mmary
The most challenging legislative session for housing providers in Colorado history has now ended . This was the Year of The Crisis . The sheer number of antilandlord bills , coupled with the erratic nature of the Governor ’ s executive orders and the uncertainty surrounding potential or actual eviction moratoriums at both the state and federal level impacted support , opposition and talking points for all proposed housing legislation . Our industry ’ s unprecedented victories can be measured in the vast number of anti-housing provisions defeated , eliminated and amended .
Nevertheless , the legislation that survived the battles still included flawed policies . A prudent housing provider should make operational changes to mitigate the impact of the new legislation .
The following are summaries of the Apartment Association ’ s priority bills as well as bullet points ( where applicable ) on prudent Member action to adjust to those requirements .
HB 21-1121 RESIDENTIAL TENANCY PROCEDURES
Effective date : Upon signature of Governor
This bill was designed to permanently break the eviction process by making it dramatically longer , more expensive and subjecting the housing provider to greater liability . The primary issues that remain after its passage was a requirement that landlords only raise rent once per 12-month period ( regardless of the length of the lease contract ) and provide 60 day termination notice if there ’ s no written lease .
• All rentals should be documented with a written lease .
• Pricing policies should be reviewed so that an offered rent rate is one the Member would be comfortable with for a year , even for shorter termed leases . This is particularly important for Members utilizing computerized pricing programs .
HB 21-1167 PRIVATE CONSTRUCTION CONTRACT PAYMENTS
Effective date : 9 / 7 / 21 ( 90 days following final adjournment )
For construction , repair and remodel projects over $ 150,000 , property owners are prohibited from withholding more than 5 % of total payment following full completion of the work . The bill leaves full completion of the work only vaguely defined .
• Members should modify their construction and repair contracts to define acceptable “ completion ” to include all work required of the contractor to make the Member comfortable paying at least 95 % of the contract price to the vendor . www . aamdhq . org JULY 2021 TRENDS | 31