House adopts bill creating limited receivership for severely neglected rental properties

House passes measure expanding enforcement for habitability violations

The Colorado House on April 24 passed Senate Bill 20, a measure sponsors said will give state and local authorities additional tools to enforce existing landlord-tenant law when rental properties fall into severe disrepair.

The bill matters because it creates a narrowly defined process for courts to appoint independent receivers to take control of buildings where a court finds a continuing violation of the warranty of habitability that threatens health and safety and where the landlord has a pattern of neglect. Sponsors and opponents debated scope, protections for owners and impacts on small landlords.

Representative Lindsey, a sponsor, told the House the bill is meant to help “cities and counties enforce already existing landlord tenant law” and to address properties so neglected that tenants lack basic services "like running water, working heat, working doors and locks, trash service, and it's free from things like mold, rodents, and bugs." Lindsey said the bill builds on last year’s SB 94 and provides remedies where local governments lack tools to address chronic problems.

Representative Mabry, who moved the bill with the judiciary committee report, described the receivership mechanism as a remedy for "particularly egregious" breaches of the warranty of habitability. Mabry said the bill does not expand substantive tenant protections but expands enforcement and that it adds court guidance on when a receiver may be appointed.

Amendments and guardrails

Members adopted several floor amendments intended to narrow the receivership remedy and add procedural safeguards. An amendment (L41) clarified that courts should focus on appointing a receiver only where there is an ongoing violation and provided more guidance to judges; Representative Soper said the amendment replaced broader "pattern and practice" language with a requirement showing a "pattern of neglect," calling that a "significant change."

Another amendment (L402/L42 series on the floor) established duties for receivers, including an order of operations for maintenance, a requirement that the receiver maintain utilities and address the hazard, and a fiduciary duty to the property owner so that revenues collected during receivership could be used to preserve the property and pay obligations such as mortgages and taxes. Supporters said the fiduciary requirement was intended to prevent receivership from pushing a property into foreclosure and to preserve the owner’s equity where possible.

Contested policy and political debate

Floor debate was vigorous and at times sharply critical. Several members argued the bill was too broad and could allow courts to seize entire apartment complexes over violations affecting a single unit, a concern raised repeatedly by opponents who said the remedy could disproportionally punish small "mom and pop" landlords and out-of-state owners. Representative DeGraaf called the measure an "overreach" that could create an imbalance between the value of property seized and the underlying violation. Representative Kelty and others said testimony in committee identified the problem primarily in one city and urged targeted enforcement rather than a statewide receivership tool.

Supporters, including Mabry and Lindsey, responded that the amendments add necessary guardrails and that local governments and the attorney general need the ability to address truly dangerous situations that have persisted despite tenant complaints. Supporters emphasized the bill’s intent to keep tenants housed and to correct health-and-safety violations rather than to punish owners unduly.

Outcome and next steps

The House adopted the judiciary report as amended and passed Senate Bill 20. The transcript records floor passage but does not provide a roll-call tally in the floor discussion. The measure will proceed to the next steps specified by the legislative process.

Votes at a glance

- Motion: Passage of Senate Bill 20 (moved by Representative Mabry). Outcome: passed (final tally not specified in the floor transcript).

Proper names and authorities

The bill and debate referenced the "warranty of habitability" framework and added parts of Title 38 (multiple parts of Article 12) to enforcement mechanisms; sponsors referenced prior related legislation including SB 94 (2024).