Last month, the Colorado General Assembly passed, and the Governor signed, a new law that targets delinquent slumlords. Existing law already allows cities or counties to fine slumlords for health and safety violations, but those fines often become the cost of doing business. Local jurisdictions can also take the extraordinary step of condemning a building, as Aurora did with multiple CBZ-owned buildings last year, but that also forcibly displaces the residents and can put families at risk of being unhoused. Senate Bill 20, authored by Denver and Aurora legislators Sen. Weissman, Sen. Gonzales, Rep. Lindsay, and Rep. Mabrey, is designed to actually repair dilapidated buildings so that their residents can stay. 

 

The new law specifically allows cities, counties, or the Colorado Attorney General to sue slumlords engaged in a “pattern of neglect,” that might include health or safety violations like rat infestations, a lack of heat, broken plumbing, or inoperative fire protection equipment. If a lawsuit is successful, the court will appoint a receiver to temporarily take over operations of the building and fix the deferred maintenance. 

 

Redress and other tenant advocates, including the Denver Metro Tenants’ Union (DMTU) and East Colfax Community Collective, worked with the bill sponsors to include important tenant protections, including:

1. Required notice to residents about the court hearings and weekly communication between the receiver and the residents about their work.
2. A prohibition on the receiver evicting residents for back rent owed to the slumlord. The receiver may evict residents if they fail to pay rent after the receiver takes over, but cannot rely on a slumlord's rent records. This is especially true because residents shouldn’t owe full rent when they live in a building full of health and safety violations.
3. A prohibition on the receiver increasing rents during the receivership period. 

 

Advocates shared that receivers often  rely on a property owner's records to try and collect back rent from residents, even when the records are not well-kept. Existing state habitability standards already entitle residents to a rent deduction if there are serious deficiencies in their unit, so no one should be evicted over back rent for units that didn't meet safety standards in the first place.

 

These new protections were directly influenced by Redress’ work organizing with residents of CBZ-owned buildings in Denver, Edgewater, and Aurora. As was closely documented in the press, CBZ let their buildings fall into dangerous conditions and then blamed the lack of maintenance on a Venezuelan gang, despite the fact that a long list of violations were on file with the cities of Denver and Aurora before many of the  Venezuelan tenants moved in.  

 

One building, Whispering Pines, fell into receivership because CBZ failed to make payments on its mortgage. Though some improvements were made at that building during the receivership, few residents felt the relief. Many were threatened with eviction and forced to leave before conditions improved. Redress staff explained to the bill sponsors that if the intention of the bill was to improve conditions for the tenants, then it was essential to ensure they could remain throughout the receivership process. 

 

Redress is grateful to the bill sponsors for their thoughtful edits and applauds the bill’s passage. The new law goes into effect on August 6th, and we will be pushing cities and counties to use it whenever slumlords fail their residents.