A Call To Action: Standing Up For Tenants Facing Eviction When Landlords Fail To Pay Utilities

Danielle Chynoweth: Addresses Housing Issues at the Peoples Potluck June 2009

In reporting for the housing group at the June Peoples Potluck Sunday night Danielle Chynoweth discussed the recent evictions which took place at Gateway Studios. Chynoweth describes how tenants lived in squalor due to the neglect of the landlords to maintain the building and, when the landlord failed to pay the power bill, the city condemned the building and tenants were evicted. In this instance, many of the residents had been paying over 600 dollars a month and utilities were supposed to be included in their rent. Below is a link to the UCIMC YouTube video where Danielle Chynoweth speaks on Gateway.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVHnwd8P1Uc

On Monday June 8 at 7PM the Urbana City Council met to discuss a proposed ordinance which would provide tenants in this situation with the funds needed to relocate in situations such as what happened at Gateway studios. In attendance was tenant union coordinator Esther Patt who addressed how situations like this are not unique.  Patt cited a local case of a landlord who intentionally shut off the water to one of his apartment buildings in order to force tenants to relocate. When city governments step in and condemn an apartment building this type of eviction is one that is brought about by both city government and landlord negligence. As such, in these particular situations, tenants can't rely upon the landlord to help with relocation costs.

One of the things that was pointed out during the council meeting last night is that often when tenants are displaced it can take several months before any legal claims are brought to the circuit court. Additionally, poor tenants often do not have the legal resources to file suit against negligent landlords. A proposed ordinance which was discussed last night at the Urbana City Council meeting addressed how city governments can intervene when utilities are shut off and tenants, who have been paying their rent, can be given assistance. Simply put, both Champaign and Urbana, can utilize resources to pay the relocation costs of tenants then pursue the landlords for the costs and expenses. As Chynoweth pointed out last night, in the event that a landlord doesn't pay the costs of relocation the city can place a lien on the properties and, one way or another, recoup the costs of relocation.

The situation which happened with Gateway Studio is just one example - there are similar situations occuring in Rantoul and Urbana. Because of this, it's not unreasonable to ask the cities of Champaign, Urbana, and Rantoul to show some compassion towards tenants who are facing eviction due when utilities are shut off. In part these evictions are a direct result of existing ordinances within the communities and, without a relocation policy and procedures, there is no real incentive for these landlords to pay the utilities bills or keep the water flowing. Prior to the discussion regarding this ordinance a zoning issue was brought before the city council and alderwoman Diane Marlin noted that, as a landlord herself, she has a responsibility to abide by the zoning laws of the city in regards to how her family has maintained and rented properties over the course of 30 years. Many landlords, like Marlin, abide by the statutes and ordinances which govern rental properties and supporting policies which protect tenants can only enhance the value of the properties that are owned by responsible landlords and their neighbors.

On Tuesday June 9 the Champaign-Urbana News-Gazette published an editorial that is decidedly not in favor of any ordinance which would protect tenants who are facing eviction due to condemnation. According to this editorial an ordinance such as this would place communities under an economic strain that municipalities can not afford. Interested parties can read the full text here:  http://www.newsgazette.com/news/opinions/editorials/2009/06/09/no_city_s...

While the News-Gazette certainly has a right to formulate an opinion on this matter - it is irresponsible journalism to imply that there are sufficient resources in place to assist tenants based solely on the response of Major Laurel Prussing. One of the things that Esther Patt noted during the City Council meeting last night is that current programs are not designed to meet the needs of tenants who face eviction due to the condemnation of property. Additionally, we are talking about people who do not have the resources that are needed to relocate. I also find it questionable that the News-Gazette chose to present the owners of Gateway Studios as being individuals who were facing economic hardship without taking into consideration that these people were collecting rent money from residents with the understanding that utilities were included in the rent. At the June potluck Randall Cotton shared with the group that, when Gateway was condemned, the News-Gazette was still running advertisements for the property which indicated that vacancies were still available and that all utilities were included in the rent.

Additionally, as Danielle Chynoweth and other individuals have pointed out, if you are low to moderate income there are barriers to affordable housing that exist in this community. After all we are talking about people who were spending over 600 dollars a month to live in former hotel rooms with a hot plate and microwave. In this community that amount of money should be sufficient to rent a fairly decent place to live. However, many landlords require that prospective tenants have good credit, a deposit, first months rent, and enough income so that no more than one third of their gross earnings are going towards housing. For many individuals who lived in a place such as Gateway studios these factors played a significant role as to why they were there to begin with. The News-Gazette also failed to point out that this ordinance can include ways in which the cities can recoup any funds that are spent in the process of relocating tenants. As such, I find the editorial to be ignorant and irresponsible. It's unfortunate that, as consumers of information, we don't have much in the way of choice regarding what is available by way of a daily newspaper in this community and the myopic vision of the News-Gazette is what we get stuck with.