FF942A1F21F9303A872583BD006CCC04 Hearing Summary

Senator Williams and Senator Bridges, bill sponsors, presented House Bill 19-1170.  Current law presumes that every rental agreement between a landlord and a tenant carries an implicit guarantee that a residential property is fit for human habitation. This is referred to as a warranty of habitability.  This bill:

• modifies the conditions for a breach of the warranty of habitability, the method for notifying a landlord of problems with the premises, and time limits for the landlord to address defective conditions;
• adds specific conditions of a property to the description of an uninhabitable residence to include the presence of mold or the absence of functioning appliances;
• • repeals current law exceptions to leasing a residential property with one or more uninhabitable conditions and instead requires that all premises be free of any of these specified conditions prior to leasing;
• if requested by the tenant, requires that a landlord move the tenant to a reasonably comparable unit, pay for incidental moving costs, or pay for the tenant to reside in a temporary location when a property is hazardous or uninhabitable and conditions are being remedied;
• under specific circumstances, allows a tenant to deduct from subsequent rent payments the cost to repair defective conditions;
• allows a tenant to terminate a rental agreement for recurring defective conditions;
• permits a county court, including a small claims court, to provide injunctive relief for a breach of the warranty of habitability;
• repeals the current law requirement that a tenant notify a local government prior to seeking a court injunction; and
• modifies the current law prohibition on landlord retaliation when a tenant alleges a breach, to specify damages and remove presumptions.

Jim Clark, Investment Community of the Rockies, testified against the bill.

Michael Sanchez, Metro Property Group, testified in against the bill.

Karen Kirkpatrick, Metro Property Group, testified against the bill.

The witness panel responded to questions.

Melissa Wright, 9 to 5 Colorado, testified in support of the bill.

Andrea Fuller, representing herself, testified in support of the bill.

The witness panel responded to questions.

Committee questions continued.

Tim Emery, Investment Community of the Rockies, testified against the bill.

Mark Tchetter, Apartment Association of Metro Denver, testified against the bill.

Robert Woellner, Quest Environmental, testified against the bill.

The witness panel responded to questions from the committee.

Committee questions continued.

Tawny Payton, Rocky Mountain Home Association, testified in a neutral position.

Joey Lubinski, Colorado Bar Association, testified in a neutral position.

Maggie Gomez, Colorado Health Equity Commission, testified in support of the bill.

Ean Lafoya, Colorado Latino Forum, testified in support of the bill.

Cesiah Guadarrama, representing herself, testified in support of the bill.

Shirley Smith, Colorado Cross-Disability Coalition (CCDC), testified in support of the bill.

The witness panel responded to questions.

Ashley Wheeland, Women's Lobby of Colorado, testified in support of the bill.

Andrea Chiriboga-Flor, 9 to 5 Colorado, testified in support of the bill and distributed a handout (Attachment C).

Safia Goldsmith, representing herself, testified in support of the bill.

Tiana Patterson, Enterprise Community Partners, testified in support of the bill.

The witness panel responded to questions.

Committee discussion followed.

Aubrey Hill, Center for Health Progress, testified in support of the bill.

Jack Regenbogen, Colorado Center on Law and Policy, testified in support of the bill.

Aubrey Hasvold, All Families Deserve a Chance, testified in support of the bill.

Katie McKenna, Enterprise Community Partners, testified in support of the bill.

The witness panel responded to questions.

Angela Nevin, CCDC, read Tempest Hampton's testimony in support of the bill.

Senator Williams discussed amendment L.018 (Attachement D).  Committee discussion followed.  Senator Ginal announced that amendment L.018 will be severed into two parts: part A is lines 1 through 11, and part B is lines 12 through 22.

Senator Williams discussed amendment L.019 (Attachement E).  Committee discussion followed.  Senator Ginal announced that amendment L.019 will be severed into two parts: part A  is lines 1 through 12 and part B is lines 12 through 29.

Senator William discussed L.020 (Attachment F).

Senator Williams discussed amendment L.021 (Attachment G).

Senator Bridges made closing comments.