Prowers County covers 1,625 square miles of Colorado’s southeastern corner along the Arkansas River, bordering Kansas to the east. The county was established in 1889 and named for John Wesley Prowers, a prominent rancher and trader who had married into the Cheyenne nation and was one of the most influential figures in southeastern Colorado’s early history. The county seat is Lamar (~7,500), situated at 3,622 feet along US Highway 50 and the Arkansas River, approximately 190 miles southeast of Denver. Lamar is the largest city in the southeastern Colorado plains and serves as the commercial and governmental hub for the broader region.
Prowers County’s economy combines irrigated agriculture along the Arkansas River (melons, corn, and other vegetables), dryland wheat farming, cattle ranching, wind energy, and government and healthcare employment. Lamar is home to Lamar Community College and Prowers Medical Center, which together represent two of the county’s most stable employment anchors. The county has experienced the population decline common to rural southeastern Colorado, with Lamar serving as the regional service center. All landlord-tenant matters are governed by CRS Title 38, Article 12. No rent control. Evictions are filed in Prowers County District Court in Lamar (16th Judicial District).
SB 24-094: 72hr begin remedial action; 24hr life-safety
Late Fee Grace Period
7 days; max $50 or 5% past-due rent
Security Deposit Return
30 days; triple damages for wrongful withholding
Court
Prowers County District Court — Lamar (16th Judicial District)
HB 25-1249
Security deposit cap: 1 month’s rent (effective Jan 1, 2026)
Prowers County Landlord Rules & Colorado Law
CRS Title 38 applied to Lamar’s southeastern plains market — practical considerations for landlords in Colorado’s Arkansas River borderland
Category
Details
Lamar’s Rental Market: Regional Hub of the SE Plains
Lamar is the largest city in southeastern Colorado east of Pueblo and serves as the regional commercial, healthcare, and educational hub for a vast area of the Arkansas River valley and the surrounding southeastern plains. As the county seat and regional center, it draws renters from across the area who work in healthcare (Prowers Medical Center), education (Lamar Community College), government, retail, and agricultural services. The county’s poverty rate of 17–21% is elevated, and the rental market is relatively thin. Landlords targeting the college and hospital employment segments will find the most payment-stable tenant pools. Property acquisition costs are among the lowest in Colorado. Income verification of at least 3x monthly rent from stable sources is essential.
Just-Cause Eviction (HB 24-1098)
Effective April 19, 2024. 90-day written notice required for no-fault non-renewals of tenancies of 12+ months. Valid causes include: nonpayment, material lease violations, criminal activity, nuisance, landlord/family occupancy, sale, substantial renovation, or withdrawal from the rental market. Exemptions: owner-occupied SFH/duplex/triplex, sub-12-month tenancies, STRs, and employer housing. Agricultural employer housing arrangements may qualify for the employer housing exemption, which is relevant in this farming community. One rent increase per 12-month period maximum.
Lamar Community College & Student Demand
Lamar Community College (LCC), a two-year institution with an enrollment of approximately 1,000–1,500 students, is one of the county’s most important economic anchors and provides Lamar’s primary source of student rental demand. LCC’s programs in agriculture, business, health sciences, and trades draw students from across southeastern Colorado and western Kansas. The college operates on-campus dormitories that absorb a portion of student housing need, but off-campus rental demand from students is a meaningful market segment. Landlords targeting LCC students should use academic-year lease terms, require co-signers for students without independent income, and establish clear move-out standards.
Wind Energy & the Southeast Plains Economy
Prowers County sits in one of Colorado’s premier wind energy corridors. The county has been a significant wind energy development area, with multiple utility-scale wind farms operating on its broad plains. Wind energy brings property tax revenue that supports county services and provides employment for operations and maintenance technicians — a higher-wage workforce segment that represents an attractive tenant pool relative to the county’s overall income distribution. Wind farm construction phases also bring temporary workforce housing demand, though this is cyclical rather than ongoing.
Security Deposits & HB 25-1249
Effective January 1, 2026, HB 25-1249 caps security deposits at one month’s rent. At Lamar’s very affordable rent levels, the cap is not a significant practical constraint in dollar terms but does eliminate the ability to collect a larger risk buffer. Return within 30 days; itemized statement required; triple damages for wrongful withholding. Late fees: 7-day grace period; maximum $50 or 5% of past-due rent. Given the county’s high poverty rate, landlords should monitor payment patterns closely and communicate proactively at the first sign of difficulty, as early intervention is far more effective than allowing arrears to accumulate.
CRS Title 38, Article 12 — statutes, procedures, and landlord rights applicable in Prowers County
⚡ Quick Overview
10
Days Notice (Nonpayment)
10
Days Notice (Violation)
30-50
Avg Total Days
$85
Filing Fee (Approx)
💰 Nonpayment of Rent
Notice Type10-Day Demand for Compliance or Possession
Notice Period10 days
Tenant Can Cure?Yes
Days to Hearing7-14 days
Days to Writ48 hours after judgment days
Total Estimated Timeline30-50 days
Total Estimated Cost$150-$500
⚠️ Watch Out
HB 24-1098 (2024) increased notice period from 3 to 10 days for nonpayment. Tenant can cure by paying full rent owed. Late fees cannot be charged during the 10-day period. Landlord must accept partial payment if offered during notice period in some cases.
Serve the required notice based on the eviction reason (nonpayment or lease violation).
Wait for the notice period to expire. If tenant cures the issue (where allowed), the process stops.
File an eviction case with the County Court. Pay the filing fee (~$85).
Tenant is served with a summons and has the opportunity to respond.
Attend the court hearing and present your case.
