Westword Conor McCormick-Cavanagh September 4, 2021 7:13AM

Denver residents now have more support during eviction proceedings. Patricia Calhoun

Thanks to an ordinance passed by Denver City Council in June, many renters in Denver now have a right to a legal defense during eviction proceedings.

“Expanding the city’s existing eviction legal defense program through this ordinance provides more renters than ever with a much-needed resource, especially right now when pandemic eviction and unemployment supports are being removed and when rental assistance is backlogged and difficult to access — all at the same time that the Delta variant is surging,” says Councilwoman Candi CdeBaca, who co-sponsored the ordinance with Councilwoman Amanda Sawyer.

The ordinance, which took effect on September 1, will ensure that Denver renters making 80 percent or less of the area median income have access to legal representation from start to finish in eviction proceedings.

Eighty percent of the area median income in Denver is $54,950 for a one-person household, so any single-earner household earning below this income level is eligible for a legal defense.

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