FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 27, 2026
Contact:
Max Nardo, Smart Growth Senior Program Manager, Southwest Energy Efficiency Project / Housing Forward Colorado
mnardo@swenergy.org | 303-585-0901
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[DENVER, CO] – A new poll of Denver voters finds decisive, cross-cutting support for the core provision of Unlocking Housing Choices (UHC), Denver’s proposal to legalize duplexes, triplexes, and fourplexes in every residential neighborhood. The poll also finds Denver voters see housing costs as a serious, worsening problem, and believe city government should do more to address it.
The poll was conducted by Embold Research on behalf of the Southwest Energy Efficiency Project (SWEEP) and its Housing Forward Colorado campaign. Review the following resources for more information:
Key findings:
- 63% of Denver voters support allowing duplexes, triplexes, and fourplexes in all residential neighborhoods citywide, compared with 28% opposed – a 35-point margin.
- Support is particularly strong among more vulnerable residents, including renters (+55 points), voters under 35 (+65), and households earning under $50,000 (+45).
- Support is consistent across racial groups: BIPOC respondents support this change by a 36 point margin, in line with the citywide average.
- Support leads opposition in all 11 of Denver’s City Council districts.
- Denver voters agree the city doesn’t have enough housing options, and it’s pushing people out:
- 76% say Denver doesn’t have enough housing options to meet the needs of residents at all income levels and life stages.
- 61% say the cost or availability of housing has made it difficult for them to see a long-term future in Denver.
- When asked to choose, voters prioritize more options over status quo: 67% say Denver should prioritize creating more housing options people at different income levels can afford, compared to 22% who say the city should limit new housing to protect neighborhood character (+45).
- Voters want more action, not less: 69% say Denver’s government has not done enough to create housing options more people can afford.
The City of Denver has gathered extensive public input over its 15-month UHC process, including through community meetings, a 26-person advisory committee, and outreach to neighborhood organizations and email lists. This poll was designed to complement that process with a scientifically representative view of where Denver voters as a whole stand; Embold Research, an independent non-partisan pollster, surveyed a demographically representative sample of 1,266 registered voters, weighted to match the city’s voter file on age, gender, race/ethnicity, education, 2024 vote, party registration, and City Council district.
Denver plans to release a draft of the Unlocking Housing Choices policy in September.
For the full results, crosstabs, and methodology, click here.
“New housing construction in Denver today mostly consists of rental apartments and houses well out of reach for the middle class,” said Max Nardo, Smart Growth Senior Program Manager, Southwest Energy Efficiency Project. “This is the only policy on the table that brings starter homes back to the market, in places people really want to live, and with no public subsidy. And Denver voters clearly want this.”
“Time and time again, through conversations, surveys, and this poll, we hear that families cannot afford to live in Denver,” said Gosia Kung, an architect, former member of the Denver Planning Board, and Unlocking Housing Choices advisory committee member. “The lack of attainable family homes is driving involuntary displacement and decreasing school enrollment. This zoning change will lay the foundation for unlocking potential for smaller, moderately priced homes in all neighborhoods across Denver.”
“UHC will re-legalize the kind of housing options neighborhoods used to have — whether sub-dividing existing homes, adding homes in back yards, or building smaller and more affordable options that fit in to the neighborhood,” said Joel Noble, former Denver Planning Board member and Unlocking Housing Choices advisory committee member. “By re-legalizing these options, homeowners and small, local homebuilders can provide homes people need in neighborhoods throughout Denver.”
“As a community organizer for healthy, inclusive communities, I am grateful to learn that this poll shows citywide support for relegalizing starter homes in Denver,” said Alejandra X Casteñeda, community organizer and Unlocking Housing Choices advisory committee member. “These findings align with our values for a welcoming city, where everyone has access to opportunities to thrive, starting with more for-purchase housing options. I look forward to continuing to mobilize my community in support of Unlocking Housing Choices when the policy comes before City Council later this year and we all will have the opportunity to say, ‘Yes, I want more folks to live in my neighborhood and be able to purchase a starter home.’”
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Housing Forward Colorado is a project of the Southwest Energy Efficiency Project (SWEEP), a public interest organization promoting greater energy efficiency, clean transportation, and beneficial electrification in Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming. In spring 2025, SWEEP launched Housing Forward Colorado to advance pro-housing and smart growth policies, and to support the effective implementation of the 2024 state land use laws.
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