Authors: Matt Frommer, Caroline Leland, and Max Nardo
June 30 marked a major compliance deadline for a package of housing and land use laws adopted by the Colorado Legislature in 2024. In response, local governments across the state have updated their codes to enable more homebuilding, diversify housing choices, and reduce costs. On July 10, Housing Forward Colorado published a report detailing the progress of cities, towns, and counties in meeting the state requirements. We updated the report on Aug. 12.
The report’s findings are encouraging: Many local governments are taking steps to align local codes with the state laws. In some cases, they are going beyond the minimum legislative requirements to allow for an even greater number and diversity of housing types.
Our team found that more than 3 million Coloradans now live in communities that recently updated their local codes in response to HB24-1152 to make ADUs legal and easy to build. More than 1.9 million Coloradans live in communities that have recently removed or are in the process of removing minimum parking requirements for multifamily housing to comply with HB24-1304, and more than 2.8 million are in communities that have taken action to eliminate family-based occupancy limits in compliance with HB24-1007. Because these laws serve as a policy floor rather than a ceiling, local code updates have been as wide-ranging and diverse as the communities themselves.
This report also tracks local responses to HB24-1313 (Housing in Transit-Oriented Communities), which takes full effect at the end of 2026, and SB24-174 (Sustainable Affordable Housing Assistance), which has deadlines extending into 2028 and beyond.
This report is an update of the May 2025 progress report previously found on this page.
