Colorado Court Holds CARES Act Notice Requirement Has Expired

A local housing provider in Colorado has won a victory after a county court denied a resident’s motion to dismiss an eviction action.

The resident argued that the housing provider had not given the required 30-day notice to vacate in accordance with the federal CARES Act for “covered properties”. However, the court cited that the temporary remedies provided by the CARES Act had an expiration date of 120 days from March 27, 2020, and that the 30-day notice requirement was not separate from this expiration. The resident has appealed the decision to the Colorado Supreme Court.

Andrew Hamrick, General Counsel and Senior VP of Government Affairs for the Apartment Association of Metro Denver (AAMD), has highlighted the importance of this decision before Colorado’s highest court. Hamrick states that only two of Colorado's 64 counties had found that there was a continuing obligation for the CARES Act notices, and that a reversal would have the effect of imposing the CARES Act notice requirement statewide. AAMD, along with other organizations representing owners and operators along Colorado’s Front Range, have filed an amicus brief in the matter before the Colorado Supreme Court.

The National Apartment Association (NAA) is advocating for a legislative solution that recognizes that the federal CARES Act notice to vacate requirement was temporary and expired when the moratorium itself expired in 2020. The NAA is urging co-sponsorship of and passage of the HR 802, “Respect State Housing Laws Act", which returns this issue to the states.