Colorado’s rent collection rate was higher 0.9 percent higher than the national average at 97.9% as of May 27. That s 1.1 percent higher than rent collections from the previous year,
CdeBaca and Sawyer estimate that the program would cost around $4 million annually; it would be funded by federal pandemic relief money during the first three and a half years of operation. Denver has had an eviction legal defense fund pilot program in place since mid-2018, but because of a lack of funding, it s only been able to provide attorneys for a fraction of indigent individuals facing eviction.
City council will vote on the proposal during its June 7 meeting. If the proposal passes, it will take effect in September. Some renters want it now.
Under an executive order recently extended by Governor Jared Polis through the end of June, landlords must give 30 days notice, rather than the standard ten-day notice, before an eviction can be filed for nonpayment of rent. The executive order also mandates that landlords provide a list of resources to renters when initiating an eviction. However, Polis let an eviction moratorium expire, so the State of Colorado has had nothing in
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's national eviction moratorium is set to expire at the end of June, while the latest US Census Data shows 35% of Coloradans are at risk of eviction or foreclosure.
At least 80,000 Colorado renters are estimated to be behind on their rent. Soon, landlords may regain the option to evict tenants who aren’t caught up.
Kevin J. Beaty
Gail Steger Mock gives a tour of one of the 12 units she owns in Aurora. May 6, 2021.
Gail Steger Mock has been a landlord for 35 years. She got into the rental business because she wanted to do something that would have a positive impact on people.
“You get to help them have a decent place to live, and that s where I come from. I am not a slum landlord,” she said.
But after a year of the pandemic, her properties aren’t looking as nice as she would prefer. Outside a pale blue four-plex she owns in Aurora, she pointed out some of the maintenance that she’s had to delay.