DENVER — President Biden unveiled an ambitious plan Tuesday aimed at lowering housing costs.
The centerpiece of the plan would limit rent increases.
It would give corporate landlords a choice: either cap rent increases at 5% or give up their federal tax breaks.
“Families deserve housing that’s affordable—it’s part of the American Dream,” Biden said. “Rent is too high and buying a home is out of reach for too many working families and young Americans, after decades of failure to build enough homes. I’m determined to turn that around.”
Colorado has had a statewide ban on rent control since the early 1980s.
Some say the president’s proposal, were it to pass Congress, would be a way to get around that.
While progressive groups say it would go a long way to helping renters, the proposal faces a lot of opposition from landlords, business groups and some Democrats.
Francis Seidel is among the tens of thousands of immigrants who came to the Denver area over the past year and a half.
Now, she’s facing a problem thousands of Coloradans face: the rising cost of housing.
Since moving into her Westminster apartment five months ago, she said her rent has increased by $300.
She says her undocumented status makes it difficult to support her three children.
“We are able to find work. It’s still hard to make enough money to pay for all these costs,” she said.
Even though the air conditioner in her apartment doesn’t work, Seidel knows having a roof over their heads is better than nothing.
“I stay awake at night, worrying and not knowing if there’s going to be food,” she said. “It’s even worse because of where we are right now.”
As Denver7 conducted the interview with Seidel, sheriff’s deputies were serving an eviction at one of her neighbors.
She worries she could be next.
“Right now, I’m two months behind rent,” she said through the help of a translator. “I live in uncertainty thinking they’re going to knock on my door and tell me to get out of here.”
She called Biden’s plan to limit rent increases excellent.
Allex Luna, who’s with United for a New Economy, grassroots organization that works primarily within Adams County to organize for racial and economic justice, said the president’s plan would provide renters with much-needed relief.
“This is huge,” said Luna. “Having this 5% cap at the at the federal level creates an opportunity and good policies to keep renters housed.”
The plan faces opposition from landlords.
“The Colorado Apartment Association (CAA) opposes rent control. It has failed in every locality nationwide where it has been implemented,” said Destiny Bossert, the government affairs manager for CAA. “The solution to high housing prices is to build more housing, and developers need incentives to build rather than disincentives that drive businesses out of the market.”
“That statement does not surprise me,” Luna said.
He said building more housing won’t necessarily help renters in the same way rent control would.
“As we wait to build more housing that's affordable and accessible for renters, they're already going to be priced out of these of our communities,” said Luna. “The reality that we're seeing right now is because of a lot of greed.”
There have been efforts to repeal the state ban on rent control, but they have not been successful.
On Monday, Gov. Jared Polis shared a statement on X in response to news of Biden’s plan.
“This kind of cap would lead to less affordable housing being built and substantially increase housing costs,” Polis said.
According to Denver County Court, there have been more than 8,300 eviction filings so far this year. That’s about a 20% increase from this point last year.
Last year, a record 12,910 evictions were filed in Denver.
The Community Economic Defense Project (CEDP) has several resources to help renters.
CEDP also said the Colorado Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) Housing Choice Voucher program waitlist will be open for one day only, on Friday, Aug. 16 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
According to a press release, “the waiting list is only open to applicants who meet CEDP’s Local Preference(s) for Families with disabilities, families that include victims of domestic violence, and families currently enrolled in an existing DOH Program (e.g., SHV, CoC, PSH, CATV, 811, Rapid Rehousing, EHV).”
Pre-applications can be requested by emailing waitlist@CEDProject.org during the waitlist open period. Only applications with a time stamp of Aug. 16, between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. will be accepted.
Applications can also be completed in person from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at CEDP offices, located at 1600 N. Downing St., Suite 600, Denver, CO 80218.
Applicants can also be mailed to the above address, but they must have a postmark date of Friday, Aug. 16 to be accepted.
