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HOST explains how Denver enforces affordable-housing covenants; city officials press for data
Summary
Deputy director Adam Lyons briefed council committee members on rental and homeownership covenants—how they are written, monitored and enforced—and answered questions about term lengths, inspections and the Barth Hotel’s recent compliance history; city attorney staff said covenants are enforceable and the city will pursue remedies where required.
The Community Planning and Housing Committee received a detailed briefing Sept. 9 from Adam Lyons, deputy director of housing opportunity at the Department of Housing Stability (HOST), on how the city records, monitors and enforces affordable-housing covenants for rental and homeownership projects funded or regulated by the city.
Lyons said rental and occupancy covenants recorded on property titles serve two primary functions: they limit tenant incomes to specified area median income (AMI) bands and they cap rents for those units. Rents must not exceed the lesser of HUD’s fair-market rent for comparable units or 30% of household income for the designated AMI unit, he said; the city publishes AMI and rent thresholds each year and adopts HUD figures into its agreements. Lyons illustrated how projects assign AMI targets by unit and how projects may “float” AMI designations over time so overall unit counts at each AMI level remain intact.
Covenant terms and enforcement: Lyons said the city’s preservation ordinance (DMRC…
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