Colorado Landlords and Legislators Divided on Occupancy Limits After New Law
03 July 2024 - 12:15AM
The enactment of House Bill 1007 yesterday bans local governments
from enforcing occupancy limits, effectively eliminating rules made
to limit non-related persons from sharing housing. However, 72% of
Colorado landlords said they wanted to enforce occupancy limits
outside of health code standards. This is one of many findings in a
new report from TurboTenant, a property management software
provider.
TurboTenant deploys bimonthly surveys to track the state of the
U.S. rental industry. In May 2024, 55% of landlords favored
limiting rental occupancy nationwide. But in anticipation of
HB24-1007, most Colorado landlords found themselves at odds with
lawmakers.
"I understand that with the increase in prices of everything,
costs are high. It makes sense to have roommates to bring costs
down,” said John T., a landlord with more than 16 years of rental
experience. “[But] when there are multiple unrelated people in the
rental, there are more problems."
Many Colorado landlords favoring occupancy limits echoed similar
sentiments, citing increased wear and tear plus a higher
probability of issues between tenants as top concerns. 22% of
respondents noted that they didn’t know enough to have an opinion
on occupancy limits, while 6% opposed limiting occupancy beyond
health code standards.
Despite the majority of local landlords favoring occupancy
limits, Gov. Polis’ decision to enact HB24-1007 serves as a
response to Colorado experiencing the second-worst housing deficit
in the U.S. as of March 2024. By eliminating strict occupancy
limits like the “U+2” law in Fort Collins, Polis hopes to improve
housing options statewide.
However, only 24% of Colorado tenants favored occupancy limits
beyond health code standards, and a whopping 63% didn’t know enough
to have an opinion.
When asked to explain his resistance to occupancy limits, renter
William K. provided a succinct response: "Limiting occupancy offers
security, and safety first. Less is more, in my opinion.”
About TurboTenant
TurboTenant’s mission is to empower landlords by providing the
tools they need to thrive, including insight into industry trends.
TurboTenant serves over 650,000 American landlords by offering
rental applications, tenant screening, property marketing,
maintenance management, lease agreements, online rent collection,
and more.
Please contact press@turbotenant.com or visit turbotenant.com
for more information.
Media Contact:Krista
Reutherpress@turbotenant.com