Advocacy Coordinator
This year’s legislative session in Colorado brought meaningful progress for affordable homeownership—and reinforced just how much work remains.
At Habitat, our mission is rooted in expanding access to affordable homeownership. Guided by our advocacy agenda, we monitor and support policies that increase housing supply, strengthen homeowner stability, and expand equitable access to homeownership. Alongside Habitat Colorado and other housing partners, we supported a range of bills that reflect those priorities.
Here’s a look at what we supported this session.
One of the biggest wins for affordable homeownership in this year’s session was the passage of HB26-1001, also known as the “HOME” Act.
This bill helps make it easier for mission-driven organizations—like nonprofits, school districts, and housing authorities—to build affordable housing on land they already own. By streamlining the zoning and approval process, projects that meet clear standards can move forward faster and with more predictability.
For Habitat Metro Denver, this is a big step forward because this new law has the potential to reduce delays, lower upfront barriers, and ultimately help us build more homes for families in our community.
While implementation details still matter—especially in how broadly eligibility is applied—this is an exciting and meaningful step toward increasing the supply of affordable homeownership.
Supply is only one part of the equation—access matters just as much.
That’s why we supported SB26-040, which also passed this session, and will expand access to homeownership assistance programs.
This bill increases the allowable front-end debt-to-income ratio for down payment assistance from 35% to 38%. While that may seem like a small adjustment, it can make a big difference for working families who are close to qualifying but previously fell just outside eligibility.
By aligning assistance programs more closely with today’s housing costs—especially in high-cost areas like the Denver metro—this change opens the door for more families to achieve homeownership.
Together, policies like the HOME Act and SB26-040 help address both supply and access—an essential combination for long-term impact.
Not every piece of legislation made it across the finish line this session—but those efforts moved important conversations forward.
One example is HB26-1308, a bill that would have allowed homeowners and developers to split a single residential lot into two. This type of “lot-splitting” can create additional homes in already built-out neighborhoods while retaining neighborhood character.
For Habitat, this approach aligns closely with our infill development model. It creates opportunities to lower land costs per home and expands access to homeownership in neighborhoods that are otherwise out of reach.
While the bill was postponed this session, we will continue advocating for solutions like this. Incremental land-use changes are some of the most practical tools we have to increase housing supply across Colorado.
In addition to these key efforts, we supported several other policies during this legislative session, aimed at strengthening the affordable housing ecosystem:
Passed:
Postponed or not passed:
These bills and the conversations surrounding them contributed to ongoing dialogue about how to balance state policy with local housing efforts, and meet the urgent need to increase the supply and accessibility of affordable homes.
This session made one thing clear: addressing Colorado’s housing challenges requires a balanced approach.
We must continue to:
As always, homeownership remains our focus. We believe it’s a powerful tool for stability, generational wealth, and stronger communities—and we’ll continue advocating for policies that make it possible for more families across Colorado.
