2023 Colorado Revised Statutes › Title 29 - GOVERNMENT - LOCAL (§§ 29-1-101 — 29-37-210) › HOUSING (§§ 29-4-101 — 29-4-1208) › Article 4 - Housing (§§ 29-4-101 — 29-4-1208) › Part 12 - LOCAL GOVERNMENT RIGHT OF FIRST REFUSAL OR FIRST OFFER TO PURCHASE MULTIFAMILY HOUSING (§§ 29-4-1201 — 29-4-1208) › Section 29-4-1201 - [Effective 8/7/2024] Definitions

As used in this part 12, unless the context otherwise requires:
(1)
"Affordable housing financial assistance" means loans, grants, equity, bonds, or tax credits provided to a multifamily rental property from any source to support the creation, preservation, or rehabilitation of affordable housing that, as a condition of funding, encumbers the property with a restricted use covenant or similar recorded agreement to ensure affordability.
(2)
"Applicable qualifying property" means either "qualifying property" as defined in section 29-4-1202 (1), or "qualifying property" as defined in section 29-4-1203 (1).
(3)
"Applicable right" means either a local government's right of first refusal as set forth in section 29-4-1202, or right of first offer as set forth in section 29-4-1203.
(4)
"Area median income" means the median income of the county in which a qualifying property is located in relation to household size, as established annually by the United States department of housing and urban development.
(5)
"Colorado housing and finance authority" means the Colorado housing and finance authority created in section 29-4-704 (1).
(6)
"Existing affordable housing" means housing that is subject to one or more restricted use covenants or similar recorded agreements to ensure affordability and that is consistent with affordable housing financial assistance requirements. "Existing affordable housing" does not include properties for which all restricted use covenants or affordability requirements have expired as of June 1, 2024.
(7)
"Local government" means:
(a)
A city, city and county, or town if the applicable qualifying property is located within the incorporated area of a city, a city and county, or a town; and
(b)
A county if the applicable qualifying property is located within the unincorporated area of a county.
(8)
"Local or regional housing authority" means a housing authority created pursuant to section 29-4-204 (1), 29-4-306 (1), 29-4-402, or 29-4-503 (1).
(9)
(a)
"Long-term affordable housing" means housing for which the local government ensures that affordability levels at an applicable qualifying property are on average equal to or greater than preexisting levels at the applicable qualifying property and that the average annual rents at the applicable qualifying property do not exceed the rent for households of a given size at a given area median income, as established annually by the United States department of housing and urban development, for a minimum of forty years, and for which the local government agrees not to raise rent for any unit in the applicable qualifying property by more than the rent increase cap; except that the rent increase cap does not apply to units of housing that are subject to rent or income limits established pursuant to local, state, federal, or political subdivision affordable housing program guidelines.
(b)
Nothing in this subsection (9) prevents a local government from providing affordability requirements beyond forty years or for units to be affordable to renters with incomes below existing affordability levels, in which case the local government's requirements apply for purposes of the definition of "long-term affordable housing" as set forth in subsection (9)(a) of this section.
(10)
(a)
"Matched offer" means an offer of purchase for a qualifying property, as defined in section 29-4-1202 (1), for a price and with other material terms and conditions that are at least as favorable to those in an arm's-length, third-party offer that a residential seller has received and is willing to accept for the sale of the qualifying property; except that, to the extent that there are any provisions in the arm's-length, third-party offer that the local government is prohibited by law from contracting for, the local government is not required to include such provisions in its offer for its offer to be a matched offer.
(b)
"Matched offer" also means, in the absence of an arm's-length, third-party offer, an offer of purchase for a qualifying property, as defined in section 29-4-1202 (1), for a price and with other material terms and conditions comparable to those for which the residential seller would sell, and a willing buyer would purchase, the qualifying property.
(11)
"Material terms and conditions" means, generally, significant terms and conditions of a contract such as sale price, earnest money, representations, warranties, property description, and performance under the contract and, if a residential seller has received an offer from a third-party buyer that is entirely a cash offer for the third-party to purchase the qualifying property, the local government, in accordance with section 29-4-1202 (5)(a)(II), must agree to close on the qualifying property within the same time period as set forth in the third-party buyer's offer for purposes of a matched offer. "Material terms and conditions" excludes, but is not limited to excluding, the type of financing or payment method or the period for closing.
(12)
"Mixed-income project" means an affordable housing development in which a percentage of units have restricted availability to households at or below given area median income levels, proportional to the demonstrated housing needs of the local community. The percentage of income restricted units and affordability levels must comply with laws enacted by local governments promoting the development of new affordable housing units pursuant to section 29-20-104 (1).
(13)
"Rent increase cap" means a percentage of the current annual rent for an applicable qualifying property that is equal to the greater of:
(a)
The average annual percentage change for the previous twelve months at the time of the calculation in the United States department of labor's bureau of labor statistics consumer price index for Denver-Aurora-Lakewood for all items and all urban consumers, or its successor index; or
(b)
Three percentage points.
(14)
"Residential seller" means the fee simple owner of an applicable qualifying property. If there is more than one fee simple owner of an applicable qualifying property, each fee simple owner is referred to in this part 12 jointly and severally as the "Residential seller".
Added by 2024 Ch. 286,§ 1, eff. 8/7/2024, app. to all qualifying properties for the right of first refusal that are listed for sale on or after the effective date but for which a residential seller has not accepted an offer to purchase the qualifying property and executed the necessary agreements in connection with accepting the offer and to all qualifying properties for the right of first offer on or after the effective date that do not have active listings as of the effective date.
2024 Ch. 286, was passed without a safety clause. See Colo. Const. art. V, § 1(3).