Protesters march to state Capitol demanding rent control ban be lifted
Rallying on the west steps of the Capitol, several community organizations, tenants and supporters stood demanding the state to lift the ban on rent control.
The organizations at the protest include the Party for Socialism and Liberation, Denver Aurora Tenants United, 9to5 Colorado, East Colfax Community Collective, United for a New Economy, Denver Classroom Teachers Association, and Denver Socialists of America.
Many of the people gave speeches about their experiences of living in Denver with the high cost of living.
Moira Casados Cassidy, vice president of the Denver Classroom Teachers Association says the living situation has got worse.
"It's not easy for anybody who is a working person in this state," Cassidy said.
She says it's even more difficult for teachers in the state.
"Colorado is 50 out of 50 states in terms of how competitive salaries are in compared to cost of living so it is not only that we don't have great salaries, the cost of living keeps going up... we need to address both issues," she added.
Colorado is the 12th most expensive state to rent in according to rentdata.org, with a two-bedroom costing more than $1,600 a month in the metro area.
Bruno Tapia Garcia, with Denver Aurora Tenants United, was one of the event organizers. He says the time is now for change.
"Across the board, everyone that I know is a renter is struggling to get by, we are living paycheck to paycheck...we are not able to put money away for home ownership or pay debt," Garcia said.
Just in the month of January alone, the city of Denver saw over 1,000 evictions.
"People shouldn't be living desperately and trying to stay afloat and survive, people should have a level of stability and everyone should have a roof over their head," Garcia said.
The law in place makes it illegal for local communities to enact regulations on rent based on their needs.
Colorado lawmakers consider repealing the ban every year but according to bill supporters the pressure of big landlords and developers cave in.
"We would like to see no more than 30 percent of someone's income go to their rent," Garcia said.
Lawmakers are considering a bill called "Just Cause" which would protect renters from unfair evictions.