Eviction filings in Boulder County have surpassed last year’s total, continuing an upward trajectory that began in the years following the Covid-19 pandemic, according to data from the Colorado Judicial Branch.
So far this year, more than 1,477 cases have been filed in the Boulder County Justice Center and the Longmont Safety and Justice Center — a nearly 6% increase from the 1,398 cases filed in 2023. The figures mark the highest levels since the years following the Great Recession.
The rising numbers reflect Boulder County’s high housing costs, compounded by other cost-of-living pressures, as unpaid rent is the most common reason landlords seek an eviction. In addition to an increase in eviction case filings, calls for assistance to the city’s Eviction Prevention and Rental Assistance Services (EPRAS) program are also rising, as local food banks report record demand, and the county’s largest homeless shelter regularly turns away dozens of people due to capacity limits.
“Rents are still going up,” Jay Allen, a program coordinator with the City of Boulder who helps oversee the EPRAS program, said. “The amount of funding that each person can access [through the rental assistance program] has sort of stayed the same. There is a little bit of a mismatch there.”
Another factor driving the rise in filings is the growth of rental housing, as the increasing cost of buying a home in Colorado has pushed more people into the rental market, according to Drew Hamrick, general counsel for the Colorado Apartment Association.
“The state is getting bigger from a population standpoint and more of those people are living in rental units over the last 20 years,” Hamrick told Boulder Reporting Lab. In Boulder County, the number of occupied rental units has grown by about 18% since 2010, according to U.S. Census data.
While housing insecurity remains the main driver, it doesn’t fully explain the recent rise in cases, according to some observers.
This year’s eviction numbers may be inflated because landlords, rather than negotiating with tenants or waiting for rent payments, are taking legal action earlier. That’s because filing an eviction case is a prerequisite for accessing rental assistance funds from both the City of Boulder and State of Colorado, allowing landlords to get rent payments faster.
The EPRAS program requires tenants seeking rental aid to first receive a summons to appear in housing court. This requirement, was introduced in early 2023, aimed to address high demand and limited funding by prioritizing aid for those actively facing eviction.
However, the policy may also be encouraging landlords to file eviction cases to expedite rent payments. This legal step raises the stakes in disputes over unpaid rent, as landlords can seek to have tenants pay filing and attorneys’ fees, which can total hundreds of dollars for those who may not be able to afford them. These fees are not covered by EPRAS funds, according to Allen of the city’s EPRAS program.
“I think it’s kind of a foreseeable … side effect of the way that these programs have changed as the funding has kind of started to go away,” Allen told the Tenant Advisory Committee earlier this month, referring to landlords filing more cases to get access to the limited funds sooner.
Despite this upward trend, more than 95% of tenants who engage with the program avoid an eviction judgment, typically through agreements that cover unpaid rent or move out in exchange for dismissing the case, according to city data. These agreements allow the tenant to at least avoid having an eviction on their record.
It would be interesting to know what percent of eviction cases result in people having to move out as opposed to the landlord receiving cash for unpaid rent. There doesn’t seem to be any way out of this housing mess other than some form of rent control, and since rents are so high now that might not even be enough. Even the “affordable” rentals being built are too high for our low-income workforce holding down jobs in the restaurant and retail sectors. This is an untenable situation. And, again, we don’t even have an adequate shelter in Boulder anymore that can provide overnight shelter to those seeking it. Why does city council not at least address that elephant in the room? Also – what does the Tenant Advisory Committee have to say? Perhaps they have some good ideas.
Yes, how do they approach the Rental Backed Securities holders that evict, since that’s the only way they can raise the rent?
Not sure that makes sense. Private equity just like any other landlord can raise rent every time the lease expires which is yearly. Every landlord in the private market raises rent every year now. Private equity is expected to raise rent every year to maximize return to investors. They don’t have to evict to do that. It would be interesting to know, though, what percent of evictions come from private equity firms regionally.