Is this platform meant to be exhaustive and fix all the affordable housing issues in Gainesville?
To quote our position paper found here:
“With almost 14,000 properties in Gainesville on the rental market in the last year[1], there is a serious need for action to protect the interests of renters. We have focused on energy efficiency, safety compliance, mediation processes, disclosures, and a few anti-discrimination ordinances that have gained ground elsewhere in the country and state. The City of Gainesville has made significant efforts to explore methods to expand affordable housing, and while this proposal is not a solution to all of the issues associated with affordable housing, it will ensure that tenants can rent safe homes with full knowledge of their rights and the utility expenses of home.”
To expand we recognize that his is just a campaign that must be part of a larger growing moving to prioritize the needs of working class people, many of whom are renters. So the rights of renters have to be a large part of the growing movement to protect the interests of renters. Regardless of the results of this campaign we believe we must strive for a better social, material, and legal climate for renters in Alachua County.
What is required for a rental property to be considered energy efficient? Do landlords need double pane windows and expensive renovations?
Every rental unit while being inspected for safety issues will be inspected for energy and water usage efficiency. These standards will be formulated by GRU and there will be a matrix of efficiency. Insulation in crawl spaces and low flow toilets may be all that is needed. The Safe and Healthy Housing For All ordinance will NOT require double pane windows or new fridges. Points will be accessed for each unit based on efficiency standards for energy and water usage and that score will be made available to every new tenant. Most units built after 1989 will meet minimum FL weatherization standards. Click this link for our energy efficiency recommendations.
Are there already laws protecting tenants from security deposit theft?
Yes, but the process leaves power in the landlord’s hands. In Florida, landlords must
return security deposits within 15 days of lease termination. If the landlord intends to make deductions for damage or other losses, then the landlord has 30 days to notify the tenant in writing that they intend to keep a portion of the security deposit. If the landlord fails to notify the tenant in writing within 30 days, the landlord forfeits the right to keep any part of the deposit. If the tenant objects to any deduction they must respond in writing within 15 days or the landlord can make the deduction. Even if the tenant objects, the landlord may disregard the objection. At that point, a tenant must go to small claims court if they want to recover their security deposit. Often small claims court can be cost prohibitive for many renters and many pro-bono services will not take security deposit dispute cases as it would drastically overburden their workload. Thus we need a process that gives renters a tool to empower them to have legal action that is not exclusive to those with the economic means.
Aren’t there already housing codes in existence? Why do we need more regulations? Can’t we just enforce the codes already in existence?
Yes there are state minimum housing standards already in place. To be clear the ACLC is not advocating for any additional things to be added to the code or minimum housing requirements. The only additional items the Labor Coalition is requesting is low cost energy efficiency standards described here, and in item 2 of the FAQ, as well as actual enforcement of the existing code. Too often code violations go unreported by tenants in fear of retaliation from landlords. Though tenants are protected from retaliation from landlords for calling code, landlords can refuse to renew leases once they expire without providing any just cause and it would be very difficult for a tenant to prove that the landlord refused to renew directly because of the call(s) made to code. Not to mention the cost prohibitive nature of taking something like that to court. Therefore we feel it necessary to have code enforcement be the go between to ensure all Gainesville housing is up to minimum housing standards and the low cost energy efficiency standards to prevent the negative consequences that can come from calling code as a tenant.
City code enforcement does a great job already and has a great relationship with Landlords and resolve most code violations reported without having to go to any higher level, isn’t that enough? Are you all trying to create problems where they do not exist?
Code enforcement in Gainesville does do a great job with the problems they are aware of. As stated above tenants often don’t call code in fear of retaliation. Code enforcement has acknowledged that they really are not aware of the true scope of the rental stock in Gainesville or Alachua county because of this. We would like to ensure that code enforcement continues to be engaged and excel at ensuring ALL the housing stock in the city and county are in compliance with the law.
Isn’t this a further infringement on the property rights of landlords?
As a landlord you are operating a business. Like other essential industries (health, food, water, etc.) there are standards and regulations that need to be abided by as a landlord. Landlords are thus beholden to the community through the city and the county to provide a product that is of the minimum standards deemed necessary by the state and that particular community. That is part of doing business and providing such an essential service.
Wouldn’t this be really costly for the city? Would this end up coming out of our pockets through taxes?
This program would be funded through the licensing fees paid by landlords. These licensing fees haven’t been set as of yet but are currently being discussed at $50 a unit with discounts for buildings with large amounts of units. We are structuring the program so it is entirely self funded and would not come out of any city revenue and thus not come out of our pockets in taxes.
Wouldn’t this just cause landlords to raise their rents and offload the costs onto the renters and therefore hurt renters in the long run?
In regards to the low cost energy efficiency standards we anticipate that landlords would likely pass on costs to tenants. This is why we structured it to be low cost high reward and all of our recommendations are done in a way that we envision them being quickly and highly offset by the reduction of the energy bill for the tenant, not to mention the reduction in environmental cost for us all.
In regard to the minimum housing standards we do not believe the safety of tenants should be sacrificed for cost. Landlords renting properties that are substandard is illegal and this would need to be rectified to meet the contractual obligations by the landlord to rent that property for that price within the minimum housing standard codes. We understand and anticipate that there will be landlords that may need to improve their properties because these codes will finally be truly enforced. Because of this we seek to have this program also fund low cost or no cost loans and possibly grants to landlords to help them meet these minimum standards without these cost burdens being passed on to tenants.
Isn’t the issue that renter’s just don’t understand their rights? Isn’t it just an education issue?
While it is true that some renters are not fully aware of all the rights and responsibilities they have as renters the same can be true of landlords. We also must recognize that many renters may fully know their rights but may not have the financial means to enforce them through the court system or through risking lease termination or denying renewal. Because of this we need to, not only educate renters of their rights and landlords of their responsibilities, but also ensure that the city is doing their best to enforce these in an equitable way.
How do you expect to inspect every rental property in the city and county on a yearly basis?
We expect this program to have a substantial roll out period as well as inspections being focused on certain properties that are high risk for code violations (i.e. built in a certain year, past history of code violations, etc.). From then on properties with good track records in meeting code will be inspected less and less frequently (once every 4 years) and those who violate the code will be the focus of more frequent inspections (once every year).