Lessons from the Marshall Fire — Our Law Is Insufficient to Protect Renters

A Report from ECHO’s Survey of Renters Affected by the Marshall Fire

After the Marshall fire that struck Boulder County in late 2021, the East County Housing Opportunity Coalition (ECHO) sought to understand the experience of renters who were displaced through a total loss or through smoke and ash damage. Most of the media attention after the fire seemed to be on homeowners and rebuilding. We felt that renters’ perspectives would get lost, and we undertook to discover what we could about what renters were experiencing.

In order to do this, we talked to renters affected by the fire at a community meeting and reached out on social media to find renters who were willing to be interviewed for our study. We also created an online survey for renters and pointed people to it on social media.

Findings

The three common issues that repeatedly came to our attention were habitability, retaliation, and price gouging.

READ THE FINAL REPORT (PDF)

Report date November 17, 2022. Prepared by The Research Boutique under contract to ECHO.

Read ECHO’s press release about our Marshall Fire report and recommended legal rememdies (PDF).

Questions about the report? Contact us at ECHOBoulderCounty@gmail.com

Legal Clinic Follow-Up

In the fall of 2022, ECHO facilitated a legal clinic for renters and homeowners in Louisville, Superior, and unincorporated Boulder County who were victims of the Marshall Fire.

Read more about recommended legal remedies for Marshall Fire survivors that emerged from the legal clinic.