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DENVER, CO – The House today passed legislation on a preliminary vote to strengthen protections for Colorado’s mobile home park residents. HB24-1294, sponsored by Representatives Andrew Boesenecker and Elizabeth Velasco, would improve accessibility, strengthen guardrails in rent-to-own contracts, and update tenant protections.
“It was clear that residents living in mobile home parks did not have enough legal protections, which is why we’ve made significant improvements over the years to Colorado’sMobile Home Park Act,” said Rep. Andrew Boesenecker, D-Fort Collins. “We’re continuing that work to improve the health, safety and financial protections for mobile home park residents by ensuring that both parties in a rent-to-own agreement are informed of their rights and responsibilities. This legislation helps to keep mobile home parks affordable, empowers our neighbors to stay in their homes and works to improve access to clean water.”
“To support our neighbors living in mobile home parks, this bill improves language accessibility and housing security,” said Rep. Elizabeth Velasco, D-Glenwood Springs. “Our bill would improve equity by requiring important information such as a water boil notice, to be communicated in both English and Spanish. We’re also working toward closing gaps in current law that would expand tenancy and rent protections and require more transparency for rent-to-own contracts. Keeping mobile home parks safe and affordable is the right thing to do for our communities and supports Coloradans living in affordable communities across our state.”
HB24-1294 would close some of the remaining gaps in the Mobile Home Park Act that have left some park residents vulnerable to displacement and financial harm. Specifically, this bill would update owner and landlord responsibilities, strengthen tenant protections, ensure important park notices and meetings are accessible to Spanish speakers, and clarify the conditions of the sale of mobile homes and parks.
The bill also establishes clear provisions for rent-to-own contracts by ensuring that both parties in a “rent to own” agreement are informed of their rights and responsibilities, such as the steps to exercise a purchase option, and the refundability of payments in the event a tenancy terminates prematurely.
To improve accessibility, this bill would require that parkwide meetings, and written notices of potential evictions or rent increases, are communicated and accessible in both English and Spanish. Additionally, this bill would clarify the circumstances when park residents are protected against rent increases.
Colorado Democrats have passed landmark legislation in recent years to strengthen protections for mobile home residents by improving water quality in mobile home parks (HB23-1257), expanding protections provided under the Mobile Home Park Act (HB22-1287), and creating a pathway for residents to purchase the land under their mobile home (HB20-1201).