Eviction Demand Colombia (Demanda de Restitucion de Tenencia de Inmueble Arrendado)

Eviction Demand Colombia (Demanda de Restitucion de Tenencia de Inmueble Arrendado) is a formal pre-litigation notice governed by the Codigo General del Proceso (Ley 1564 de 2012) Articles 384 through 387 and Ley 820 de 2003 Article 37, through which a landlord (arrendador) demands that a tenant (arrendatario) vacate and return possession of a residential property (inmueble arrendado) located in any Colombian municipality.

The Codigo General del Proceso (CGP) Articles 384 through 387 establish the procedural framework for the proceso de restitucion de inmueble arrendado — Colombia's specialised judicial proceeding for recovering possession of leased property. Article 384 defines the proceso as a declarative action filed before the Juzgado Civil Municipal of the property's location when the lease amount falls within the cuantia de minima o menor cuantia, or before the Juzgado Civil del Circuito for mayor cuantia cases. Article 385 establishes the requirements for the demanda, including the obligation to attach the written lease agreement and proof of the causal de terminacion (termination ground) invoked.

Ley 820 de 2003 Article 37 complements the CGP by establishing that before filing the demanda de restitucion, the landlord must attempt the pre-judicial requirement of requerimiento de pago (payment demand) when the eviction ground is tenant default on rent. The requerimiento must be served on the tenant through a notaria publica, correo certificado, or personal notification with a constancia de recibo, granting the tenant a period to cure the default before judicial proceedings commence.

The eviction grounds (causales de restitucion) are enumerated in Ley 820 de 2003 Articles 22 and 23 for landlord-initiated termination of residential leases. Article 22 establishes grounds including: tenant default on two consecutive monthly rent payments or three non-consecutive payments within twelve months; unauthorised subletting (subarrendamiento) without the landlord's written consent; structural alterations to the property without written authorisation; use of the property for purposes other than residential habitation (vivienda) as defined in Article 2; and the landlord's personal or family necessity for the dwelling (necesidad de vivienda propia). Article 23 addresses grounds related to property conditions requiring major renovation or demolition incompatible with continued occupancy.

Before filing the formal demanda before the Juzgado Civil Municipal, Ley 640 de 2001 Article 35 requires the landlord to attempt mandatory extrajudicial conciliation (conciliacion extrajudicial obligatoria) at a Centro de Conciliacion authorised by the Ministerio de Justicia y del Derecho. The constancia de no conciliacion (certificate of failed conciliation) or constancia de inasistencia (certificate of non-attendance by the tenant) is a procedural prerequisite that must be attached to the demanda under CGP Article 385.

Self-help eviction (lanzamiento por cuenta propia) is prohibited under Colombian law. The Codigo Penal (Ley 599 de 2000) Article 189 criminalises violacion de habitacion ajena — the act of entering or remaining in another person's dwelling against their will — and Article 220 protects the constitutional right to intimidad personal y familiar. The Constitucion Politica de Colombia Article 28 guarantees the inviolability of the domicile, and Article 51 establishes the fundamental right to vivienda digna (decent housing). The Corte Constitucional de Colombia has consistently held in tutela decisions — including Sentencia T-427/1998 and Sentencia T-585/2006 — that landlords must use judicial channels exclusively to recover possession of leased residential property.

The Defensoria del Pueblo and Personerias Municipales across Colombia's 32 departamentos provide free legal assistance (asesoria juridica gratuita) to tenants facing eviction proceedings, confirming access to justice in compliance with Constitucion Politica Article 229. The Ministerio de Justicia y del Derecho coordinates the network of Consultorios Juridicos attached to law faculties at Colombian universities, which also provide pro bono representation in restitucion proceedings.

Eviction Demand Colombia is required whenever a landlord needs to formally demand that a residential tenant vacate a property based on the legally recognised termination grounds established in Ley 820 de 2003 and the procedural framework of the Codigo General del Proceso Articles 384-387.

Landlords in Bogota, Medellin, Cali, Barranquilla, Cartagena, Bucaramanga, and all Colombian municipalities must issue a formal eviction demand when a tenant has defaulted on two consecutive monthly rent payments or three non-consecutive payments within a twelve-month period under Ley 820 Article 22 Numeral 2. The demand serves as the first step in the restitucion process and documents the landlord's compliance with the pre-judicial requerimiento de pago requirement of Ley 820 Article 37.

Property owners who need to recover their dwelling for personal or family habitation (necesidad de vivienda propia) under Ley 820 Article 22 Numeral 1 must issue the formal demand with at least three months' notice, supported by documentation demonstrating the genuine housing need — such as evidence that the landlord does not own another suitable residence in the same municipality.

