As many of you already know, last Thursday our City Commission unanimously passed the first reading of an ordinance that establishes a universal landlord licensing and inspection process (for quadplexes and smaller) throughout the City. The requirements include basic safety and housing standards, as well as energy and water efficiency standards for these properties in order to conserve resources and help renters lower their utility bills. Finally, greater disclosure of information related to the efficiency of the dwelling as well as renters’ rights and responsibilities must be made available to the tenant. The much-needed rental deposit mediation program was not included in the ordinance, but the Commission gave staff direction to return with additional language to that effect.
This is a huge victory for our entire community and many, many people will benefit from this program in the coming years. A number of Commissioners gave special thanks to the Alachua County Labor Coalition for our efforts on this campaign and we absolutely could not have won it without the active engagement of our members and others throughout the community.
THANK YOU to all of you who signed our online petition, wrote personal letters to the Commission or letters to the editor in The Sun, and who helped in so many other ways. So many of you had such powerful things to say: whether renters sharing their personal experiences or homeowners and even supportive landlords expressing solidarity with tenants throughout our community. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
While we take this moment to express our gratitude and celebrate, this fight is not yet over. The local Realtors’ Association campaigned very hard against this ordinance and was able to turn out a large number of landlords and other real estate professionals in opposition to the ordinance. There is no doubt that they will continue this fight. The ordinance still has to pass a second reading on Thurs, Sept. 17th. And, of course, once we succeed in passing this at the City we will be pushing to get it passed countywide so that everyone in Alachua County can benefit.
We will keep you posted as this process unfolds and will continue to call on your support and involvement.