On Friday, Gov. Jared Polis and the Department of Local Affairs announced the arrival of a rental assistance fund — Property Owner Preservation Program — that will allocate nearly $20 million in federal CARES act funding for housing, mortgage, and rental assistance.
Rep. Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez, Denver, Tony Exum, Colorado Springs, and Sen. Rachel Zenzinger, Arvada, and Julie Gonzales, Denver, sponsored the bill.
“This has been an incredibly challenging time for many Coloradans. I want to thank the legislators who worked on this bill and applaud them for their efforts. This fund will help Coloradans who have been financially impacted by the pandemic and need rent assistance. This pandemic is far from over, and we will continue working to do everything we can to help provide some relief to those who have been significantly impacted. We are all in this together and we will get through this together,” Polis said in a press release.
From the bill, $19,650,000 will be allocated to the Housing Development Grant Fund that’s administered by the Division of Housing within DOLA. Also, guidance will be provided for Coloradans on how to go about accessing other housing services.
“House Democrats returned to the legislature in May committed to helping Coloradans affected by COVID-19 make ends meet. We delivered. This new support for homeowners and renters will go a long way towards helping Coloradans make their rent or mortgage and stay in their home. I’ve spoken to countless families in the Springs area and have heard first hand how badly this relief is needed. I’m excited to get the word out today and make sure that anyone who needs housing assistance knows they can visit the Division of Housing’s website to get started,” said Rep. Tony Exum, D-Colorado Springs.
According to a report released from the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC), a research and advocacy organization, full-time workers need to earn $26.45 an hour, or work 71 hours a week at Colorado minimum wage, to afford a two-bedroom apartment in Colorado.
On Sunday, Polis extended his executive order requiring landlords to give 30 day notice to tenants before eviction proceedings can take place — tenants can still be evicted, the order just provides tenants more time to come up with the money necessary to avoid the eviction.
Polis made some amendments to the order, including encouraging local municipalities to suspend or eliminate restrictions of the number of unrelated persons that can live in a single household, and also encouraging restrictions to be eliminated or suspended on the number of days a hotel room can be occupied.
