According to the March 28 Denver Gazette, “Like other landlord-bashing bills, it appears to be based more on anecdotes than analysis.” The bill limits evictions without cause. Landlords can still evict when a tenant fails to pay rent, a rental property is going to be sold, there are lease violations, there are plans to make substantial repairs to a property, or when a tenant damages the rental property. The rub is that tenants can sue disputing evictions based on cause. Click here to read the bill.
The last two legislative sessions at the Colorado Capitol focused on protecting tenants’ rights, hoping to alleviate the affordable housing crisis in Denver and other cities across the state. House Bill 24-1098 redefines what is “just cause” for eviction. When politicians try to fix an economic problem, it usually backfires on the people who are supposed to benefit. Typically, City and state regulations increase the cost of doing business, so eventually, rents will rise because of this legislation. Since most legislators are attorneys, their bill will increase litigation as tenants sue to prevent eviction. Our state legislators with law degrees do know how to protect their own.
The Gazette editorial states that Sen. Nick Hinrichsen, D-Pueblo, recounted a story of a 67-year-old constituent who claimed to have been evicted in retaliation for complaining about an apartment’s heating. The Senator also mentions evictions when a landlord is spurned after making unwanted advances on a tenant or disagreeing with a tenant’s political views. These examples are not supported by testimony and seem antidotal and rare.
Tenants facing eviction after months of unpaid rent or following a history of damaging the property will suddenly have grounds for claiming retaliation by their landlords. House Bill 24-1098 redefines what is “just cause” for eviction. The rub is that tenants can sue to dispute evictions based on cause. Their legal actions will stop eviction proceedings, and tenants will keep their tenancy until the courts decide, which weakens owners’ property rights. Non-payment of rent and legal costs will force landlords to increase rents in a market that has already out priced many tenants.
Next Tuesday, the House and Senate will meet to reconcile the differing bill versions they passed. Now would be a good time to call your representative and senator and let them know your thoughts on “the cause” bill or House Bill 24-1098. Below are Front Range state representatives and senators between Fort Collins, Denver, and Colorado Springs.
DenCO tries to inform our owners about upcoming legislation and regulations that might affect the management and the value of their rental property investments. We manage over 150 homes, duplexes, and apartment rentals in the DU, Washington Park, and other Denver neighborhoods and has been in business since 1990. Call us at 303-722-9688 or click here to complete a Contact Us form.
Front Range Representatives
NAME
DISTRICT PARTY
CAPITOL PHONE # EMAIL
Armagost, Ryan
64 Republican
303-866-2906 ryan.armagost.house@coleg.gov
Bird, Shannon
29 Democrat
303-866-2843
shannon.bird.house@coleg.gov
Boesenecker, Andrew
53 Democrat
303-866-2917
andrew.boesenecker.house@coleg.gov
Brown, Kyle
12 Democrat
303-866-2920
kyle.brown.house@coleg.gov
Daugherty, Lindsey
24 Democrat
303-866-2950
lindsey.daugherty.house@coleg.gov
DeGraaf, Ken
22 Republican
303-866-2927
ken.degraaf.house@coleg.gov
deGruy Kennedy, Chris
30 Democrat
303-866-2951
chris.kennedy.house@coleg.gov
English, Regina
17 Democrat
303-866-3069
regina.english.house@coleg.gov
Frizell, Lisa
45 Republican
303-866-2948
lisa.frizell.house@coleg.gov
Froelich, Meg
3 Democrat
303-866-2921
meg.froelich.house@coleg.gov
Hartsook, Anthony
44 Republican
303-866-2933
anthony.hartsook.house@coleg.gov
Herod, Leslie
8 Democrat
303-866-2959
leslie.herod.house@coleg.gov
Joseph, Junie
10 Democrat
303-866-2915
junie.joseph.house@coleg.gov
Lindsay, Mandy
42 Democrat
303-866-3911
mandy.lindsay.house@coleg.gov
Lynch, Mike
65 Republican
303-866-2907
mike.lynch.house@coleg.gov
Marshall, Bob
43 Democrat
303-866-2936
bob.marshall.house@coleg.gov
McCormick, Karen
11 Democrat
303-866-2780
karen.mccormick.house@coleg.gov
Parenti, Jennifer
19 Democrat
303-866-2924
jennifer.parenti.house@coleg.gov
Pugliese, Rose
14 Republican
303-866-2965
rose.pugliese.house@coleg.gov
Ricks, Naquetta
40 Democrat
303-866-2944
Naquetta.Ricks.house@coleg.gov
Rutinel, Manny
32 Democrat
303-866-2945
manny.rutinel.house@coleg.gov
Sirota, Emily
9 Democrat
303-866-2910
emily.sirota.house@coleg.gov
Snyder, Marc
18 Democrat
303-866-2932
marc.snyder.house@coleg.gov
Valdez, Alex
5 Democrat
303-866-2925
alex.valdez.house@coleg.gov
Weinberg, Ron
51 Republican
303-866-2947
ron.weinberg.house@coleg.gov
Weissman, Mike
36 Democrat
303-866-2942
mike.weissman.house@coleg.gov
Wilson, Don
20 Republican
303-866-2191
don.wilson.house@coleg.gov
Young, Mary
50 Democrat
303-866-2929
mary.young.house@coleg.gov
Front Range Senators
NAME
DISTRICT PARTY
CAPITOL PHONE # EMAIL
Buckner, Janet
29 Democrat
303-866-3432
janet.buckner.senate@coleg.gov
Coleman, James
33 Democrat
303-866-4864
james.coleman.senate@coleg.gov
Danielson, Jessie
22 Democrat
303-866-4856
jessie.danielson.senate@coleg.gov
Exum, Tony
11 Democrat
303-866-6364
tony.exum.senate@coleg.gov
Fenberg, Steve
18 Democrat
303-866-4872
stephen.fenberg.senate@coleg.gov
Fields, Rhonda
28 Democrat
303-866-4879
rhonda.fields.senate@coleg.gov
Ginal, Joann
14 Democrat
303-866-4841
joann.ginal.senate@coleg.gov
Jaquez Lewis, Sonya
17 Democrat
303-866-5291
sonya.jaquez.lewis.senate@coleg.gov
Kolker, Chris
16 Democrat
303-866-4883
chris.kolker.senate@coleg.gov
Liston, Larry
10 Republican
303-866-2737
larry.liston.senate@coleg.gov
Smallwood, Jim
2 Republican
303-866-4869
Smallwood@gmail.com
Van Winkle, Kevin
30 Republican
303-866-4881
kevin.vanwinkle.senate@coleg.gov
Zenzinger, Rachel
19 Democrat
303-866-4840
rachelz@gmail.com
Rodriguez, Robert
32 Democrat
303-866-4852
robert.rodriguez.senate@coleg.gov
Kirkmeyer, Barbara
23 Republican
303-866-4876
barbara.kirkmeyer.senate@coleg.gov
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