Denver passed more money for rental assistance, but renters say landlords are a problem too

DENVER — Low-income residents in Colorado’s capital and largest city are calling on Denver City Council to provide more oversight into affordable housing units and landlords who rent to people on Housing Choice Vouchers.

About 15 renters — many who said they are currently or recently unhoused – rallied outside the Denver City and County Building and spoke to City Council Monday, pleading for an additional $14.5 million in the city’s budget and for protection against poor living conditions and predatory landlords.

Council members listened to 45 minutes of concerns from those living in affordable housing and voted 9-4 to send a budget increase for rental assistance to Mayor Mike Johnston. The figure includes Housing Choice Vouchers, subsidies distributed on a lottery basis that can make housing more affordable. However, vouchers don’t always translate to permanent housing.

“We heard loud and clear from the community that rental assistance is absolutely necessary as we are faced with the ever-growing rise in evictions (that) by low estimates could end us up with 20,000 people in Denver without homes,” said Council Member Serena Gonzales-Guttierez, one of the amendment's supporters.

Activists who spoke to council said the issue is twofold: rental assistance is needed to prevent evictions before they happen, and the city should hold its landlords and property managers to higher standards.

“These people in this capitalist system prey on those that are poor, those that are disabled and those that have no other option and give them the most subpar housing possible,” said Ana Miller, a Denver resident who said she is in and out of housing and is currently houseless. 

Throughout her time bouncing between the streets, homeless shelters and affordable housing complexes, Miller said she’s dealt with black mold, bugs, broken appliances and malfunctioning utilities.

Most recently, Miller said, someone broke through a security barrier and carved a homophobic slur into her door. Miller, who is a transgender woman, said she frequently found piles of garbage and notes with insults outside her apartment. The harassment eventually forced her to move without another housing option, she said.

“People are dying because of stuff like this. People get sick because of black mold, bed bugs, roaches,” Miller said. “These property managers are not being held accountable and we need to start holding them accountable.”

Others said they’ve dealt with broken elevators and inaccessible appliances. While these may seem like minor inconveniences, for disabled tenants, such issues can take a toll on their daily lives, renters said.

“Just because someone is on a housing voucher does not mean they should be placed in an inaccessible unit, forcing them to literally crawl on amputated limbs to use the toilet or bath,” said one person who made a public comment to the city.

The person declined to give their name, but said they work in the housing assistance unit for a statewide social services provider.

“People in wheelchairs deserve facilities they can use,” they said.

Others said landlords have barged into their apartments and singled them out for using housing vouchers, treating them differently than tenants paying for rent out-of-pocket.

“I have no rights and no privacy,” said Terry Washington, a woman living in affordable housing who spoke to the City Council. “This is going on because we are low-income tenants with vouchers.”

Commenters held signs that read “shame on you” with names of specific landlords and property management companies. The companies, renters said, have reputations for inaccessible housing, predatory rent hikes and unresponsive landlords.

“How can we afford these when our wages are not going up?” asked Nick Walter, a board member for the Housekeys Action Network Denver, a group that advocates for unhoused and low-income people in Denver. “We need proper protection.”

Colorado has had a long-standing ban on local rent control laws. A bill allowing municipalities to enact their own rent control ordinances failed in the 2022 Colorado Legislative Session. Renters who spoke to City Council said Denver throwing its support behind rent control could help shift the legislature’s position in future sessions.

Alison Berg is a reporter at Rocky Mountain PBS. You can reach her at alisonberg@rmpbs.org.