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DENVER, CO - Governor Jared Polis today signed legislation into law to strengthen protections for victims of gender-based violence. HB25-1168 improves housing security, expands access to justice, and keeps Coloradans safe.
“Housing instability is one of the biggest threats to people who experience gender-based violence, with 11 percent of people experiencing homelessness in the Denver Metro Area fleeing domestic violence,” said Rep. Mandy Lindsay, D-Aurora. “Many victims can’t safely leave their abuser, which is why our new law strengthens Colorado’s victim protection laws and establishes new mechanisms to improve a victim’s access to justice and safe housing. Gender-based violence is traumatic, and no one deserves to face long-lasting financial consequences or homelessness as a result.”
"Too often, survivors of domestic violence are forced to choose between their safety and their housing," said Sen. Julie Gonzales, D-Denver. "No one should be stuck in a dangerous situation because they can’t afford to break a lease or are left with damages they didn’t cause. This law gives survivors the legal protections they need to reclaim their safety and move forward with dignity."
“The Violence Against Women Act is near and dear to my heart, and I’m proud to sponsor this law to better align Colorado law with these protections to keep victims safe,” said Rep. Cecelia Espenoza, D-Denver. “As a judge, I know how important it is to have strong protections in statute, and this law is a meaningful change that better allows victims to end their leases early while providing a payment plan to protect landlords and keep victims housed. This law is a huge win for survivors of gender-based violence to ensure they have the tools they need to build a strong, safe future away from their abuser.”
"Too often, survivors of domestic abuse, sexual violence, and stalking face a lose/lose situation when it comes to their housing," said Sen. Mike Weissman. "It can be expensive to try to stay in one's home or expensive to relocate, on top of the immense personal cost of victimization. Whatever difficult choice they make, this important new law will help survivors by offering payment plans for back rent or limiting the costs of relocating such as losing a security deposit. Either way, survivors have a better path to safety, stability, and a chance at a fresh start."
Currently, a tenant cannot be found guilty of unlawfully residing in a property if the tenant is experiencing domestic violence or domestic abuse and they provide a police report or civil or emergency protection order proving they were a victim. HB25-1168 expands these victim protections to include victims of unlawful sexual behavior and stalking and allows self-attestation or a letter signed by a qualified third party to be used as proof, reducing hurdles to accessing critical protections.
Additional victim protection expansions include:
Allowing victims who terminate a lease to not be held liable for property damage caused by their abuser during incidents of unlawful sexual behavior, stalking, domestic violence, or domestic abuse,
Ensuring victims can change locks to their rental property on their own as long as they provide a copy of the key to the landlord as soon as reasonably possible, if the victim provides documentation to prove they are a victim-survivor,
Prohibiting a landlord from assigning debt allegedly owed by a tenant who is a victim-survivor to a third-party debt collector unless the landlord provides at least a 90-day notice to the tenant and complies with the requirement to provide the tenant with documentation of the economic damages, and
Requiring tenants to pay no more than one month’s rent after they vacate the residence and terminate the lease if, within 30 days, the landlord provides proof of economic damages as a result of the early lease termination.
To strengthen eviction protections, this law also requires landlords to offer a repayment plan to victim-survivors for late or unpaid rent before a court may issue an eviction order. The repayment plan cannot exceed nine months from the date the plan was established.
A 2023 report from the Colorado Coalition of the Homeless found that 1,265 Coloradans experiencing homelessness also reported being a victim of domestic violence.