DENVER—The number of Colorado households with the lowest incomes is roughly double the number of affordable rental units in the state, according to a report released Thursday.
The report by the state Department of Local Affairs’ Division of Housing defines units as affordable if a household doesn’t have to spend more than 30 percent of its monthly income on rent. So a household earning $20,000 a year could afford monthly rent of $500.
By that standard, there are 49 affordable rental units for every 100 households earning $20,000 or less per year, the report said. There are 53 units for every 100 households earning $10,000 or less a year.
However, there is generally an affordable rental unit for every household making at least $35,000.
“We see such a mismatch at the low end of the income scale because it’s really not feasible for developers to construct market rate rental housing that can serve households making $15,000 per year. The cost of construction and land is too high,” housing division spokesman Ryan McMaken said in a news release.
Nonprofit agencies and housing authorities have helped with subsidized housing, but there still isn’t enough, McMaken said.
Statewide, nearly 24 percent of households are spending at least half their incomes on rent, the report said.
Demand for affordable rental units is highest in El Paso County and the Denver area, according to the study, with about 2.9 households for every affordable unit for households earning $15,000 or less.
Teller County, a historic mining community now home to casinos in Cripple Creek, had the highest percentage of rent burdened households, with 35.5 percent of renters spending more than half their incomes on housing. Eagle, Pueblo, Fremont, Boulder and Larimer counties followed, the report said.
The state bans rent control. However, a bill is pending in the state Legislature that would protect voluntary deals between local governments and developers to build affordable rental units. Depending on the terms of the deal, discounted rents could still be required, even if the property is sold to a new owner.
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