So a couple months ago, I had a tenant send me a very large unhinged message accusing me of breaking his headlight in the garage plus other things. I'm house hacking so I do live in the basement while managing the property but had nothing to do with it and no idea who did. I was very polite and empathetic about his situation which I told him he could contact auto or rental insurance to file a claim. I chalked it up that he was going through some personal stuff but would not be renewing his lease, his lease ends on the last day of July.

Well, a month went by and then I got to wake up to another large unhinged text of him accusing of another tenant of mine of a disgusting and sexual act in the bathroom openly in the household's group chat. I felt this was going completely overboard and that this guy should have spoken privately with the other individual instead of putting the guy on blast in front of everyone.

I had a private conversation with the difficult tenant. I allowed him to speak to understand his side of the story but told him even if the accusation was true, he should have spoken with the guy one-on-one. I ended up sending an email with a notice to vacate with 45 days where he violated the lease term:

"Tenant shall conduct himself/herself in a
manner conducive to the peaceful enjoyment of the Premises. Tenant therefore agrees (a) to
refrain from any behavior which is loud, obstructive, rude, offensive, boisterous, or disorderly; Any violation of this paragraph may, in Landlord’s sole discretion, be cause for termination of the Lease and or Tenant’s tenancy."

Since he didn't respond, I assumed he would be out by then. I would give him 24 hour notices for doing showings, halfway through the month he confirmed that he would be out by the last day of the month.

I signed on his replacement, got the security deposit and was good to go. This guy waits till 5 days before he is supposed to vacate to txt me saying that it's really inconvenient for him right then. He talked to the sheriffs office and they said they don't have an eviction notice and so he doesn't have to leave. He also talked to a lawyer who said what I was doing was unlawful. So he does not plan on moving out anymore and will stay until the remainder of his lease. I know he's lying but I can't prove it.

So I'm not too happy about how this turned out. I had to tell the new guy that the room won't be available, sincerely apologized, canceled his lease, and returned his security deposit back. This brings me to my next question.

This guy has 2 months on the lease left so I don't think it would be worth evicting him. But I'm worried about the new Colorado law HB 24-1098 and if it could impact my situation on non-renewal. I'm afraid this guy may retaliate or not move out when the lease expires. I don't understand the clause "substantial lease violation". Based on the 2 violations, is that enough for me to not renew his lease?

Denver, Colorado

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