Council president touts rental license plan but industry voices concerns
Guerilla Capturing photo)
Citing a need to broadly overhaul regulation of the city’s estimated 50,000-plus rental housing market, Denver City Council President Stacie Gilmore on Wednesday presented her proposal to institute a license requirement for rental properties to her colleagues.
The Denver Metro Association of Realtors and the Colorado Apartment Association were among those voicing opposition.
Gilmore’s proposal, titled Healthy Residential Rentals for All, would be by far the largest single licensing program in the city, and the largest expansion of required licensing in Denver’s history.
It would obligate landlords to get a license from the city for each of their rental properties every four years, a process that would require an inspection of the property.
Against a backdrop of heightened public scrutiny of law enforcement actions, Mayor Michael Hancock has selected a retired Denver County Court judge and a Massachusetts police oversight official to join the search for Denver s next Independent Monitor.
“This committee, made up of respected voices in this field, will bring a diverse perspective to finding the next Independent Monitor for our city, who will build on the foundations that have made this office a national leader in this work,” Hancock said in a statement announcing the appointments. After serving over eight years as the city s chief law enforcement watchdog, Nick Mitchell left the job in January; Mitchell, who is still living in Denver, took a gig overseeing a court-ordered agreement designed to fix systemic, unconstitutional conditions in the Los Angeles County jails.