February and March were active months for the Colorado House of Representatives with respect to attempted reforms of current landlord/tenant laws in Colorado.  In addition to proposed major overhauls to Colorado statutory eviction procedures (House Bill 23-1171), on February 27th the House passed House Bill 23-1115, which proposes repealing the current statewide ban on local government rent control measures.

Under current state law, counties and municipalities are expressly prohibited from enacting any ordinance or resolution controlling rent on private residential property or individual private residential housing units (C.R.S. § 38-12-301).  In addition to repealing that prohibition, HB 23-1115 proposes a conforming amendment placing specific requirements on future local government rent control measures.

Continue Reading Colorado House Passes, Senate Considers Repeal of Rent Control Prohibition

In November 2022, Denver City Council passed the “Energize Denver” ordinance, which established a phased rollout of restrictions on the installation and replacement of natural gas appliances in commercial buildings and multi-family housing structures in favor of electric alternatives.  The ordinance does not require building owners to replace any existing functional gas appliances, but owners and developers will need to pay close attention to additional electrification requirements in the Denver building code as they take effect over the next 5 years. Below is a brief overview of when and how some of these restrictions will apply to current buildings and future construction. Click here for the full language of the ordinance.

Continue Reading Navigating Denver’s Natural Gas Restrictions

On Monday, January 9th, 2023, the Denver City Council voted to pass a new wage theft ordinance, which provides greater authority to the City Auditor’s Office to ensure employees are paid their promised wages.  Denver’s existing minimum wage ordinance continues to allow employees to file complaints to the City Auditor’s Office (the “City Auditor”) and provides employees with a right of private action to recover unpaid wages plus interest.  The new wage theft ordinance establishes a civil violation for wage theft violations whereby employees can submit complaints to the City Auditor and the City Auditor will pursue the complaint and seek restitution on the employee’s behalf. 

Continue Reading Wage Theft Ordinance Passes in Denver

In October 2022, I participated in an Urban Land Institute Colorado walking tour in Denver’s Capitol Hill neighborhood exploring different types of affordable housing.

The Capitol Hill neighborhood is interesting to me because it is made up of so many types of housing in close proximity to one another:  multimillion dollar homes, duplexes, small and large apartment buildings, condominiums, and rowhomes. Very few historic neighborhoods offer a melting pot of housing options like Capitol Hill.

Continue Reading Affordable Housing in Denver’s Capitol Hill Neighborhood

A new ruling out of the Fifth Circuit is likely to have significant impacts on the ways that municipalities may regulate short term rental properties (“STR’s”). In Hignell-Stark v. City of New Orleans, 46 F.4th 317 (5th Cir. 2022), the court reviewed a New Orleans ordinance which limited the right to use a residence as an STR to only people whose primary residence was in New Orleans.

Continue Reading A New Federal Ruling Outlines Limits to Short Term Rental Regulation