LEGISLATION
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... The end result is the cost of litigation has become more expensive for all housing providers facing a delinquent tenant , and less expensive and more resources for those tenants that are in breach of their lease agreement ."
$ 10 a case , in order to assist with funding programs to promote access to legal advice for low-income individuals . The end result is the cost of litigation has become more expensive for all housing providers facing a delinquent tenant , and less expensive and more resources for those tenants that are in breach of their lease agreement .
This is a reflection of the imbalance that was brought about this year . The session had a feeling of deja vu from 2023 , seeing bills related to Cause Evictions and Rights of Refusal or Offer being run again . The results in 2024 were different with both bills passing . The Right of First Refusal HB24-1175 , now provides local governments the right to make an offer on affordable multifamily properties . The ultimate impact on the markets for this remains to be seen , the positive changes for the industry would be that the restrictions and time periods are improved from the 2023 version .
HB24-1098 , is a bill that addresses what the proponents identified as a problem with landlords discriminating against tenants by terminating their leases in a discriminatory manner . Despite protections existing under the law that prohibited landlords from engaging in discriminatory actions , the sponsors indicated that this was a necessary step for Colorado . This new law creates a more complicated process for dealing with lease defaults , and makes the eviction process more complicated than it has ever been in Colorado .
The ability to non-renew tenants now depends on how long the tenant has been a tenant . Tenants that have been at the property for 12 months or more have different rights than tenants that have been at the property for less than 12 months and have leases that are ending in less than 12 months . The additional protections identify limited scenarios for the basis of non-renewing the lease .
Landlords can non-renew a lease for a tenant that has been at the property for longer than twelve months , some of these scenarios are unlikely to apply to a multifamily setting . If there is a demolition of the property , then a landlord can terminate . A renovation of the property that is significant can allow for a termination , but it also requires offering up the tenant a chance to move back into the property . If the Landlord is going to reoccupy the property or sell the property the lease can also be terminated . All of these notices require 90 days notice to terminate .
Another ground for a non-renewal that is permitted would be a tenant has been late 3 times with payment of rent . The late payment though is redefined by 1098 , to reference payments made after a tenant has an expired rent demand , so this limits the non-renewal to tenants that have been habitually late and cured late in the eviction process .
A non-renewal can also be given when a tenant fails to accept a reasonable renewal offer . This is an area where there could be room for interpretation as to what a reasonable renewal offer is , because what is reasonable to a tenant and a landlord will often be different .
There have been changes to the eviction notices as well . The law now requires that notices have to be served in the primary language of the tenant . If you do not know the primary language , then it is acceptable to serve the notice in English . This creates new challenges for documenting and tracking which languages are being spoken , and the logistics for some communities make just the preparation of the notices daunting . www . aamdhq . org AUGUST 2024 TRENDS | 17