Written by ACLC member and former city commissioner
Published in The Gainesville Sun on August 28th, 2020
Whether you rent or own your home, I hope that you have a place that feels safe and protects you from the elements. Everyone needs a place that provides these basic needs.
When a home does not meet basic health and safety standards, who is responsible for the repair or corrective action? As a homeowner and owner of a rental property, I know that I am responsible for the care of both homes.
After serving as one of your city commissioners for six years, I have observed some interesting attitudes and relationships between the governing side of the city and the people it serves. There is the push and pull of demands to do everything or nothing.
Our City Commission took up the discussion of housing and renters’ rights in 2018 and held open meetings to look at problems and possible solutions. The primary focus was on health and safety in the living environment.
There was also an interest in looking at the lack of housing that serves lower-income residents. And there was a recognition that low-rent housing was some of the worst in meeting basic standards of health and safety.
Those meetings were very well attended by those who are advocating for better protections for tenants, as well as those in the business of owning and managing rentals. The advocates for renters’ rights and safe home environments made their point by describing homes in deplorable condition, and cases of reported need for repairs that went ignored.
There was also a point made that homes that have not been maintained are often homes with excessively high utility bills. The contributions to the discussion from the business side of housing issues helped provide some balance in perspective.
A simple solution, one would think, is for the tenant to be able to contact the owner or manager and request repairs or some attention to the condition of appliances in the home. But too many tenants do not feel safe to report their problems without fear of having their lease cancelled.
Members of the business side of the housing market pointed out that any policy that puts the requirement upon investors to make repairs or update appliances in their properties will have a negative effect by raising rents. They also pointed out cases where tenants were at fault for the lack of maintenance and abuse of properties.
There are many points that can be made that serve to deflect the responsibility of care from the landlord or manager. What is needed is for both sides to come to some agreements on solutions.
At times there was an agreement that there are some properties in poor condition. One property manager expressed support for the city to step in and tell some property owners that they needed to make some repairs. There was also an acknowledgment that Codes Enforcement was able to have some positive results when they were able to access the interior of a property and that the high majority of properties are in good condition.
When improvements are made to a property, there is an increased likelihood for a win-win outcome for both owner and tenant. For the owner there will be fewer calls for repairs needed in the middle of the night, and a higher return on their investment when they go to sell. For the tenant there will be less anxiety for having to live in shoddy housing and maybe even having more appreciation for the owner.
The City Commission has developed an ordinance that will open the doors of rentals for inspection from various private or public professionals. Most rentals are in passable condition. An inspection process will identify homes that are in need of attention and repair. The intent is to improve living conditions for all our residents.
I was disappointed to see the flyer that my Realtors’ association sent out ahead of the City Commission’s meeting. In the Gainesville-Alachua County Association of Realtors political action committee flyer, there was no recognition of the problem and no identification of a solution that real estate professionals could, would or should support.
Many of the solutions come down to improved education on both sides of the business. This includes landlords, property managers, investors and tenants. This includes you and me.
This discussion will not end with the City Commission. I do hope that there will be a continuation of the search for solutions.