This article by Moe Clark first appeared on Colorado Newsline on January 1, 2021
Colorado’s statewide eviction moratorium quietly expired on New Year’s Day, with no indication from the governor’s office if or when it will be renewed.
Approximately 36% of Colorado adults are currently living in households that are not current on their rent or mortgage payments and where eviction or foreclosure in the next two months is either very likely or somewhat likely, according to the Census Bureau’s Household Pulse survey.
Some renters will still have temporary protections through January under the federal eviction moratorium, which was recently extended by Congress alongside the latest infusion of relief funds. On Thursday, Governor Jared Polis extended his executive order that bans landlords from charging late fees or other penalties for missed or late rent through January.
The statewide ban on evictions was established in mid-October to mirror the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s eviction moratorium and close loopholes to protect more Colorado renters from being displaced. The biggest difference between the state and federal policies: Colorado’s temporarily shielded financially-affected renters with month-to-month or expiring leases from being evicted. The CDC’s does not.
“The guiding principle in all of this should be rooted in public health,” said Javier Mabrey, a volunteer attorney with the Colorado COVID-19 Eviction Defense Project. “Evictions are always tragic and they always have lasting consequences, but it’s particularly important to stop evictions through COVID-19 so that people can have homes to socially distance.”
Polis initially indicated that he would follow the lead of the federal government when it came to renewing his ban on evictions. “We do plan to track closely with what the federal government is doing to avoid any confusion for landlords and tenants,” Polis said during a media briefing on December 11.
But with the recent infusion of funds from Congress and Colorado’s Legislature, it appears the governor’s office has changed course.
“We are reviewing whether any further administrative actions are necessary,” said Victoria Graham, a spokesperson for Polis, in a written statement. “Ultimately, the most important thing is for people to be able to keep up with their bills to stay in their homes, and this infusion of resources will assist renters and homeowners.”
The amount of relief funds available for renters and homeowners has increased significantly over the last month. In early December, Colorado state lawmakers approved approximately $54 million for rent and mortgage relief to be distributed through existing state programs. President Donald Trump on Dec. 27 signed the latest COVID relief package that funnels $25 billion to states to help renters and homeowners catch up on their payments and stay afloat another month. Colorado will receive an estimated $383.3 million, according to a report from the National Low Income Housing Coalition.
But housing advocates worry that renters could lose their housing while waiting to be approved for the new assistance funds.
“In order for the rent relief funds that Congress has allocated and that the state Legislature has allocated to work, you need a strong eviction moratorium in place,” Mabrey said. “What we need is time for tenants to access that money and an incentive for landlords to accept those rent relief funds rather than going through the eviction court process.”
Though eviction cases filed in county courts slowed significantly during the first few months of the pandemic, cases spiked again during the summer months when no eviction moratoriums were in place. Between March 1 and December 11, nearly 11,000 evictions were filed throughout Colorado, according to state data, which is significantly lower than previous years.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, a patchwork of state and federal protections has shielded thousands of Colorado renters who were unable to pay their rent due to the pandemic from being displaced from their homes. But the protections — such as the state and federal eviction moratoriums, housing assistance programs and bolstered unemployment benefits — have provided only temporary relief.