Gov. Jared Polis signed a bill into law Monday that officially eliminates most restrictions on how many unrelated roommates can live together in Colorado.
House Bill 1007 prohibits local governments from enacting occupancy limits, which Polis and other critics of the policy have derided as discriminatory and outdated. Roughly two dozen Colorado cities have such restrictions on the books, though lawmakers said that only a few — including the college town of Fort Collins — actively enforce them.
“This issue is both a housing issue and a civil rights issue,” Polis said during a bill-signing ceremony outside the Capitol. “It really is both. For housing, the opportunity for people to officially be on the lease — it gives them protections, allows them to start establishing their credit, gives them the certainty that they get to live here.”
The bill, which takes effect July 1, still will allow local governments to limit housing occupancy based on health and safety standards or on affordable housing guidelines. The measure was sponsored by Democratic Reps. Manny Rutinel and Javier Mabrey and Democratic Sens. Tony Exum and Julie Gonzales.
Supporters pitched the bill as a way to improve housing options, particularly for students and older Coloradans, and to eliminate a vestige of old land-use policy.
“I live in a five-bedroom house where myself and each of my roommates have our own room. Only three people are legally allowed to be on the lease, which meant that two us are just hanging out, quietly,” said Chase Cromwell, a University of Colorado Boulder senior and the president of external affairs for the school’s student government.
“We’re afforded none of the legal protections that come with being on a lease.”
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The measure was the first of the Polis-backed land-use package to pass both chambers this year, after a similar effort collapsed nearly a year ago. And it’s the second land-use bill passed by the legislature since Polis and his allies in the Capitol settled on zoning reform as their primary approach to solving the state’s housing crisis last year.
On Sunday, the House passed two other bills that are part of this year’s push: One, House Bill 1313, would require Front Range cities to hit density goals near stations on high-frequency transit corridors in exchange for grant money. If they refuse, they’ll lose tax dollars and eventually will be required to adopt the density requirements anyway.
The other measure, House Bill 1152, would legalize accessory dwelling units across Front Range cities.
Both of those bills are now headed to the Senate, which took a significantly more moderate approach to land-use reforms last year.
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