Ban on cities enacting rent control stays

BY ELLIOTT WENZLER THE COLORADO SUN

A bill that would have lifted a 40year prohibition on Colorado cities and counties imposing rent control in their communities was rejected by a Democratic-majority state Senate committee in April.

Sen. Dylan Roberts, D-Avon, joined three Republicans on the Senate Housing and Local Government Committee in voting against House Bill 1115, which failed 3-4. Roberts said he feels rent control measures could sti e the development of more housing and thus hurt a ordability e orts.

“We need to do more of what we have been doing of incentivizing development, helping communities, helping nonpro t home builders, helping low-income people get into a ordable rentals and a ordable home ownership,” he said. “I just feel like this bill might unnecessarily or unintentionally harm the work we’ve been doing.” e measure’s prospects were murky from the beginning, with Gov. Jared Polis indicating he would veto legislation allowing local rent control policies. e governor has instead sought to solve Colorado’s a ordable housing crisis by increasing supply.

Republicans at the Capitol were universally opposed to the measure. Several House Democrats joined Republicans in voting against the measure when it was debated on the House oor, indicating that the policy wasn’t universally liked even among Democrats.

Economists have found that rent control can at times worsen a ordability in cities. But proponents of the measure saw it as a key way to prevent runaway housing costs from getting worse in Colorado, as well as a tool to prevent people from being pushed out of their neighborhoods by rising prices. e other lead sponsors of the bill were Rep. Elizabeth Velasco, DGlenwood Springs, and Sen. Robert Rodriguez, D-Denver.

Rep. Javier Mabrey, a Denver Democrat and a prime sponsor of the bill, vowed to try again next year.

“We will be back and we will win,” Mabrey said on Twitter in the hours after the measure failed.

During a February committee hearing, Mabrey amended the measure to try to address his colleagues’ concerns about the bill.

One amendment required that any city or county enacting rent control must allow rent increases of at least 3 percentage points more than the rate of in ation. Local governments would have also been required to allow “reasonable increases” to account for renovations.

Another amendment made exceptions for new developments, exempting buildings less than 15 years old from all rent control measures. In his closing comments in the Housing and Local Government Committee, Rodriguez said he has sympathy for how the policy would impact landlords with only a few properties.

“But we’re in a world now where investors are buying up properties and manipulating the market. … I’m not sure this bill is going to hurt,” he said. “ is is about keeping people housed.” e bill, which would have repealed a 1981 statewide ban on local rent control policies, was one of several measures introduced this session to address the cost of housing in Colorado. e bills have had mixed success. is story is from e Colorado Sun, a journalist-owned news outlet based in Denver and covering the state. For more, and to support e Colorado Sun, visit coloradosun.com. e Colorado Sun is a partner in the Colorado News Conservancy, owner of Colorado Community Media. on retail value of installation, custom installation charges, equipment upgrades/add-ons, and certain other add’l fees & chrgs. See directv.com/directv-fees/ for additional information. $10/MO. AUTOPAY AND PAPERLESS BILL DISCOUNT: Must enroll in autopay & paperless bill within 30 days of TV activation to receive bill credit starting in 1-3 bill cycles (pay $10 more/mo. until discount begins). Must maintain autopay/paperless bill and valid email address to continue credits. DIRECTV SVC TERMS: Subject to Equipment Lease & Customer Agreements. All o ers, packages, programming, promotions, features, terms, restrictions and conditions and all prices and fees not included in price guarantee are subject to change without notice. Package, Advanced Receiver Service Fee, Regional Sports Fee (varies by zip code) and equipment fees for TV connections are included in two-year price guarantee. Taxes, surcharges, add-on programming (including premium channels), protection plan, transactional fees, and Federal Cost Recovery Fee are not included in two-year price guarantee. Some o ers may not be available through all channels and in select areas. Di erent o ers may apply for eligible multi-dwelling unit. Visit directv.com/legal/ or call for details. Access HBO Max through HBO Max app or hbomax.com with your DIRECTV log-in credentials. Visit directv.com to verify/create your account. Use of HBO Max is subject to its own terms and conditions, see hbomax.com/terms-of-use for details. Programming and content subj. to change. Requires account to stay in good standing. Upon cancellation of your video service you may lose access to

For instance, Senate Bill 213, the governor’s major land-use measure, was expected to be gutted Wednesday morning and no longer include zoning requirements for any Colorado municipality. It will instead form a panel to study a ordability needs and plans.

Roberts was also the key vote for the governor’s land-use bill last week, ultimately voting in the Senate Housing and Local Government Committee to advance the measure after the bill was dramatically pared back to remove many requirements for resort communities like the ones he represents.