Denver has new coordinated enforcement and increased fines for unlicensed landlords
More than two years after Denver began requiring residential rental licenses, the city is increasing penalties for landlords who have not complied.
As of today, 28,926 residential rental properties are licensed, covering about 185,000 rental units across the city.
Denver's Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection has teamed up with the city's health department to strengthen enforcement. Now, if a property has a public health violation and is operating without a license, the landlord faces an automatic $250 fine. Penalties can escalate to as much as $5,000 and may include jail time.
When tenants call the city to report issues such as mold or unsafe living conditions, a public health investigator responds. Those visits have also helped officials identify landlords who never obtained the required residential rental license.
"What we want to do is see landlords get the required license, which comes with passing an inspection and paying a small fee," said Eric Escudero with Denver's Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection. "That license is good for four years, and it helps us achieve our goal of making sure Denver has the safest rental properties in America."
Escudero says about 5,000 non-compliant properties have been identified, with an estimated $150,000 in fines issued to date.
"If you're a landlord and it's been over two years since this license requirement took effect and you're still refusing to get that inspection and license, the city is left with no choice but to issue a fine," Escudero said. "We can even issue a criminal citation that puts a landlord in court facing criminal penalties."
One of the properties now facing a criminal citation is The Raven, formerly known as The Felix apartment complex. Despite the city issuing more than $50,000 in fines, tenants say conditions have not significantly improved.
Eida Altman with the Denver Metro Tenants Union says fines on their own can actually further strain struggling properties.
"Even after those penalties have increased, I still have tenants who do not have heat, who do not have hot water," Altman said. "Tenants are taking showers at rec centers before work."
Altman believes a better solution would be to have tenants pay rent into a designated account if a landlord fails to meet licensing requirements. The funds would be used only for on-site repairs and maintenance until the property comes into compliance.
Residents have filed a class-action lawsuit against their landlords.
"Too often, when a property is not compliant with the licensing program, the rent money is not being used to repair things; it's being used elsewhere," she said.
City officials say the coordinated effort between the health department and the licensing and consumer protection agency is designed to root out the worst offenders and keep residents in the Mile High City safe.
