Our community has a severe shortage of affordable housing. With 3,000 new residents projected to be moving into Alachua County every year, the Alachua County Labor Coalition supports a variety of measures to help increase the overall number of affordable housing units in the future.
However, we also believe this community must address existing housing costs for our community’s most vulnerable residents now. Renters in this community are due basic rights and protections such as a safe place to live, affordable utility bills, freedom from discrimination and rental deposit theft, and disclosure of their rights and responsibilities as tenants.
We believe that these aims can best be achieved through a comprehensive renters’ rights ordinance. The proposal that we have put forward — in consultation with city and county commissioners and Florida Legal Services as well as landlords, renters, neighborhood associations, faith communities, civic organizations, and other stakeholders throughout our community — is revenue-neutral and based upon existing programs and services with a demonstrated track record of success.
Our proposed ordinance poses a threat to no one except landlords with a pattern of misconduct, and in fact levels the playing field for the majority of landlords throughout our community who strive to keep their housing livable.
Universal, low-cost licensing and inspections of rental units should be mandatory. Renters reasonably fear calling code enforcement. ACLC continues to get calls about serious safety code infractions that, when reported to authorities, too often leads to an eviction notice.
Under this proposal, inspections would be carried out by certified inspectors to ensure the safety of the dwelling, including structural integrity, working smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors, proper locks, electrical outlets, and other basic safety standards.
Energy/water efficiency standards in rental units are one of the most immediate ways to decrease overall cost of living for many folks. These standards have been developed by energy experts and could be assigned a point value, allowing landlords to choose from a range of options to achieve low-cost, high return on investment efficiency upgrades. A layer of insulation in the attic and high efficiency toilets, for instance, would go a long way to helping lower renter utility costs.
Safety and efficiency standards could not only save lives, but they could also help reduce total housing costs by addressing the dramatic inequities in efficiency between owner-occupied and rental properties.
In acknowledgment of the amount of rental housing to be inspected and brought up to code and the added workload and expense, landlords will be given a generous window of compliance. Funds have already been allocated for efficiency upgrades in the form of grants or low-interest loans, depending on whether the property is kept affordable.
People deserve protection from discrimination, and discrimination in housing is particularly insidious. The Labor Coalition is pleased that both the City of Gainesville and Alachua County have adopted protections against discrimination in housing based upon source of income, citizenship status and other identified protected classes.
Another chronic problem identified by renters is the practice of some landlords to routinely deny the return of security deposits to their tenants, regardless of cause. This practice leaves students and low-income tenants with little recourse and creates tremendous financial instability.
The Alachua County Labor Coalition supports an arbitration program modeled on the county’s highly-successful wage recovery ordinance. This program would be designed to offer a fast and cheap alternative to longer, more drawn-out court proceedings and would be free to tenants and landlords and available upon either party’s request.
Both landlords and tenants would benefit from increased education, and this education can be easily provided during initial discussions about a rental agreement. Licensed landlords would provide tenants with basic information about their dwelling units, including compliance with local codes, the previous 12 months’ utility consumption or efficiency rating, and other educational materials that describe renters’ rights as well as their responsibilities as tenants.
Alachua County is now discussing implementing the Safe and Healthy Housing Renters Rights ordinance after observing the roll out of the City of Gainesville Rental Housing Ordinance. As before, many lobbyists for corporate landlords are testifying that this has moved too fast, though it has been over two years of many meetings and energy efficiency standards will not be implemented till 2026.
Rental property, like any other business such as a restaurant or salon, should be licensed and inspected for safe conditions. Why should low-income residents and their children live in shoddy, dangerous surroundings?
Sheila Payne and Jason Fults are members of the Alachua County Labor Coalition Housing Committee.