Two weeks after a strong Colorado moratorium on evictions expired, Gov. Jared Polis has shown no interest in extending it and will instead rely on a patchier federal ban that created confusion in the early fall.

Instituted in early September, the federal protection came in the form of an order from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It barred landlords and courts from removing tenants who hadn’t paid rent because of the pandemic, but it allowed eviction judgments to be entered against renters and didn’t extend protections to all who have negatively impacted by the virus’s economic ramifications.

Though the CDC later clarified part of its order, its initial rollout created confusion across jurisdictions, which in turn meant that different tenants received different treatment by courts in Colorado Springs and Denver.

In October, Polis released his own order that extended further protections to more people affected by the pandemic while blocking court proceedings from beginning at all. That move was praised by housing advocates and members of his own eviction task force, who have repeatedly called on him to bar evictions until the pandemic ends. But it was criticized by a lawyer and trade group who represent landlords in eviction cases, who downplayed the risk of mask evictions and questioned the legality of even the CDC order.

Though the CDC’s moratorium was extended, Polis’s order expired Dec. 31, and he’s apparently not contemplating replicating it. His spokesman, Conor Cahill, said last week that the governor’s office believes that the CDC moratorium and expanded federal funding for eviction relief is sufficient.

“Colorado tenants are covered by the CDC’s federal moratorium,” Cahill wrote in an email to The Gazette. “The Governor added to these protections by extending a waiver of late fees for the month of January. We are now focused on getting support to all Coloradans suffering the impacts of the pandemic.”

But activists and lawyers representing tenants have said the CDC’s order does not protect all renters.

“While the extension of the CDC moratorium is helpful, Colorado’s was stronger, and we know (it) had helped people stay in their homes through the pandemic and winter months,” said Kinsey Hasstedt of the Enterprise Community Partners. The organization is represented on Polis’s eviction task force; last month, members of that group asked Polis again to extend his moratorium.

The institution of the CDC order alone may also lead to the type of confusion seen in October, Hasstedt said. Indeed, it may be worse, now that the protections have shifted yet again. 

With more federal funding on the way, tenants need to be kept in their homes until that money is available, she said. She praised Polis’ other actions, including the suspension of late fees and said she hoped that particular order will be extended again at the end of January.

Heather Hicks, an attorney who represents tenants in Colorado Springs, said there has yet to be a “dramatic increase” in eviction filings. But advocates “expert an increase in the weeks ahead.” El Paso County had one of the stricter interpretations of the CDC order: The magistrate there who handles eviction cases, backed up by the CDC’s own clarification, allowed proceedings to move forward up until the point that tenants are actually removed.

“Because Polis’ order has expired, we anticipate an increase in case filings,” she said. “(Colorado Legal Services) is doing all we can to be as prepared as possible to provide legal assistance to as many people as possible in 2021 as we anticipate an increase in low-income tenants facing eviction.”