This story by Sara Wilson appeared on Colorado Newsline on March 26, 2024.
A bill designed to give tenants more protections against evictions and lease non-renewals cleared the Colorado Senate on Tuesday, one of the last major hurdles before landing on the governor’s desk.
House Bill 24-1098 passed on a 19-15 vote, with four Democrats joining with Republicans in opposition. This comes a year after a similar proposal languished on the Senate calendar in the face of Democratic opposition and died in the final days of the legislative session.
The bill, in general, would mandate that landlords have a clear reason for evicting a tenant or choosing not to renew their lease, adding a layer of housing security for tenants in the midst of surging evictions in the state and a shortage of rental supply.
The final vote came a day after a six-hour debate in the chamber.
“At the end of the day, this bill is about stability. This bill says that if you do everything that is asked of you, you still might get evicted, but at least you’ll know why. You’ll know whether it was your fault, or if it’s just because the landlord wants to use it for themselves — if they’re going to put it on the market, if they’re going to demolish it,” bill sponsor Sen. Julie Gonzales, a Denver Democrat, said on the Senate floor in closing comments ahead of the vote.
The House will need to accept the changes made in the Senate or the chambers will need to work through the differences with a conference committee before the bill heads to the governor’s desk.
Dubbed “for cause” legislation, the bill outlines reasons a landlord can lawfully evict a tenant, including lease violations, property destruction, failure to pay rent or interfering with the landlord and other tenants’ right to quiet enjoyment. It also spells out reasons that a landlord can deny a lease renewal, which supporters argue is akin to an eviction and results in the same financial burden and emotional stress for the tenant. A landlord wouldn’t need to renew the lease if they choose to sell the property, take it off the rental market for personal use or undergo lengthy renovations.
If they don’t have one of those reasons, the landlord would need to offer a new lease to the tenant with “reasonable” terms.
“Passing this legislation will ensure landlords can no longer use eviction to retaliate and discriminate against tenants,” Melissa Mejía with the Community Economic Defense Project said in a statement immediately following the bill’s passage. “HB24-1098 outlines clear reasons for evictions, protecting families from unnecessary displacement and ensuring family and community stability. This policy will better protect Colorado tenants.”
Opponents worried that such protections could erode landlords’ property rights and create an endless lease agreement, forcing landlords to continue renting to troublesome tenants. Supporters contend, however, that the current eviction laws often create a chilling effect on renters raising issues with the condition of their unit, for fear of retaliatory non-renewal.
“I believe that this bill will continue to offer protections, when necessary, when there is a problematic tenant that a landlord needs to remove from their properties. But today, there are lacking protections for tenants,” sponsor Sen. Nick Hinrichsen, a Pueblo Democrat, said. “Do you be the squeaky wheel, in hopes of getting the oil? Or do you remain silent knowing that at the end of your lease, if you assert yourself too loudly, that you’ll lose your home?”
The bill, as introduced in the House, was already more narrow than last year’s version in hopes of a smooth passage out of the less progressive Senate and final support from Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat who has said he is wary of any policy that could decrease housing stock or raise rental prices.
It was amended in the House by eliminating all financial relocation assistance requirements and shortening the notice period in some situations, among other changes. Then, it was further amended in its Senate committee so that the law would only apply to tenants who have lived in their unit for at least one year, garnering a neutral position from the powerful Colorado Apartment Association.
On Monday, opponents offered another batch of proposed amendments, including one brought by Sen. Kyle Mullica, an Thornton Democrat, that would have rewritten the bill so that fair housing laws would apply to lease renewals and landlords would be required to give a four-month notice of lease non-renewal.
“I don’t disagree with a lot of what the overarching goal is, and I think that’s represented here in (the amendment). What I do have concerns with is that we are creating a situation where one party of a contract is going to be forced to stay in that contract in perpetuity,” he said on Monday, calling the amendment an attempt at a middle ground.
The amendment narrowly failed. Mullica voted against the bill alongside fellow Democrats Sen. Dylan Roberts of Frisco, Sen. Joann Ginal of Fort Collins and Sen. Rachel Zenzinger of Arvada.
Sen. Jim Smallwood, a Parker Republican, spoke about his experience as a landlord with a tenant who treated him poorly to add context to his opposition.
“Before HB24-1098, a landlord could have had the comfort in knowing that if (they) are being treated that way, (they could) work to evict that tenant,” he said.
If the bill becomes law, he said, it might add the possibility that landlords would be forced to put up with unbearable situations.
“When you apply additional risks to folks, people like me are going to take those properties off the market, if they’re sane,” he said.
New Jersey, California, New Hampshire, Oregon and Washington all have some version of statewide “for cause” legislation, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition. In addition to Colorado, lawmakers in Maryland, New York and Connecticut are also considering the policy this year.