DENVER There is a new push to protect Denver renters from what tenant rights advocates call slumlords.Denver7 has covered the city's efforts at toughening penalties for rental license violations in the past. However, tenant rig hts advocates say it doesn't go far enough.As a result, they want to make sure their rent money goes toward fixing problem properties, which the Denver Metro Tenants Union calls "corporate slum conditions."Conditions that they feel many city residents experience."People living with mold in their apartments, people living with rats in their apartments, people who don't have locking doors, people who don't have heat or hot water, and that is happening throughout the city," tenants union director Edia Altman said.Haley Eicher says her experience at Cedar Run Apartments was so bad that she was forced to move out last year."We took out student loans to cover the cost of relocating," Eicher explained.Which is why the tenants' union is pushing for two policies to hold landlords accountable.The first is a rent escrow account program that requires bad landlords to set aside rent and use it to fix problems in the building."I was thrilled when I first heard about this, and I think it's genius, because, number one, it provides security for the tenants," Eicher said. "You're still paying rent, but that rent is going towards what it should be going towards, which is fixing the issues."The second proposal would ensure landlords actually work with tenants to fix problems and acknowledge tenant unions."Right now, landlords will typically ignore tenant union organizers because they're not required to meet with them," Altman said.In Denver, the city is cracking down on slumlords, requiring licensing to meet minimal housing standards.Eric Escudero is a spokesperson for the Denver Department of Licensing Consumer Protection. Denver renters push for tougher rules to hold slumlords accountableWhile he could not comment directly on a rent escrow program or on requiring landlords to acknowledge tenant unions, he did issue a message to landlords."If you're a slum lord, Denver is not the place you want to go, because the city is going to hold you accountable," Escudero said.He also offered a comment on working with tenant unions in the city."We're going to continue to listen to their voice and continue to listen to their ideas and try to put those in front of our lawmakers so they can consider them, because anything we can do to achieve our goal of making Denver the safe, safest place to rent a home in America, that's something we're looking to do, Escudero outlined.As work continues to fix these issues, tenants like Ashley Arias want people to remember that these living conditions don't discriminate."I'm a teacher, a school teacher. So it could be the person who teaches your child in school, living in these conditions," Arias said.The Colorado Apartment Association has previously argued that additional regulations could lead to higher rents for tenants. ...read more read less