Published: May 03, 2008 10:51 pm            

Non-profits push tenant, landlord act

ASHLAND — Disagreements between tenants and landlords are commonplace, but while some of the complaints stem from discrimination others are simply issues that need to be settled between the two parties.

In an effort to educate the public and generate dialogue on housing issues, the Ashland Human Rights Commission hosted a seminar on Fair Housing last month.

The guest speaker, Michael Mason, an equal opportunity specialist from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, focused on discrimination in housing, but local officials present said landlord tenant disputes far outnumber discrimination complaints in Ashland and Boyd County and started a discussion on how to better solve those problems.

At the heart of the discussion was the Uniform Residential Landlord Tenant Act. URLTA is a model piece of legislation that lays out requirements for both landlords and tenants.

The version enacted in large Kentucky cities places requirements on landlords to maintain properties and how to deal with security deposits along with outlining tenant responsibilities.

Carol Jackson, chairman of the Fair Housing Committee of the Ashland Human Rights Commission, said she fields dozens of calls from area residents with housing complaints, most of which could easily fall underneath the perimeters of the URLTA.

Jackson said she can’t understand why Ashland hasn’t passed the act.

“We need something to protect the landlord and the tenants. It is neither pro-tenant or pro-landlord. It’s protecting both sides,” she said.

According to City Attorney Richard “Sonny” Martin, the issue has been brought to the city’s attention on numerous occasions but the city commission has never had a desire to adopt URLTA. Martin said the code is required for first-class cities in Kentucky, but Ashland could adopt the measure if officials wanted to.

He said the city leaders have felt they have other boards to deal with those types of issues and officials “don’t find the need to get into the landlord/tenant relationship.”

The city has taken a number of other steps in recent months aimed at improving rental housing in the city, including passing two code enforcement ordinances aimed at holding tenants responsible for property maintenance issues.

Two other proposals that would have required inspections and licensing of all rental properties within the city failed to be presented to city leaders. A public hearing held over the proposals garnered lots of negative comments from landlords and the proposal never moved forward.

Leaders of numerous non-profit agencies in Ashland say they think it may be time to have a conversation about URLTA. Several said they think it could go a long way to alleviating many of the problems they deal with on a daily basis and would complement the cities efforts in its 10-year plan to minimize homelessness.

“I think it would be essential to the plan. It would help improve the chances of people staying in housing,” said Debbie Sivis, executive director of the Shelter of Hope. “It would hold both parties accountable.”

Sivis called it a “very practical thing to have.” She said one of the most prevalent problems they see with clients of Shelter of Hope is many have a lack of knowledge when it comes to housing. Many never sign a lease or don’t get receipts for rent they pay. URLTA would require many of these things, she said.

Leslie Moore, executive director of CAReS, said she also supports the measure for similar reasons. She said a major component of the 10-year plan is looking at people who are “precariously housed, who are living on the edge and getting in there and preventing them from becoming homeless.

“Something like this is a preventative tool. It’s in writing, it’s there and everyone knows what the rules are,” she said.

Moore said she shares the city’s concerns about enforcement. “It’s one more thing to enforce and it’s huge when you talk about how many people rent in this town, but you have to begin somewhere. To me it’s a springboard to making other improvements. It’s a foundation. It’s a building block.”

CARRIE KIRSCHNER can be reached at ckirschner@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2653.

        

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