AURORA — When Hewan Kassa and her family bought a house in the Conservatory neighborhood in southeast Aurora, they believed one perk would be the ability to rent out their finished basement with a separate entrance.
With a mortgage approaching $4,000 a month, the family thought the ability to get roughly $1,600 back in rent from a tenant was an attractive option.
“My clients were most interested in buying this property because of the income potential,” Kassa’s realtor Millete Birhanemaskel told Denver7 Investigates.
But after the family listed the basement for rent, they got a letter from their homeowners’ association stating that renting out a portion of their house was in violation of HOA policy.
This confused both the family and Birhanemaskel, as they were aware of a 2024 state law allowing accessory dwelling units (ADUs) on single-family lots.
The basement at the Kassa’s home, since it had a separate entrance, would qualify as an ADU.
“We're not looking to build something. The space is already here. So, we want to make the most of it,” Kassa said.
And while the family feels like the law should be on their side — and one of the bill’s main sponsors agrees — the HOA is standing firm and the matter may end up having to be settled in court.
Birhanemaskel reached out to Denver7 Investigates to get help and to hopefully find answers to help her client.
“Someone has to sort of stand up to that. And, you know, ask questions. And who better than you all?” she said.
The new law, HB24-1152, passed in 2024 and states that certain jurisdictions – including the area where the Kassa family lives – must allow one ADU on single-family home lots. The law also restricts HOAs from stopping anyone in qualified areas from building an ADU.
The Conservatory HOA, through its attorney, said it’s not against the Kassa family or anyone else having an ADU on their property, but is against renting it out.
Their full statement to Denver7 Investigates reads: “The Association is committed to supporting and honoring homeowners’ rights to create ADUs, including as a means to provide living space for family members and guests pursuant to Colorado law. At the same time, the association has a responsibility to enforce the covenants for the community and recent legislation does not excuse compliance with applicable leasing restrictions.”
HOA policy states that the full residence could be rented out on a long-term lease, but that renting a portion of the property is not allowed.
State Sen. Judy Amabile (D-Boulder) is one of the bill’s prime sponsors and said the intent of the law is that homeowners would be able to rent out their ADU.
“It's silly to say you can have an ADU, but you can't rent it,” she said. “We specifically included HOAs in the bill because we felt like it was really unfair to eliminate a whole bunch of homeowners from this plan.”
Amabile said she wanted to help pass this bill in order to help add more affordable rental properties throughout the state. But she said she’s not surprised there is pushback.
“I think there's some fear that people have that it will change the character of their neighborhood,” she said. “It really doesn't have that impact.”
Another issue with the bill is that it requires cities, such as Aurora, to pass their own ordinances that comply with the new state law.
But Aurora has yet to do so.
A spokesman for the city said this issue is between the homeowner and the HOA.
However, while not currently fighting this law, Aurora has come out against other laws that it feels oversteps the state’s authority and infringes on the city’s home-rule charter, which gives it more control over local issues.
In fact, the city is one of several municipalities suing the state of Colorado over two other land-use laws involving parking and a law adding housing near public transportation.
Issues like this make the law more murky, as it’s not yet clear if the HOA policy is trumped by a new state law, especially when not all requirements have been met in local jurisdictions. It’s something Amabile believes might end up in court.
The Kassas have now received a second letter from the HOA, threatening fines if they don’t comply with HOA policy. But for now, they are still waiting for resolution and for answers.
“It would be disappointing if we wouldn't be able to rent out the space just because it altered so much of our decision-making,” Kassa said. “It is about making the most of the space that you already have.”
Here is the full HOA statement: "The Association has consistently acted in a manner that it believes to be in the best interest of the community and the Association members as a whole. The Association is committed to supporting and honoring homeowners’ rights to create ADUs, including as a means to provide living space for family members and guests pursuant to Colorado law. At the same time, the Association has a responsibility to enforce the covenants for the community and recent legislation does not excuse compliance with applicable leasing restrictions.
The governing documents allow owners to rent their property as a whole. However, the covenants prohibit owners and/or investors from renting or leasing less than the entire home in order to preserve the nature and character of the community. To the extent that the community at large wants to permit leasing or renting of individual rooms, etc., the right to amend the governing documents is vested with the homeowners. However, the community has never expressed interest in allowing such use."
