Lastly is to do a walk-through with the
landlord before turning in your keys. If
you took photos and had a check list
from when you first moved in, this is
where you would use them for comparison.
You can also use this time to make sure
that you're leaving a place in tip-top
shape so you won't get too much deducted
from your deposit. Next step is breaking
the lease. There can be many reasons for
having to do this ranging from a job
loss, a move to another town, or even a
medical or dangerous condition. Usually
breaking a lease can be negotiated with
the landlord at the expense of a couple
months rent. Otherwise, you would need a
solid paper trail about why you're
wanting to break a legal contract. This
can be anything from a medical letter
proving why staying in the area is
dangerous to you, or a proof of a job
loss. For more help and examples, go ahead and click this link.
If you happen to be forced to move out
by eviction, there should be a 3-day
notice to vacate the property that's
specific to your address and is posted
on your door. You can use this time to
negotiate and solve the problem.
Otherwise, the landlord will get a court
date that you must attend. The judge will
then give you how much time you have to
move which is usually 48 hours. If you
don't meet this deadline, a sheriff or a
police officer will show up at the
property and take your things out on the
sidewalk, which would be bad of course, so
don't let it come to that. In other cases,
the landlord will give you a 30 day
notice to quit the property, which means
that you have no choice but to leave and
there isn't any negotiating to be done.
There are many reasons why this might
happen, but definitely start looking for
a new place so that you can move. All of
the content covered here can be located
in the CSU Extension website and the CSU
Office of Off-campus Student Services
page, which can be found here. Please
remember that this is an educational
video and, if you need any legal help,
it's better to seek a legal services
professional to assist you.
