(Roger Starnes Sr. on Unsplash)
By Margaret Jackson/NewsBreak Denver
(Denver, Colorado) Colorado lawmakers removed the rent control provision in the mobile home bill making its way through the legislature after Gov. Jared Polis threatened to veto the bill if it remained.
The rent control provision would have become the first statewide rent control in Colorado history.
“We applaud Governor Polis’ opposition to statewide rent control – legislation that risked worsening Colorado’s already severe housing shortage,” said Drew Hamrick, senior vice president of the governmental affairs and general counsel for the Colorado Apartment Association. “Across the country, rent control has a legacy of decimating housing stock in cities. If lawmakers hope to drive down housing costs, we encourage them to create new incentives to build, not tear down existing ones.
As developers struggle to keep pace with Colorado’s growing population, the gap between supply and demand for housing in the state continues to grow. The housing shortage now exceeds 113,000 units.
To reduce costs, the state must adopt solutions that incentivize developers to invest in new, high-density projects, according to the Colorado Apartment Association. If Colorado does not increase its pace of construction, housing demand will not be met and housing costs will rise across the board.
“The rent control provision in HB22-1287 would have significantly limited the future growth of Colorado’s mobile home industry,” said Mark Williams, executive vice president of the Colorado Apartment Association. “Mobile Home Parks is a small but significant provider of unsubsidized affordable housing in Colorado. We are grateful for the Governor’s opposition to lawmakers’ misguided targeting of this valuable housing provider.