The Democrats in the Colorado state legislature are at it again. In their never-ending quest to make everything “fair,” they have passed and sent to the governor’s desk a bill regulating lease agreements for homes throughout the state. Unfortunately, as is the norm for such policy decisions, these changes will do nothing but harm the very people the Democrats claim they want to protect.

Also read: COUNTERPOINT | Bill needed to head off homelessness

The gist of the bill is that it will become much more difficult for landlords to evict tenants due to non-payment of rent. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and federal eviction moratoriums imposed by the CDC (since when is the CDC in the business of regulating housing?), Colorado legislators are proposing to take away landlords’ rights to various late fees and the recoupment of court costs when they bring forward eviction proceedings.

I am guessing that these bleeding hearts believe that these new laws will make the landlord less likely to attempt (or succeed at) eviction. However, such regulations will do nothing but drive up the cost of doing business for landlords. My question for these masterminds is this: who do you think will really end up paying for all the extra costs and difficulties? It’s the exact same question we have to ask those who think that overtaxing corporations will solve income disparities. Who ultimately pays?

The answer, of course, is the buyer (or in this case, the tenant). Housing costs in Colorado have already been skyrocketing over the past few years. Rather than slow that rocket down, this will give an extra boost of fuel to the engine. And rather than punish the big companies that Democrats always imagine are the Snidely Whiplashes of the world, it is far more likely to punish mom-and-pop operations.

The 2018 Rental Housing Finance Survey conducted by the National Association of Realtors? found that a whopping 72.5% of single family and 2-4-unit residential rental dwellings were owned by individuals (aka mom-and-pop operations). 71% were operated by those individuals, not management companies. The average cost to operate each rental unit in 2017 was $5,270. We can only speculate what that number is now with housing and construction costs going into orbit.

A large portion of these owner-operators (as well as the large companies) also have mortgages on their rental properties – mortgages that have to be paid or the owner will be foreclosed upon if not paid, pushing the renter out anyway.

Piling extra regulations on landlords will do nothing but make them more risk averse. It is already nearly impossible to find a rental if you have bad credit and/or low income. The actions by the Democrats in the Colorado legislature will only compound that problem. Why would an owner take a risk on someone who has a shaky financial history if they could be left without options if and when that renter comes up short on rent? The answer: they wouldn’t.

My wife and I became landlords a little over two years ago, and we have taken the risk of renting to families with poor credit. It worked out for us, as they have been exemplary tenants. But even with the rent being paid on time every month, we did not make out like bandits. Our total profit over two years was approximately $3,000 after paying our mortgage and completing repairs as needed. We are happy that we were able to help people who needed a break. But that should not be expected of everyone in the market.

Landlords are often people looking to build a nest egg or passive income for retirement. SB 21-173 will do nothing but rob that nest, screw the poor, and send our rental market prices into the stratosphere.

Tony Gioia is a Colorado Springs Realtor and a member of several city boards and commissions. He can be reached at tony@tony4cos.com.