An ordinance that would provide income-eligible residents with free legal representation for evictions is one step closer to fruition after it passed its first full Denver City Council vote Monday.

If passed, renters facing eviction who make less than 80% of the area median income would be eligible for free legal representation. Landlords would also be required to give tenants a copy of their rights and legal representation options when they move in and when a landlord files for eviction.

This proposal comes as the national eviction moratorium is set to expire by the end of next month, clearing the way for eviction of tenants unable to pay rent because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Even with the federal and state eviction moratoriums, nearly 4,000 evictions were filed in Denver in 2020, 90% of which resulted in the tenants being evicted. In these cases, 95% of landlords had legal representation while only 1% of tenants did, according to Denver County Court data.

“This is a part of a comprehensive effort to keep people in homes,” said Councilwoman Candi CdeBaca, who sponsored the measure, during a committee meeting. “The court speaks a different language than your average person and giving someone that access regardless of their situation is critical.”

This plan builds on Denver’s Eviction Defense pilot program established in 2018. The program has represented over 1,000 tenants, 70% of whom moved out without putting the eviction on their record and 28% kept their housing through methods like setting up a payment plan.

This ordinance would expand the pilot program, providing additional financial and staff resources and expanding public knowledge of the representation resource and how to access it.

The Eviction Legal Defense would cost $4 million annually for outreach, education, eviction cases and staff; however, ordinance co-sponsor Councilwoman Amanda Sawyer said the program would save the city money by preventing residents from becoming homeless.

According to city data from 2012, each homeless person in Denver costs the city $26,000 annually in supportive programs and law enforcement response. If 3% to 5% of tenants represented by the Eviction Legal Defense avoid homelessness, the city would save nearly $12 million each year.

Before COVID-19 hit, Denver was already in the middle of a housing crisis, with a record 4,000 homeless people in the city and others pinched by high rents, according to city data.

The ordinance will now have to pass a final full City Council vote next week. If approved, the project would go into effect on Sept. 1.