Denver City Council pushes for $30 million for emergency rental assistance
There are no signs of relief in Denver's expensive housing market. City leaders are now working on a plan to help by allocating $30 million to help with rental assistance and preventing evictions. While it's welcome news for struggling renters, it's not a done deal just yet.
Councilwoman Sarah Parady, at-large, said August and September were the two highest filing months on record for evictions in Denver. She also added the city is on track to see 12,000 evictions filed in Denver this year.
"Which is just a stunning number of people being displaced and having to scramble to find new housing or worst case scenario ending up without housing," said Councilwoman Parady.
Parady and other council members believe the extra funding will help people from being evicted. She also said it's housing affordability they're addressing.
Last month, Mayor Mike Johnston initially proposed $12.6 million in his 2024 budget for emergency rental assistance. Council then asked for the $30 million, and then Mayor Johnston countered with a $3 million increase. Now councilmembers want to take $14.5 million from the city's emergency reserves to get the $30 million.
"We keep a really healthy reserve in the city and it's intended for crises like this one," said Parady.
The mayor has the option of veto-ing the budget amendment. However, what was passed on Monday has nine votes behind it, which is what is needed to overcome a mayoral veto. The city budget will be finalized in the upcoming weeks.
Parady said while they're also working on getting houseless people into homes, they're also taking action in preventing people from falling into homelessness.
"Let's also make sure that on the other end of things, we're not having more people falling into housing instability or even homelessness."
According to the city, one in three Denver households are paying more than a third of their income toward housing.