If you prevail, obtain a writ of possession from the court.
Law enforcement executes the writ and removes the tenant if necessary.
⚠️ Disclaimer: This page provides general information about Colorado eviction laws and does not constitute legal advice.
Eviction procedures can vary by county and may change over time. Local jurisdictions may have additional requirements or tenant protections.
For specific legal guidance, consult a qualified Colorado attorney or local legal aid organization.
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Established 1889; named for rancher John Wesley Prowers. County seat: Lamar (~7,500) — largest city in southeastern Colorado east of Pueblo; US-50 corridor on the Arkansas River. Lamar Community College — regional two-year institution. Prowers Medical Center. Significant wind energy development. Arkansas River irrigated agriculture. Borders Kansas (east). Amache (Camp Amache) — WWII Japanese American internment site; National Historic Site. 16th Judicial District (shared with Otero County).
Prowers County
Lamar Landlord Essentials
Regional SE plains hub; target LCC, hospital, and government employees for stable tenancies. High poverty (17–21%): require 3x income from stable sources; monitor payments proactively. Wind energy technicians are higher-wage targets. LCC students: use academic-year leases, require co-signers. HB 24-1098: 90-day no-fault notice. HB 25-1249: 1-month deposit cap Jan 1, 2026. One rent increase per 12 months. Evictions: 16th Judicial District, Lamar.
A Landlord’s Guide to Renting in Prowers County, Colorado
Prowers County covers 1,625 square miles of Colorado’s southeastern corner, stretching from the Arkansas River on the north to the Oklahoma Panhandle border and pressed against Kansas on its eastern edge. The county was established in 1889 and named for John Wesley Prowers — one of the most remarkable figures in early southeastern Colorado history. Born in Missouri in 1838, Prowers came west as a teenager and worked for William Bent at the famous trading post on the Arkansas River. He eventually married Amache Ochinee, the daughter of the Cheyenne chief One Eye, and became one of the wealthiest and most influential ranchers in southeastern Colorado before his death in 1884. His wife’s name — Amache — would later be given to one of the most somber sites in the county’s history.
Camp Amache: A National Historic Site
Granada Relocation Center, better known as Camp Amache, was one of ten War Relocation Authority camps where Japanese Americans were forcibly incarcerated during World War II following Executive Order 9066. Located near the small town of Granada in eastern Prowers County, the camp operated from 1942 to 1945 and held a peak population of approximately 7,500 people — making it, at its height, the tenth largest “city” in Colorado. The incarcerated community built a functioning town within the camp, including schools, a hospital, farms, and community organizations. More than 100 men from Amache volunteered to serve in the U.S. Army’s segregated 442nd Regimental Combat Team, which became the most decorated unit of its size in American military history. The Granada War Relocation Center was designated a National Historic Site in 2022, recognizing its significance in American civil rights history. Today the Amache Museum in Granada preserves the site’s history.
Lamar: Regional Hub of Southeastern Colorado
Lamar, with a population of approximately 7,500, is the largest city in southeastern Colorado east of Pueblo and the commercial, healthcare, and educational center for a vast rural area. The city is named for Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar II, U.S. Secretary of the Interior under President Grover Cleveland, and was established in 1886 as a railroad stop on the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. The railroad made Lamar a cattle shipping center, and the city grew as an agricultural service hub for the Arkansas River valley’s irrigated farming and the surrounding dryland ranching operations.
Today Lamar’s largest employers include Prowers Medical Center (a full-service regional hospital), Lamar Community College, the Prowers County government and school district, and the agricultural and retail businesses that serve the regional economy. The county has also benefited from significant wind energy development on its open plains, bringing both property tax revenue and employment for wind farm operations personnel. The city’s position on US-50 — the historic transcontinental highway that connects Lamar to Pueblo to the west and Dodge City, Kansas to the east — sustains its role as a transportation and logistics node for the region.
Renting in Lamar: Market Realities
Lamar’s rental market shares the characteristics of most rural southeastern Colorado county seats: very affordable property acquisition, thin rental demand, elevated poverty, and a tenant pool concentrated in government, healthcare, education, and agricultural employment. The county’s poverty rate of 17–21% is significantly above Colorado’s statewide average, and landlords should budget for a market where the 7-day late fee grace period sees regular use and where income verification is essential rather than optional. Colorado’s SB 24-094 habitability requirements (72 hours to begin remedial action; 24 hours for life-safety) apply fully; the nearest significant contractor base is Pueblo, approximately 130 miles west on US-50, making pre-arranged local contractor relationships essential. HB 24-1098’s 90-day just-cause non-renewal requirement and HB 25-1249’s 1-month deposit cap (effective January 1, 2026) apply fully. Evictions are handled by the 16th Judicial District in Lamar.
Prowers County landlord-tenant matters are governed by CRS Title 38, Article 12. Just-cause eviction (HB 24-1098): 90-day no-fault non-renewal notice required; agricultural employer housing may qualify for the employer housing exemption. Habitability (SB 24-094): 72-hour begin remedial action; 24-hour for life-safety; pre-arrange contractors (Pueblo 130 miles west). Security deposits: HB 25-1249 caps at 1 month’s rent from Jan 1, 2026; return within 30 days. Late fees: 7-day grace; max $50 or 5% past-due rent. No rent control. One rent increase per 12 months maximum. Evictions filed in Prowers County District Court in Lamar (16th Judicial District). Consult a licensed Colorado attorney before taking legal action. Last updated: April 2026.
Disclaimer: This page provides general information about landlord-tenant law in Prowers County, Colorado and is not legal advice. Laws change frequently. Always consult a licensed Colorado attorney before taking legal action. Last updated: April 2026.
