We partnered with United for a New Economy and 9to5 Colorado to research how the housing instability crisis in Colorado impacts the health of low- and moderate-income renters, and developed policy recommendations to repeal the statewide ban on rent stabilization policies in support of public health and equity.
December 16, 2020
We partnered with United for a New Economy and 9to5 Colorado to research how the housing instability crisis in Colorado impacts the health of low- and moderate-income renters, and developed policy recommendations to repeal the statewide ban on rent stabilization policies in support of public health and equity.
We partnered with United for a New Economy and 9to5 Colorado to research how the housing instability crisis in Colorado impacts the health of low- and moderate-income renters, and developed policy recommendations to repeal the statewide ban on rent stabilization policies in support of public health and equity.
Strong communities need stable, safe, and affordable housing that supports the health and well-being of the people and families who live there. But across the country, landlords have raised rents rapidly while incomes for low- and middle-income renters have stagnated, leaving many renters struggling to meet basic needs and facing ongoing housing instability. This is especially true in Colorado, where lawmakers have not taken meaningful action to address the rental affordability crisis. And due to structural racism and discrimination in housing and employment, Black and Latinx renters are disproportionately harmed.
We conducted the majority of research for this report before the COVID-19 pandemic, which has further magnified and revealed the persistent housing insecurity that many renters already experience. Rent stabilization policies are one key opportunity for state and local governments to provide immediate stability for renters, and to support healthy communities in the long term.In this report, we present findings about how rising rents and housing instability affect renters’ health in Colorado, including the results of a survey with 212 low- and moderate-income renters across the state. Half of the renters we surveyed reported that their landlords had raised the rent within the past 2 years. The average increase was 9%, or $113 per month, while the largest was $450 per month, a 38% increase.
Rent stabilization limits how much landlords can increase rent each year, and well-designed policies contribute to just housing systems that support healthy communities. But in Colorado, state lawmakers prevent cities and towns from adopting rent stabilization policies that work for their local context, through a state preemption (or ban) adopted in 1981. Repealing this ban would shift power and agency to tenants, and strengthen community health. It would also give cities the freedom to pass policies that support renters’ health based on what makes sense in their localities.