Colorado landlord rights

[Angela Powers]

Hello.  I’m a new landlord and am currently renting my basement.  The tenants were very friendly upon move-in one month ago, but changed very abruptly.  Laundry facilities are shared and we offered to set up a schedule for use on the day they moved in but they declined, stating that they were fine with what works for us.  We typically just open the door from our kitchen to the stairs leading to the basement and ask if it’s ok that we come down OR do laundry when they’re out.  They’ve never said a word of complaint.  They stopped being friendly around two weeks ago and I emailed to check in and see if things were going ok in the lease.  They replied with a very unexpected email, stating that they don’t feel like they have any privacy and that I’ve violated the lease on countless occasions.  I emailed back apologizing that they felt that way,  asking their input on setting up a schedule and if there’s anything else I can do to make them feel better about this.  The email was sent two days ago and they haven’t responded.  I sent an email yesterday stating my preference on a schedule and they have not responded.  I sent an email today stating that I plan to come down tomorrow at a specified time to do laundry.  My concern is this:  in my naievity, I did not write in the lease that laundry is shared.  The fact was part of my rental listing and I discussed this with them both before and after move-in.  Because it’s not in the lease, am I legally unable to access the laundry facilities?  Any help or insight is appreciated.  Thank you

[Erin Onsager]

I'm not a lawyer, but from my understanding, it's your house and so you have all the rights and they have very little.  Technically what you're doing is called boarding, not renting, so the rules are different, and you have far more rights than they do.  If you're worried, it's worth checking with a lawyer though, of course.