Colorado Department of Local Affairs
Thousands of Coloradans struggling to pay rent asked the state for help. $6.5 million later, phones are still ringing.
Nine months into the pandemic, Colorado’s housing assistance office spent $1 million to hire an out-of-state contractor to process applications for rent and mortgage help. The cost has grown as HORNE added 100 workers, of which slightly more than half live outside of Colorado.
Colorado renters and landlords are in a race with the eviction ban. Should the state intervene?
At least 80,000 Colorado renters are estimated to be behind on their rent, according to recent U.S. Census survey data. And the CDC ban on evictions is set to expire on June 30, if President Joe Biden does not extend it.
Housing in Boulder County — and across Colorado — is expensive. But affordable homes are more than a fantasy.
Even with myriad solutions on the table, and many people eager and able to make change, closing the affordability gap is proving to be a monumental task
Colorado faces a 20,000-applicant backlog in requests for rent help as federal eviction ban is extended
The national eviction ban was extended to June 30, and that could calm some worries of Coloradans who have been waiting months for state rental assistance.
Colorado’s mortgage relief program will pause after funds are used up
The state has started a separate rent-assistance program to utilize new federal relief, which provided no assistance for homeowners.
Colorado sees record $55 million in rent assistance requests in past month — more than all of 2020
The Colorado Department of Local Affairs is working through a months-long backlog of rent requests to provide payment to tenants and landlords
A national eviction ban will help Colorado renters stay housed until March 31, but there are asterisks
State’s rental assistance programs receive $247 million in federal aid. Tenants can now apply for three months of future rent, which has property owners saying there’s no need for moratoriums.
As 2020 winds down, renter programs get more money as Colorado’s state eviction moratorium is set to end
Funds to help people struggling with rent and mortgages payments are replenished as landlord applications for aid quadruples. Meanwhile, the federal eviction ban was extended to Jan. 31 as part of the new federal relief bill
Colorado has money to help struggling renters, but some landlords won’t play ball
“Some landlords are not willing to do this, and if they’re not willing to do it, we can’t help them, that client, which is heartbreaking,” said Kristen Baluyot, with The Salvation Army.
Six months after eviction, a Denver woman wonders if she’ll ever have stable housing again
With winter approaching and COVID-19 cases on the rise, renters in arrears and housing advocates are all grateful for the eviction moratoriums, but say it’s far from enough.
Spurred by the threat of wildfires, an Estes Park broadband project moved at the speed of light
More than a dozen agencies, organizations and even competitors came together one weekend to make sure the internet would not go out as the Cameron Peak fire inched closer
Durango’s ridiculed Bridge to Nowhere suddenly has clear road ahead
After a decade of delays and legal fights, the largest project in the history of that region of southwest Colorado will ease traffic and safety problems
Internet service in western Colorado was so terrible that towns and counties built their own telecom
The new 481-mile rural Project Thor network is complete -- and run by a regional government council. It’s the opposite of what a state law intended 15 years ago
Colorado is now under a stay-at-home order. But what about those without homes?
With state efforts lagging, Springs Rescue Mission invests in “isolation” shelter to slow the spread of coronavirus, protect people experiencing homelessness -- a move that’s “definitely a test of our faith.”
Colorado’s volunteer search and rescue teams are overwhelmed and there are fears it’s going to get worse
The state’s 2,800 rescue volunteers -- a shrinking pool -- respond to 3,600 calls for help each year. Colorado’s natural resources boss said that’s “a train wreck happening before our eyes” and wants the legislature to help.
Colorado’s tiny fire, metro and other districts control billions of dollars with little voter input
More than 2,000 local elections were canceled in Colorado in 2018. In one district, hundreds of thousands of dollars were embezzled before anyone noticed.
Colorado’s plan to embed arts space into historic districts may be slow to take shape. But towns are fine with that.
Creative industries are big business, but little towns are taking their time sketching plans to develop housing alongside studio space
As Colorado nears 100% broadband access, funds for rural support shrink
86% of Colorado's rural communities now have fast internet, but only because of public subsidies. Now the flow of money toward grants is slowing.
What will make you believe in global warming? How about a life-altering flood, study asks
The collective community experience in northern Colorado -- not personal property damage -- caused the most change in beliefs
