Eviction Rates In Colorado Are Falling , Not Rising
BY DREW HAMRICK
EVICTIONS
In an election where housing costs were a central topic , voters might be surprised that Colorado rental residents are less likely to be evicted than in years past . From 2010 to 2023 , eviction filing rates fell by 25 % in Colorado ( from 6.4 annually per 100 rental units in 2010 to 4.8 annually per 100 rental rents in 2023 ). The falling rate of evictions is good for rental residents and rental housing providers .
Eviction is a painful process for all when a renter violates lease terms , whether by lack of payment , causing disturbances , or creating unsafe or unsanitary conditions , among other reasons . In Colorado , when a rental resident violates a leasing agreement , the property owner may not simply force them to yield the housing unit .
Instead , the owner must follow a fourmonth legal process of written demands , lawsuit filings in state court , court orders and paying to enforce those orders . This arduous process is designed to ensure residents have full due process before eviction . Property owners , however , lose approximately $ 9,000 when evicting a resident because of costly lawsuits and the inability to collect rent during this process .
Eviction filings do not vary much year to year as many assume . In 2010 , the monthly average was 3,557 eviction filings . In 2023 , that number was 3,302 . While those sound like big numbers , keep in mind Colorado ’ s population has grown to nearly 6 million .
Misleading claims of escalating evictions usually have several flaws . The most significant is not adjusting for the increased number of total rental units . In Colorado , rental units have increased from 667,793 to 834,070 from 2010 to 2023 . This increase in units alone leads one to expect a 25 % increase in eviction filings , rather than the 25 % decrease that has occurred .
Without adjusting eviction actions filed for the number of rental units , reporting on increased evictions is nothing more than reporting that there are more people in the state than there used to be , which is no news to any of us .
Another flaw is not considering seasonal variances of eviction filings . While they rarely change year to year , filings change dramatically month to month . August tends to see double the eviction filings June does . This situation often leads to headlines like , “ Evictions Doubled in Two Months ,” rather than , “ It ’ s August Again , Evictions are Up .”
While Denver has also experienced a reduction in eviction filing rates ( from 7.9 per 100 rental units in 2010 to 7.1 per 100 rental rents in 2023 ) the rates are more volatile because of the smaller sample size and higher because of the urban concentration of poverty .
The final tool used to magnify eviction growth includes data from COVID years .
There were numerous governmental responses to the outbreak , including providing rent support , closing government offices ( including courts ) and , to varying degrees , prohibiting the filing of eviction actions . Consequently , there was an artificial and unprecedented decrease in evictions during 2020 and 2021 . Comparing normal eviction filing rates to COVID years makes a return to normality appear like growth .
As much as filing eviction actions hurt renters and property owners , they are a necessary part of ensuring rental properties are available to meet Colorado ’ s housing needs . Without a simple , affordable , and speedy eviction process , rental housing providers will be forced to be more selective and less willing to take a risk on a resident with poor credit , if they even take the risk of renting the property .
Despite news coverage suggesting evictions are consistently increasing , the four-month eviction process offers more than enough protection for renters . But it is too long when a housing provider is trying to remedy the problem of a resident engaging in dangerous , unlawful activity , disturbances or destruction of property .
There is a solution to making housing less scarce , more affordable and reducing the eviction rates and process even further . Instead of focusing on evictions , we should support policies that encourage the creation of additional housing units .
Drew Hamrick is General Counsel and Senior VP of Government Affair at Apartment Association and Apartment Association of Metro Denver . www . aamdhq . org 23 | TRENDS JANUARY 2025