CdeBaca and Sawyer estimate that the program would cost around $4 million annually; it would be funded by federal pandemic relief money during the first three and a half years of operation. Denver has had an eviction legal defense fund pilot program in place since mid-2018, but because of a lack of funding, it s only been able to provide attorneys for a fraction of indigent individuals facing eviction.
City council will vote on the proposal during its June 7 meeting. If the proposal passes, it will take effect in September. Some renters want it now.
Under an executive order recently extended by Governor Jared Polis through the end of June, landlords must give 30 days notice, rather than the standard ten-day notice, before an eviction can be filed for nonpayment of rent. The executive order also mandates that landlords provide a list of resources to renters when initiating an eviction. However, Polis let an eviction moratorium expire, so the State of Colorado has had nothing in
The No Eviction Without Representation campaign is pushing to land an eviction legal defense fund initiative on the November 2021 ballot for Denver. It’s really a humanitarian issue. It is hugely disruptive to a person’s life to be evicted. We’re seeing higher rates of joblessness, of hunger. It’s a lot harder to access resources when you’ve been evicted. On top of that, you’ve got a really damaging effect on your credit score and lower likelihood of being able to rent again, says Ruby Leigh Pierce, an organizer with the Denver chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America and a campaign proponent.