No sympathy for Caldara the landlord

Re:

Caldara whines that he had to pay Boulder a $300 fine for the three-year rental inspection required because he was “human” and forgot that it needed to be done, meaning that he just spaced it out, and whines that he had to pay another $270 for filing fees and city inspectors’ fees. He then states that his tenants got a rent increase to cover those costs (even though it wasn’t their fault).

However, I’ll bet that when it came time to file his income tax return, he figured out a way to write off all those fees to reduce taxes he had to pay on rental income. He came out just fine, but his tenants had a rent increase for a purportedly one-time screw up on his part that will last throughout their tenancy. He appears to have the typical landlord’s attitude: “It cost me a nickel, so charge the tenant a dime.”

While a shortage of affordable housing in Denver is definitely a problem, the bigger problem is landlords that are taking advantage of it by charging high rents for mediocre properties. Denver tenants are typically faced with annual increases in rent (doesn’t include increases in utility costs as not many rentals include utilities in the rent) and annual increases in wages are not commensurate.

The “American Dream” of home ownership is just that — a “dream.”

Debbie Janzen,

Caldara, again, uses gross exaggerations and untruths to support his political views. He harped about the federal Section 8 subsidized housing program. Sure, the prospective landlord has to fill out a form and their property is inspected, but any rental property in Denver is supposed to meet all of the inspection requirements anyway, whether the landlord participates in Section 8 or not. Sometimes the inspector notes something of which the landlord was unaware.

The payments made by the city of Denver are prompt and accurate. The people who work in Denver’s Section 8 program are professional, efficient, and fair.

As a landlord, I also do not support a city ordinance which would not allow me to use “source of income” as one variable among many when selecting a renter, but unlike Caldara, I will simply say that is my preference, rather than state calumnies to support my preference.

Michael Johnson,

Does Caldara plan to share with his renters the profit that he will incur when he sells this property? If not, then I would suggest that he is actually extremely well paid for his time and trouble.

Vija Handley,