15 ways housing, development and renters’ rights could change in Colorado this year

Colorado may soon have a bunch of new laws related to housing.

Democrats in the statehouse, with the backing of Gov. Jared Polis, have advanced a series of measures that would push cities to loosen development restrictions in a variety of ways. The goal is a Colorado that is denser, and potentially more affordable, as the population continues to climb, though that idea has drawn strong objections from local governments and Republicans.

Meanwhile, lawmakers also have tried to pass additional protections for renters and to boost affordable housing.

Here’s a summary of what lawmakers are debating in the final weeks of session.

Historically, local governments have made most of the decisions about what can be built, and where.

But, in recent years, Democrats and Polis have proposed some mandatory changes to how cities grow. Their initial effort failed last year with the collapse of SB23-213, a sweeping proposal that had aimed to force widespread changes in zoning rules.

This year, they’re trying to pass a series of smaller measures instead.

HB24-1313 would force perhaps the biggest change. It would strongly push cities to allow denser development near their bus and rail lines.

The state would assign each city a housing goal, based on how many high-frequency bus and train lines cross the area. The city would then have to change its zoning to ensure a certain number of housing units can be built in areas near the transit lines.

Originally, the proposal would have penalized noncompliant cities by taking away their money from the Highway Users Tax Fund – one of the most controversial parts of the measure. But the bill’s sponsors said they would remove that provision.

HB24-1152 would force cities to allow more homeowners to build smaller secondary residences – also known as accessory dwelling units or ADUs – on their property.

The bill would set requirements for cities, saying that ADUs should generally be permitted wherever single-family homes are allowed and that cities must allow them to be a reasonable size.

In many cities, new development has to include a certain number of parking spaces. In Thornton, for example, apartment units must have one parking spot for every 500 square feet of living space – up to three spots for a single apartment.

These requirements are known as “parking minimums,” and critics say they lead to money and land being gobbled up by parking lots – rather than new housing.

HB24-1304 would ban the use of parking minimums. Instead, developers could decide how much parking to include in a new project. Critics argue this could lead to a shortage of parking in areas that rely on cars.

Supporters counter that developers still have to include enough parking to make their buildings appealing to tenants — and the banks that fund development also set their own requirements for parking.

SB24-174 is a bipartisan measure, and it’s being run by two lawmakers who posed challenges to last year’s big land-use bill: Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer (R) and Sen. Rachel Zenzinger (D).

Instead of rewriting zoning rules at the state level, the pair want Colorado communities to develop their own “local housing needs assessment” as well as housing action plans to meet those needs. Those reports would feed into a statewide needs assessment.

Both the state and local assessments would be repeated every six years. The bill includes financial incentives for local governments that publish and make progress on their housing action plans.

While much of this year’s focus is on boosting market-rate development, the state is still working on the supply of designated affordable housing too. These are units where prices are regulated and only people with lower incomes can rent or buy.

HB24-1175 would give local governments the first chance to buy certain affordable housing buildings when they are sold. If the local entity can match the best offer on a building, it gets to buy it. The right only applies to buildings that took advantage of tax credits and other government benefits to create affordable housing. This “right of first refusal” would expire in 2030.

The bill would also require sellers to give advance notice when putting certain older apartment buildings on the market. Critics say it’s an impingement on property owners’ rights. Polis vetoed a much broader version of the proposal last year.

HB24-1434 would expand funding for affordable housing developments, allowing the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority to distribute an additional $768 million of tax credits over eight years to subsidize affordable projects. This would reduce general fund revenue and cut into TABOR surplus dollars.

HB24-1308 would create new rules for how the state Division of Housing handles applications for affordable housing funding programs, among other changes.

Progressive Democrats are especially focused on creating new legal protections for renters and others. They struggled last year to pass some key priorities on this front through the Senate, but have regrouped to try again.

HB24-1098 would force landlords to offer lease extensions in many cases, giving tenants a better chance at renewing their leases. A similar but broader bill died amid Democratic infighting in 2023. Landlords said this policy would prevent them from breaking up with bad tenants, while proponents said it would keep landlords from forcing someone out of housing without a good reason.

SB24-146 would provide an income tax credit worth up to $2,000 for renter households who are joint filers, or $1,000 for single filers. However, there are some catches. The credit is non-refundable, so it can’t be paid out as a refund check. Instead, it can only be used to reduce your income tax obligation. And the credit would be smaller for those with higher incomes.

It’s part of a larger tax credit package. Other proposals, including an expanded Earned Income Tax Credit and a state Family Affordability Tax Credit, or child tax credit, would be refundable and offer more benefits to lower-income households.

SB24-94 makes changes to landlords’ obligations to ensure the habitability of rentals. It sets new timelines and standards for how habitability issues should be handled, and it requires landlords to provide alternate housing while certain life, health or safety-affecting issues are addressed. It also sets new legal standards and procedures, including allowing habitability issues to be used as an affirmative defense against eviction.

HB24-1057 would limit landlords’ ability to use algorithm-driven digital platforms like RealPage to set rent levels. Reformers say such algorithms allow landlords to collude by indirectly exchanging private information, and making it possible to more aggressive in raising rents. Critics say more data makes the housing market more efficient. The bill would still allow the use of algorithms, but not if they rely on “nonpublic competitor data.”

Also, the Senate added a significant carveout: Landlords could use nonpublic competitor if the algorithm is also made available, in some form, to the public. The idea is that the renter would at least get access to a tool that estimates rent ranges for the neighborhood.

HB24-1007 was a priority for both Polis and statehouse progressives. It overturns cities’ “occupancy limits” on how many roommates can share a home. However, local governments can still set limits for causes like fire safety and health. (This would apply to homeowners who want to share their homes, not just renters.)

HB24-1259 was inspired by what sponsors say were instances of price-gouging after the 2021 Marshall Fire in Boulder County. It says that landlords can’t excessively raise rent for a year after an area is affected by an emergency, as declared by the governor or the president. The limit would be a 10% increase, or an amount matching the percentage raise in rent for the previous year, whichever is greater.

HB24-1294 includes numerous changes to how mobile home parks can operate, including requirements that rent is “reasonable, equitable and consistent for all residents for comparable lots” and that park rules are published in both English and Spanish.

HB24-1230 aims to grant more legal protections to homeowners, especially for condos, affected by construction defects, including by extending the window for lawsuits from six years to 10 years.

A contrasting bill, SB24-106, is more focused on giving builders protections in those lawsuits. It gives builders the right to remedy legal claims by fixing the problem, among other changes.

Colorado Public Radio: To read more stories from Colorado Public Radio, visit www.cpr.org.