A resolution approving a proposed Agreement between the City and County of…

This resolution authorizes a contract between the City and County of Denver and The Community Firm (TCF), operating as the Community Economic Defense Project (CEDP), in the amount of $2,768,062.50. The contract runs through December 31, 2028, and is designed to provide free eviction legal defense services to an estimated 3,099 unduplicated households citywide. The program is administered through Denver's Department of Housing Stability (HOST), which manages housing assistance and homelessness prevention initiatives for the city. The legal basis for this contract sits within Denver's home rule authority as a consolidated city and county under the Colorado Constitution, which grants broad municipal powers to fund and contract for social services. Cities across the country have increasingly adopted right-to-counsel or legal aid programs for tenants, following research suggesting that represented tenants are significantly less likely to receive eviction judgments. Denver's approach uses a contracted nonprofit model rather than a formal statutory right-to-counsel, meaning services depend on available funding rather than guaranteed legal entitlement. Fiscally, the $2.77 million contract spans roughly three years, averaging approximately $920,000 per year. Divided across 3,099 households, this works out to roughly $893 per household served. The funding source is not specified in the resolution text, but HOST contracts of this type are typically funded through a combination of federal Community Development Block Grants (CDBG), American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) dollars, or local general fund allocations. Council should verify the funding stream, as ARPA funds carry a December 2026 expenditure deadline that may affect contract structuring. Historically, tenant legal aid programs gained significant momentum during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, when eviction moratoriums expired and courts saw backlogs of housing cases. Denver, like many large cities, saw elevated eviction filings in 2022 and 2023 as pandemic-era protections ended. CEDP was founded in part to respond to that crisis and has been a significant provider of tenant legal services in the Denver metro area. This contract represents a continuation and formalization of that relationship with the city government. Stakeholders directly affected include low-income Denver renters facing eviction, landlords who may face represented tenants in eviction proceedings, the Denver County Court housing docket, and competing nonprofit legal service providers who may not have received this contract. Broader housing market dynamics are also at play, as tenant legal representation programs can affect the speed and outcomes of the eviction process, which in turn influences landlord behavior, rental pricing strategies, and housing supply decisions.

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Denver City Council is reviewing a contract that would pay The Community Firm, operating under the name Community Economic Defense Project, nearly $2.77 million to provide free legal defense services to residents facing eviction across the city. The agreement runs through December 31, 2028, and is projected to serve approximately 3,099 unique households. The contract is managed through Denver's Department of Housing Stability and was briefly postponed during council deliberations in November 2025 before moving forward for a vote. Supporters of the contract argue that tenants without legal representation are at a significant disadvantage in eviction proceedings, where landlords frequently have professional legal counsel and renters often do not. Housing advocates and the city's HOST department contend that legal intervention at the eviction stage is a cost-effective way to prevent homelessness, because keeping a family in its existing home is generally cheaper than emergency shelter placement or rapid rehousing after eviction. CEDP has been a prominent provider of tenant legal services in Denver since the COVID-19 pandemic period, when eviction filings surged after federal and state moratoriums expired. Opponents and skeptics raise several concerns. Some question the wisdom of directing a large single-vendor contract to one organization rather than distributing funds competitively across multiple legal aid providers, which could encourage efficiency and broader coverage. Others argue that legal defense services treat symptoms rather than causes, and that the city would achieve more durable housing stability by investing in affordable housing construction or rental assistance. There are also fiscal sustainability questions, particularly if the contract relies on one-time federal funds that will not be available after the contract period ends. For ordinary Denver residents, the practical effect of this contract is that qualifying low-income tenants who receive an eviction notice would have access to a free attorney through CEDP, rather than having to navigate housing court alone or pay for private legal counsel they likely cannot afford. Whether or not a person ever uses the service, the program reflects a broader policy debate in American cities about whether access to legal representation in civil housing matters should function more like a public utility, funded by government, rather than a personal expense that determines who wins and loses in court.