The Denver City Council’s housing committee approved an ordinance Wednesday that would provide income-eligible residents with free legal representation for evictions — passing the ordinance on to the full City Council for a vote.

The vote came as the national eviction moratorium was set to expire by the end of next month, clearing the way for eviction of tenants unable to pay rent because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Colorado’s state eviction moratorium expired in December and, even with these protections, evictions have not stopped. In Denver, nearly 4,000 evictions were filed in 2020 and over 1,500 evictions have been filed so far in 2021, according to city data.

During the pandemic, 90% of eviction filings in Denver have resulted in the tenants being evicted. In these cases, 95% of landlords had legal representation while only 1% of tenants did, according to Denver County Court data.

“This is a part of a comprehensive effort to keep people in homes,” said Council member Candi CdeBaca, who sponsored the measure. “The court speaks a different language than your average person and giving someone that access regardless of their situation is critical.”

Denver approves policy to require licenses for long-term rentals

If passed, renters facing eviction who make less than 80% media income would be eligible for free legal representation. Income would be measured as of present day, not the previous year’s total. As of Wednesday, 80% of Denver’s median income for a single person is $58,720.

The ordinance would also require landlords to give tenants a copy of their rights and legal representation options when they first move in and when a landlord files for eviction, in line with requirements of Denver’s “Healthy Residential Rentals for All” bill passed last week.

This plan builds on Denver’s Eviction Defense pilot program established in 2018. The program has represented over 1,000 tenants facing eviction through Colorado Legal Services, 41% of whom were people of color, 40% had a disability and 31% were families with children.

Around 70% of tenants represented through the pilot program moved out without putting the eviction on their record, 28% kept their housing through methods like setting up a payment plan and only 2% were evicted with it on their record.

Javier Mabrey, an attorney with the Colorado Eviction Defense Project, said though tenants often still have to leave, providing representation allows those facing eviction to negotiate better outcomes.

“What we provide is a translation service where we’re navigating people through the system and avoiding situations where people are signing documents where they are guaranteed to have an eviction on their record for the next seven years,” Mabrey said.

Denver to buy hotel to house hundreds of homeless residents

This ordinance would expand the pilot program, providing additional financial and staff resources and expanding public knowledge of the representation resource and how to access it.

As it is now, tenants facing eviction are only informed about the pilot program during their first court hearing. However, at least 70% of tenants don’t show up to the court because they don’t believe they have any options to fight eviction, according to Denver County Court data.

To pay for outreach and education – in addition to the cost of approximately 4,750 eviction cases per year – the Eviction Legal Defense would cost $4 million annually. That budget also includes a new staff position within the Denver Department of Housing Stability, which would house the program.

Ordinance co-sponsor Councilwoman Amanda Sawyer said the program would actually save the city money.

According to city data from 2012, each person experiencing homelessness in Denver costs the city $26,000 annually in supportive programs and law enforcement response. If 3% to 5% of tenants represented by the Eviction Legal Defense avoid homelessness, the city would save nearly $12 million each year.

Park Hill residents sue to stop new sanctioned homeless camp

“By keeping people housed instead of allowing them to go into homelessness because of a seven-year eviction on their record and credit report … this program pays for itself,” Sawyer said.

Because evictions stay on a tenant’s record for seven years, evictions can often push tenants into homelessness since other landlords could refuse to rent to them or could increase rental prices.

Before COVID-19 hit, Denver was already in the middle of a housing crisis, with a record 4,000 people in the city experiencing homelessness and others pinched by high rents, according to city data.

Black and Latino people are significantly more likely to face evictions, with Black women renters being filed for eviction at double the rate of white renters. In Colorado, adults with children are also three times as likely to be behind on rent than those without children in September and October of 2020.

CdeBaca and Sawyer intend for the ordinance to be paid for with federal COVID-19 relief funds. For the first year, it would be funded by the CARES Act and, for the following three years, the American Rescue Plan Act. After that, they would discuss funding sources depending on the use of the project.

The ordinance will now have to pass two full City Council votes in the coming weeks before implementation. If approved, the project would go into effect on Sept. 1.