DENVER — New court data shows the number of people facing eviction continues to outpace last year.
In the first three months of 2024, nearly 4,000 households in Denver faced eviction, according to new numbers from Denver County Court. That represents a 20% increase compared to the same time in 2023.
“Colorado has seen some of the highest rates of evictions in the last couple of years,” said Melissa Mejía, head of state and local policy for the Community Economic Defense Project (CEDP), a Denver legal nonprofit that helps people facing eviction.
CEDP was started during the pandemic to help protect renters from eviction. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, its workload has increased as evictions have skyrocketed. Last year, a record 12,910 households faced evictions in Denver.
“This is a crisis that is not slowing down," Mejía said."
Mejía is pleased lawmakers in both the Colorado House and Senate have approved House Bill 24-1098, the "for cause" eviction bill. The bill is now headed to the governor’s desk.
“We think it's going to help a lot of Coloradans,” said Mejía.
State Rep. Javier Mabrey, D-Denver, sponsored the bill in the House.
“I’m honestly thrilled,” said Mabrey. “It's weird to be in this building and not have this bill weighing on me. This has been year two of trying to get this done.”
He said it will help families stay in their homes by clearly defining when and why landlords can evict them. Mabrey said if a tenant has not broken any rules and is paying rent, the bill would require the landlord to give the tenant the right of first refusal to continue living at the location.
“And as long as they're paying their rent, they're not violating the lease and their landlord is continuing in the business of being a landlord, the landlord should continue renting to those particular tenants,” said Mabrey.
The bill aims to prevent evictions that are not just causes. Mabrey said those include cases where a landlord is retaliating against a tenant for complaints about living conditions or discriminating against a tenant based on their race.
Mabrey reiterated that landlords could still evict someone for nonpayment of rent, which is why most people are evicted.
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But not everyone thinks the "for cause" eviction bill is a good idea. Opponents said it will infringe on the rights of landlords and have unintended consequences.
“The very people the bill sets out to help, I think, are the ones who are going to get hurt most. And the reason they're going to get hurt most is rents are going to go up,” said Senate Minority Leader Paul Lundeen.
Mabrey said "there's absolutely no evidence" of increased rent in states that have passed similar legislation. He said laws like it have helped keep more families in their homes, and that's what he hopes will happen in Colorado.
