DENVER — An effort to cap the amount of money landlords can charge tenants for having a pet passed a major hurdle on Monday, receiving approval from the state House.
If signed into law, House Bill 1068 would limit pet rent to 1% of the owner’s monthly rent or $35 per month, whichever is greater, in addition to capping pet deposits to $300 on top of existing security deposits and making pet deposits refundable.
The bill would also prohibit homeowner insurance providers from denying policies based on specific dog breeds and would require law enforcement conducting evictions to give any pets present to the tenant or, if the tenant is not there, turn the pets over to a local animal shelter or rescue.
> The video above aired Feb. 7, 2023: Lawmakers set sights on banning pet deposits, pet rent
"We can prevent a lot of unnecessary suffering by families," said bill sponsor Rep. Alex Valdez, D-Denver. "It still allows for a great free market approach, but also ends the process of bifurcating the family pet into a separate cost item that, if it's $100, $125, could be the equivalent of a week's worth of groceries for a family."
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