Statement: YIMBY Action and Its Four Colorado Chapters Celebrate The Passage of Key Pro-Housing Legislation

YIMBY Action and its chapters, YIMBY Denver, YIMBY Fort Collins, YIMBY North Metro, and YIMBY Arvada, celebrate the passage of top pro-housing laws they advocated for in the Colorado legislature. YIMBY Action and its chapters applaud the Colorado legislature and Governor Polis for championing these housing reforms that will help address the state’s housing shortage. Because of these laws, Colorado will allow:

• Uniform regional standards for factory-built homes to make homes faster and less expensive to build via the Regional Building Codes for Factory-Built Structures bill (SB25-002);
• Single-stair multifamily buildings up to five stories in certain cities, allowing for new homes to be placed on small lots thanks to the Residential Building Stair Modernization bill (HB25-1273); and,
• Increased condo construction as a result of the Construction Defects and Middle Market Housing bill (HB25-1272).

“We’re excited to see months of work and advocacy pay off,” said Joh Gelhbach, Senior Campaigns Manager at YIMBY Action. “Our members across the state used their voices throughout the legislative session, and their advocacy made a real difference. These bills will unlock much-needed homes for people in Colorado.”

Harvard's Joint Center for Housing Studies data indicates that over a third of Colorado households are cost-burdened, meaning they spend more than 30% of their income on housing. Of those, twenty-five percent of renters and ten percent of homeowner households are severely cost-burdened, meaning they spend over half of their income on housing. These high prices are driven by a lack of available and affordable housing, especially in places with opportunities such as high-paying jobs, reliable public transit, and top-performing schools. According to government estimates, Colorado is short more than 300,000 homes in total, and the National Low Income Housing Coalition estimates that over 134,000 homes are needed for extremely low-income households. These bills are a series of opportunities to close these gaps and ensure all Colorado residents have access to a stable, affordable home that meets their needs.

YIMBY Action and its Colorado chapters worked closely with legislators to achieve these wins. YIMBY Action and its chapters endorsed several candidates in 2024 who championed these bills, including Representatives Andrew Boesenecker, Javier Mabrey, and Steven Woodrow. Members and volunteer leaders of YIMBY Action chapters, with the support of YIMBY Action staff, sent hundreds of letters, made dozens of calls, testified at the capitol, and hosted meetings with legislators to build support for these bills and ensure they became law.

In addition to the bills listed above, YIMBY Action and its chapters championed bills that limit downzoning and water tap fees that restrict the construction of new homes. Limiting downzoning and water tap fees will strip away bad-faith reasons to say “no” to new homes. Downzoning artificially restricts the number of homes allowed in a neighborhood, and inflated water tap fees make new homes less likely to be proposed by directly driving up the cost of construction.

With these new laws, Colorado cities and towns have more opportunities to end the housing shortage and make sure everyone in the state has access to an affordable home that meets their needs. YIMBY Action and its Colorado chapters look forward to working with their neighbors and elected officials to implement these laws to ensure they become Colorado’s reality. The organizations also look forward to future legislative sessions as they build momentum for bolder, more impactful pro-housing laws.

“We’re excited to facilitate the implementation of these bills so more Coloradans can live affordably in a neighborhood of their choosing,” said Kate Conley, Volunteer Leader of YIMBY Fort Collins. “I can’t wait to see what’s possible as we bring abundant, affordable housing to the state.”