In the first week of the legislative session over 130 bills were introduced. Of those introduced, NDC is monitoring the following bills:
- Prohibit Residential Occupancy Limits, HB 24-1007 – This bill would prohibit local governments from setting residential occupancy limits unless tied to requirements for minimum square footage per person.
- Implications for Colorado: Occupancy limits have been used by cities across the country to restrict how many non-related people can live in the same household. This practice discriminates against non-traditional family compositions, lowers the effective density of larger homes, and generally acts as an enforcement mechanism for single family occupancy. This can have a negative effect on affordability.
- Lodging Property Tax Treatment, SB 24-033 – This bill would establish that a residential property used for lodging or short term rental unit (defined as being rented for less than 30 consecutive days), and is not a primary residence would be classified as a lodging property for tax purposes.
- Implications for Colorado: The use of residential units for short term rentals has removed a significant amount of housing stock available to residents who live and work in Colorado communities in rural and metropolitan areas alike.
- Local Government Property Tax Credit Rebates, SB 24-002 – This bill would allow counties and municipalities to issue tax credits and rebates to promote specific uses of real properties in “areas of concern.”
- Implications for Colorado: This bill could empower local governments to incentivize the creation of affordable housing and other uses deemed important to their community. Questions remain about how this could interact with existing tax exemption powers of housing authorities.
There are a number of other bills expected to be introduced in the coming weeks. Here’s what NDC is monitoring due to their potential effects on housing.
- Elements of last year’s strategic growth and land use reform bill to be introduced as smaller individual bills that address parking, ADUs, transit, etc.
- Bills that improve construction practices and study construction defects litigation
- Renter rights legislation, including a bill to make it easier for tenants to defend themselves during eviction proceedings
- Legislation to create a limited form of the Right of First Refusal bill that failed last year.