Editor: If you care about people keeping their housing and their pets, then you will want to support the Pet Animal Owners in Housing Act in the Colorado Legislature. It could mean the difference between people keeping their pets or keeping a roof over their head.
There are two big housing obstacles to people with pets: pet security deposits, and homeowners/renters insurance that rejects specific dog breeds. This bill would ban both, replacing them with more reasonable rules that protect landlords and insurance companies.
This bill (also known as HB 23-1068) would prohibit pet-specific security deposits, which presume damage that may never happen, and instead create a landlord mitigation fund to pay for damages that a pet actually creates. It would also ban discrimination based on breed types in homeowners/renters insurance, since breed type is not an accurate predictor of aggression or damage. Insurance companies can still deny coverage, but only based on the behavior of the individual animal, not on a sweeping prejudice against breed type.
In this moment, when homelessness is on the rise and animal shelters are filling up, we need all the help we can get to keep people and their pets in homes. This bill is an important step for Colorado!
—Lori Mason, via [email protected]
Any pet damage should be paid by the actual pet owner and not a “landlord mitigation fund.” That would just raise the overall cost of renting for all renters.
I’d rather see much more education on the responsibilities of pet ownership—to many mistakes based solely on emotions. If you can’t afford the potential damage, then you are an unfit pet owner.
Just because you love your dog does not entitle you or your dog to special rights. Sorry.