Colorado cities and counties would be able to wrest control of dilapidated apartment complexes from their owners temporarily under new legislation inspired by several notoriously troubled buildings in Aurora and Denver. Senate Bill 20 was introduced last week on the first day of the state legislature’s 2025 session. Backed by Aurora and Denver Democrats, the measure would allow local officials or the Colorado Attorney General’s Office to ask a judge to place apartment complexes with unfixed problems under the temporary authority of a court-appointed caretaker for at least six months. The caretaker would then use rental payments to fix problems at the property before turning it back over to the owner. The measure, which will be opposed vehemently by the Colorado Apartment Association, comes as local officials in metro Denver have struggled — and increasingly lost patience — with landlords and property owners that have slow-rolled or outright refused to fix longstanding problems with their properties.