Colo. Senate Democrats: Signed! New Law Expands Property Tax Exemptions for Affordable Housing

Targeted News Service (Press Releases)

DENVER, Colorado, May 26 -- The Colorado Senate Democrats issued the following news release on May 25, 2023:

Lieutenant Governor Dianne Primavera today signed bipartisan legislation to expand property tax exemptions for nonprofit housing developers, such as community land trusts, to build up Colorado's affordable housing stock.

"Expensive land costs make it difficult for affordable housing developers to buy land to build housing opportunities that work for every budget," said Rep. William Lindstedt, D-Broomfield. "Our bipartisan law expands on existing property tax exemptions for nonprofits to incentivize building more affordable homes, saving educators, first responders, and child care workers money on housing."

"The cost of land is often the biggest barrier that keeps affordable housing projects from getting done, especially for nonprofit homebuilders who build housing for our state's workforce," said Senator Dylan Roberts, D-Avon. "This new law represents a huge step forward for nonprofit homebuilders and will make it easier for nonprofit developers to do what they do best: build more housing for working Coloradans so that families can afford to live in the communities they call home."

HB23-1184, sponsored by Representatives William Lindstedt and Lisa Frizell and Senator Dylan Roberts, expands property tax exemptions to include more nonprofit organizations that build and sell affordable housing. It also extends the exemption period from 5 to 10 years to better reflect the development timeline for larger affordable housing projects. The bill creates a new property tax exemption for land owned by community land trusts and other nonprofit affordable homeownership providers that develop permanently affordable for-sale homes.

The National Low Income Housing Coalition ranked Colorado as the 8th least affordable state in 2022 and stated that the average renter needed to work 2.3 full-time jobs at minimum wage to afford a two-bedroom rental. Data from the American Community Survey demonstrates the racial inequality when it comes to homeownership with 71 percent of non-Hispanic White Coloradans owning their home compared to only 51 percent of Hispanic and 43 percent of Black Coloradans.