Eliza Lucero, with the Party for Socialism and Liberation, speaks to a gathering during a protest to demand that Colorado lift the ban on rent control on the west steps of the State Capitol on March 5, 2023, in Denver. Two Colorado nonprofit groups called publicly on Attorney General Phil Weiser this week to “root out collusion and price fixing among large landlords” amid national and state scrutiny of software that’s allegedly used by property owners to artificially increase rental prices.
“We live in a moment of unprecedented high rents and displacement,” Zach Neumann, the executive director of the Community Economic Defense Project, said in an interview. He noted: “Most of the people being evicted in Denver are being evicted because they can’t afford to pay. It just seems very frustrating to us that large corporate landlords are using a tool that allows them to coordinate rents and to push prices up even more.
Earlier this year, Colorado lawmakers attempted to ban the use of RealPage’s algorithm-based software in setting rents. After the bill passed the state House,by inserting an amendment offered by RealPage’s lobbyist. House Democrats rejected the change, and the Senate refused to strip the amendment, sinking the bill.Aurora may give its camping ban more teeth in “tough love” approach to homelessness. Not everyone is on board.