Unlocking Housing Choices (UHC) is a city-led initiative to design a policy that re-legalizes middle-housing housing options in Denver’s residential neighborhoods.

UHC is one of several key policy tools to offering more housing options in our communities.

Would you like to learn more about how this policy initiative will help Denverites? Visit our About page.

You can check out the official initiative on the city website here.

Middle housing includes homes that are between large single-family homes and large apartment buildings. Middle housing includes duplexes, triplexes, rowhomes, and more!

For a long time, middle-housing options were legal to build across established Denver neighborhoods. After 2010, when our current zoning code was passed, they were disallowed in many communities. You can still see some great examples of pre-2010 middle housing in several neighborhoods. Check out the photos we’ve collected in our Gallery.

And if you live in one (or would like to), send us your photos and housing stories!

The range of housing that will be created with UHC could vary depending on several factors. However, this project is designed for gradual implementation, so families can build a backyard home for a grandparent or adult child and affordable home builders can create income-restricted units. UHC is not about encouraging rapid, large-scale development on every block.

Denver has roughly 75 neighborhoods, each with about 10,000 residents. If this policy is approved, each neighborhood is likely to see between 5 and 25 new starter homes per year.

The finalized policy will reach City Council this fall (2026), concluding Phase 1 of the effort. In the subsequent years, Phase 2 will work to strengthen UHC while using information from the Phase 1 implementation to incorporate lessons learned.

A community Advisory Committee has been meeting since July of 2025 to refine Phase 1, ensure it addresses concerns, and offers a path forward for more starter homes for more Denverites. Committee members include community organizers, representatives from Registered Neighborhood Organizations (RNOs), affordable home builders, councilmembers and historic preservation advocates.

You can be a community advocate by sending an email to your City Councilmember, sharing your housing story and educational materials, and more! You can find resources and more ways to advocate on our advocate page.

This kind of home building will be incremental and small scale, meaning it will not overwhelm existing infrastructure in most cases. Plus, like with any home built in Denver, every starter home built after UHC passes will go through the permitting process that ensures compliance with infrastructure requirements.