Colorado State Representative Manny Rutinel has introduced a bill that would allow county clerks and recorders to give documentary fees to fund short and long-term housing for the homeless.
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Colorado is facing a mile-high problem with homelessness, as the number of homeless families in the state rose 134 percent from 2023 to 2024.
To close the funding gap for homeless services, Colorado state legislator Manny Rutinel has proposed using real estate transfer fees to help local and state housing agencies build, remodel or purchase short or long-term housing for homeless individuals and families.
The bill, Improving Infrastructure to Reduce Homelessness, would allow county clerks and recorders to set aside documentary filing fees to fund affordable housing projects in their county. The current statewide documentary filing fee is 0.01 percent of the property value, meaning a home purchase of $500,000 incurs a $50.00 fee. The Colorado Fiscal Institute’s report on real estate transaction taxes estimated clerk and recorder’s offices collected $10 million in documentary filing fees in 2020 alone.
Rep. Manny Rutinel | Credit: Colorado General Assembly
“As the volume of real estate transactions has increased significantly, real estate prices and costs have also increased, impacting the availability and affordability of housing in Colorado,” the bill read. “Local governments should be allowed to use the documentary fee to offset the administrative costs associated with recording and maintaining real estate records and the costs of building and maintaining affordable housing.”
In addition to reallocating documentary filing fees, the bill calls for the creation of an interagency homelessness council including the governor’s office and the departments of local affairs, education, corrections, health care policy and financing, behavioral health administration, human services, public health and environment, and public safety.
The council would meet at least once a month to provide statistical updates on homelessness in the state and coordinate the appropriate response, including homelessness prevention services, maximizing current housing services, and improving cross-system policies and procedures. The interagency council would collaborate with another 11-person council including housing advocates, community leaders and formerly homeless people.
The bill calls for the councils to file an annual report at the beginning of each regular session, which would include recommendations for legislative action.
In several interviews leading up to the bill’s introduction on Jan. 8, Rutinel said much of Colorado’s homelessness problem is due to a lack of funding and coordination between state agencies, local governments and nonprofits.
“The hope here is that by coordinating, we can figure out where we may have inefficiencies and where we can use our resources more effectively so that each dollar can stretch further,” Rutinel told KUNC News. “So that we can make sure that the data that we’re collecting is being used to appropriately implement programs that are working and leave aside programs that aren’t working so that we can better meet the needs of these populations.”
“Unfortunately, if you don’t have the resources saved up to be able to get yourself through a tough time or you don’t have the family or friend infrastructure in place to house you in those moments, you end up on the streets,” he added.