Inmobiliarias (real estate management companies) regulated by Decreto 51 de 2004 and supervised by the Superintendencia de Industria y Comercio require the eviction demand when managing the restitucion process on behalf of landlord clients. The inmobiliaria must act through its legal representative or an abogado titulado (licensed attorney) inscribed in the Registro Nacional de Abogados maintained by the Consejo Superior de la Judicatura.

Landlords who discover that a tenant has subleased (subarrendado) the property without written authorisation need the eviction demand to invoke the termination ground of Ley 820 Article 22 Numeral 3. Documentary evidence of the unauthorised subletting — including witness testimony, photographs, or utility account records showing third-party occupants — should accompany the demand.

Property owners planning major renovations or demolition that require tenant vacancy must issue the demand under Ley 820 Article 22 Numeral 6, accompanied by an engineering or architectural report (informe tecnico) from a professional inscribed in the Consejo Profesional Nacional de Ingenieria (COPNIA) or the Consejo Profesional Nacional de Arquitectura y sus Profesiones Auxiliares.

Before proceeding to file the demanda before the Juzgado Civil Municipal, the landlord must obtain a constancia de no conciliacion from a Centro de Conciliacion certified by the Ministerio de Justicia y del Derecho, as required by Ley 640 de 2001 Article 35.

A valid Eviction Demand Colombia under the Codigo General del Proceso Articles 384-387 and Ley 820 de 2003 must contain the following essential elements to comply with Colombian procedural and housing law.

Identification of the Landlord: Full legal name and cedula de ciudadania (CC) number of the landlord (arrendador), or NIT (Numero de Identificacion Tributaria) assigned by the DIAN (Direccion de Impuestos y Aduanas Nacionales) for corporate landlords. Corporate entities must include the Camara de Comercio registration certificate (certificado de existencia y representacion legal) and the legal representative's CC number. Inmobiliarias acting on behalf of landlords must include their own NIT and the mandato de administracion (management agreement) authorising them to act.

Identification of the Tenant: Full legal name and cedula de ciudadania (CC) or cedula de extranjeria (CE) of the tenant (arrendatario) as issued by the Registraduria Nacional del Estado Civil or Migracion Colombia respectively. The tenant's current address for notification purposes under CGP Article 291 must be stated — typically the address of the leased property itself.

Property Description: Complete address of the leased property including departamento, municipio, barrio, and nomenclatura. The matricula inmobiliaria from the Oficina de Registro de Instrumentos Publicos (ORIP) and ficha catastral from the IGAC (Instituto Geografico Agustin Codazzi) or municipal catastro. The estrato socioeconomico classification (1-6) under Ley 142 de 1994 to establish jurisdictional cuantia for the Juzgado Civil Municipal.

Lease Agreement Reference: Date and terms of the original Contrato de Arrendamiento de Vivienda, including the lease start date, duration, monthly rent amount (canon mensual) in Colombian pesos (COP), and payment terms. If the lease is verbal, a statement to that effect with approximate commencement date — noting that verbal leases are valid under Ley 820 Article 3 but deprive the landlord of certain procedural advantages.

Termination Ground (Causal de Restitucion): Specific identification of the legal ground from Ley 820 de 2003 Articles 22 or 23 on which the eviction demand is based. Each causal has distinct requirements: rent default requires proof of missed payments with dates and amounts; unauthorised subletting requires evidence of third-party occupancy; personal necessity requires documentation of the landlord's housing need; renovation requires an engineering report from a professional inscribed in COPNIA.

Prior Requerimiento de Pago: When the eviction ground is rent default, documentation of the prior requerimiento de pago served on the tenant under Ley 820 Article 37 — including the date of service, delivery method, and proof of receipt. The requerimiento must have granted the tenant a reasonable period to cure the default before the formal demand is issued.

Conciliation Attempt: Reference to the mandatory extrajudicial conciliation attempt under Ley 640 de 2001 Article 35, including the Centro de Conciliacion where the attempt was made and the resulting constancia de no conciliacion or constancia de inasistencia. This is a prerequisite to filing the formal demanda before the Juzgado Civil Municipal.

Demand for Vacancy: Clear statement demanding that the tenant vacate and return possession of the property within the applicable legal period, warning that failure to comply will result in the landlord filing a demanda de restitucion de inmueble arrendado before the Juzgado Civil Municipal under CGP Articles 384-387.

Notification Method: Specification of how the demand is delivered — notificacion personal with signed acknowledgement (constancia de recibo), communication through a notaria publica, or correo certificado through Servicios Postales Nacionales or 472. The delivery method must produce documentary proof for the court proceeding.

Forms-legal.com provides this Eviction Demand Colombia template incorporating all CGP and Ley 820 de 2003 requirements. Landlords in Bogota, Medellin, Cali, and other Colombian cities should engage a Colombian abogado titulado inscribed in the Consejo Superior de la Judicatura to handle the judicial restitucion proceeding.