Rental housing is front and center during this legislative session where Colorado lawmakers are considering more than 30 housing-related bills, most of which specifically target rental housing. Over-zealous regulation has become increasingly common in our state in recent years, but none have gone as far as Senate Bill 25-020, which would grant the government unprecedented authority to seize private rental property and the investments backing them.

Though SB25-020 does include some solid measures aimed at protecting tenants from a small number of negligent landlords in our state, buried within its language is a sweeping provision allowing our government to take over private rental properties — an extreme step that could place an immediate chill on the industry. This overreach would unfairly penalize responsible and reasonable rental housing property owners and ultimately drive up costs in the housing community.

In addition, the bill’s “receivership” provision allows the state, municipality or county to petition district courts to take over multifamily, rental properties for any violation of either municipal ordinances or state habitability standards. Though that might sound reasonable in theory, in practice this could result in property owners losing control of their multi-million-dollar assets for relatively minor or even ambiguous infractions.

Municipal governments currently have broad authority in defining violations and can create a myriad of regulations. For example, certain municipal codes require rental housing providers to resolve criminal activity on their property within three days — an unrealistic and murky demand. Under SB25-020, the housing provider could lose their property because of a tenant’s unruly behavior beyond their control, which is unfair to the property owner as well as neighboring tenants who are living peacefully within the rules.

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Penalizing housing providers acting in good faith to comply with state and local regulations is not just unfair, it’s counterproductive. This level of intervention is excessive and misleading in its intent. Passing this bill would have dire consequences in that it will discourage the very investments Colorado’s housing market desperately needs.

Every Coloradan should pay attention and be concerned about the precedent this bill, if passed, sets. It allows for the seizure of property from a provider where the value of the asset far outweighs the issue in dispute. For instance, seizing a $26 million asset of something as minor as a leaky faucet is not only punitive, but also bad policy. Instead of encouraging future development, these penalties send a clear message: investing in Colorado is not worth the risk.

If property owners fear they could lose everything over a minor violation, why would they want to plan, build, upgrade or even maintain property in our state? Who would take that risk? No one. That kind of uncertainty is unsustainable and, frankly, economic malpractice.

All of this comes at a time when rental prices in Colorado are finally decreasing because supply is catching up with demand. This bill threatens to reverse the significant progress we have made. More regulations and threats will only cause developers to pull back, construction to slow and rents to spike — it’s simple economics. As a result, developers will take their projects to neighboring states where business is welcome, and regulations are smart and limited.

I am sounding the alarm SB25-020 is the most extreme piece of legislation challenging the housing market this session. Its implications are far-reaching and warrant serious discussion and scrutiny. Though the state may need some additional power to enforce our existing laws, SB25-020 goes way too far and risks doing irreversible harm to Colorado’s housing market.

What Colorado needs is balanced and reasonable housing policies that target bad actors without punishing those who are responsible. Protecting tenants should not come at the expense of scaring off the very people who invest in Colorado’s future.

Erica Sanchez is public relations chair for the Apartment Association of Metro Denver.