[co] Landlord Hired A Property Manager 5 Months Into A 5-year Lease. Pm Is Demanding A $550/mo Rent Hike And A New Lease Or Vacancy. What Are My Rights?

Location: Colorado Springs, Colorado

​In April 2026, my family and I signed a written residential lease agreement with an individual landlord (who was an acquaintance/friend) for a single-family house.

​Key terms of our current executed lease:

​Term: Fixed 5-year lease running from April 1, 2026, through March 31, 2031.

​Rent: $2,200/month.

​Rent Adjustment Clause: Exactly as written: "4. ANNUAL RENT ADJUSTMENT: Landlord reserves the right to increase rent once per year during the lease term with written notice provided to tenants prior to the increase."

​Security Deposit: Explicitly waived in the contract.

​Condition: No move-in inspection or condition baseline was conducted; home has significant pre-existing wear (carpet staining, drywall patches, missing baseboards, unmaintained landscaping).

​The Issue:

About five months into our lease, the owner hired a professional property management company. The PM company just sent us an email stating:

​They are issuing a DocuSign for a brand-new lease agreement that will "supersede" our current lease and add extensive new tenant rules, maintenance duties, and fees.

​They are raising our rent by 25%—from $2,200 to $2,750/month—effective November 1, claiming they complied with a "60-day notice requirement."

​They stated: "If you do not wish to continue under the new lease terms, a vacancy/move-out form will be emailed to you to complete instead."

​When we replied stating we have an active fixed-term lease through 2031, the PM claimed that Colorado law (citing limits on rent increases to once every 12 months) does not require a landlord to wait 12 months before initiating the first increase, and therefore their November hike is valid under the contract's "annual" clause.

​My questions:

​Can a property manager legally force us to sign a replacement lease or submit a vacancy/move-out notice when an active fixed-term lease runs through 2031?

​Under Colorado contract interpretation, can an "Annual Rent Adjustment" in a 5-year contract be legally triggered in Month 7 of Year 1?

​If negotiations fall through and we refuse to sign their new lease, can they attempt an eviction if we continue paying our contractual $2,200 on the 1st of every month?