Renters Commission

City of Ann Arbor 301 E. Huron St. Ann Arbor, MI 48104 http://a2gov.legistar.com/ Formal Minutes Calendar.aspx Renters Commission Wednesday, August 10, 2022 6:30 PM Electronic Meeting Public comment can be made by phone at: 877 853 5247 or 888 788 0099 Meeting ID: 935 8080 1941 or via Zoom by joining the meeting at: a2gov.org/RentersCommissionMeeting 1 CALL TO ORDER Chair Pro Tem Zackariah Farah called the meeting to order at 6:35 PM 2 ROLL CALL Staff Present: John Reiser, City of Ann Arbor Senior Assistant City Attorney Kristen Vander Lugt, City of Ann Arbor Clerk's Office Staff Councilmember Nelson attended the meeting from Empire, MI. All other members attended the meeting from Ann Arbor, MI. Present 9- Robert P Kelly, Richa Mukerjee, Arthur J Redmond, Zackariah Farah, Dandan Chen, Lucy Peterson, Elizabeth Nelson, Gayle Rosen, and Nicholas Roumel Absent 4- Hannah Cohen Smith, Kristen Cato, Cozine A Welch Jr., and Travis Radina 3 APPROVAL OF AGENDA Moved by Mukerjee, seconded by Kelly, approved unanimously as presented. 4 APPROVAL OF MINUTES None. 5 PUBLIC COMMENT Zachary (last name unknown) discussed concern with speaking during public hearings for fear of potential negative outcomes if heard by their City of Ann Arbor Page 1 Renters Commission Formal Minutes August 10, 2022 landlord. Ken Land, explained that he is a landlord, is interested in serving on the Renters Commission, and encouraged the Renters Commission to consider other available data and viewpoints when decision making. 6 BUSINESS Attachments: Right to Renew Resolution 7-26-2022 .pdf, Bar Association Document.pdf, Right to Renew Resolution Amended - Presented at 8-10 Renters Commission Meeting.pdf Moved by Farah, seconded by Peterson, to discuss the Resolution to Recommend Discussion of Right to Renew to City Council. Approved Unanimously. Yeas: 8- P Kelly, Mukerjee, J Redmond, Farah, Chen, Peterson, Nelson, and Roumel Nays: 0 Absent: 4- Cohen Smith, Cato, A Welch, and Radina Motion to amend the Resolution to Recommend Discussion of Right to Renew to City Council Moved by Farah, seconded by Kelly, to make the following amendments to the Resolution to Recommend Discussion of Right to Renew to City Council Amendment 1 Amend the purpose to read as follows: Whereas, The purpose of Right to Renew is to prevent unjust and unnecessary evictions and to increase the stability of tenants’ lives by providing an enumerated list of circumstances under which a tenancy may be ended by a landlord with good cause; and, Amendment 2 Add the following: Whereas, The American Bar Association urges all local governments to implement Right to Renew laws and has provided the following explanation as its justification in doing so: City of Ann Arbor Page 2 Renters Commission Formal Minutes August 10, 2022 “Forcing a household to relocate imposes significant disruption and potential hardship on the tenant, and should not be allowed without a legitimate reason. Allowing eviction without cause invites abuse, enabling a discriminatory, retaliatory, or otherwise illegitimate motive for ending a tenancy to be easily concealed behind a ‘no cause’ eviction” RESOLVED, The Renters Commission recommends that City Council adopt Right to Renew as amended in Appendix B as soon as possible; and, Amendment 3 Add Appendix B. Appendix B reads as follows: Appendix B: Applicability. This article shall apply to all housing accommodations except premises otherwise subject to regulation of rents or evictions pursuant to state or federal law, to the extent that such state or federal law requires “good cause” for termination or non-renewal of such tenancies. This article shall not apply to fraternity houses, sorority houses, student cooperative housing, subleases, or leases of less than 210 days duration. Renewal of Lease Within 180 days before the end of the current lease period, a landlord must notify each tenant, in writing, whether the lease will be renewed, and must do one of the following: • If the landlord offers renewal, the landlord must present a written lease renewal to the tenants for signature with the offer. • If the landlord claims good cause, the landlord shall notify each tenant in writing of the grounds for the good cause. If a landlord does not make a good-faith offer to renew a written lease for each tenant at least 180 days before the end of the current lease period, the landlord shall pay relocation assistance as set forth below, unless the landlord has “good cause” to not offer renewal. Relocation Assistance The Relocation Assistance payment shall be equal to two month’s rent based upon the current lease. Good Cause A landlord is exempted from paying relocation assistance in any of City of Ann Arbor Page 3 Renters Commission Formal Minutes August 10, 2022 the following circumstances: A. The tenant has not returned a signed renewal to the landlord within 30 days of the landlord’s presentation of that renewal. Tenants may offer replacements B. If fewer than all current tenants sign a renewal, named replacement tenants must be acceptable to the landlord in the landlord’s usual screening process. C. The landlord can demonstrate a justification for not offering renewal that would permit a termination of tenancy under the Summary Proceedings Act, MCL 600.5714 (1) (a), (b), (d), (e), (f), (g), or (h). D. The owner seeks possession so that the owner or a member of the owner's immediate family may occupy the unit as that person's principal residence and no substantially equivalent unit is vacant and available in the same building. "Immediate family" includes the owner's domestic partner or spouse, parents, grandparents, children, siblings, as well as the siblings of the owner's domestic partner or spouse. E. The owner will not be seeking to rent the premises for the succeeding term. Remedies A violation of this section constitutes a civil infraction punishable by a fine of not less than $500.00 for the first offense, not less than $500.00 and up to $1,000.00 for each additional or subsequent offense, in addition to an order requiring relocation assistance. A court may issue enforce any judgment, writ, or order necessary to enforce this section. To the extent allowed by law, a tenant who has been aggrieved by a violation of the section may bring a civil action for damages, plus costs and reasonable attorney fees, against the landlord. A court shall order two times the withheld relocation assistance for willful violations. Private actions and remedies under this section shall be in addition to any actions for violations which the city may take. Yeas: 8- P Kelly, Mukerjee, J Redmond, Farah, Chen, Peterson, Nelson, and Roumel Nays: 0 Absent: 4- Cohen Smith, Cato, A Welch, and Radina Moved by Farah, seconded by Redmond, to approve the Resolution to Recommend Discussion of Right to Renew to City Council as City of Ann Arbor Page 4 Renters Commission Formal Minutes August 10, 2022 amended. Amended resolution reads as follows: Resolution to Recommend Discussion of Right to Renew to City Council Whereas, According to R-21-362, the Ann Arbor Renters Commission was created to “[p]ropose, evaluate, recommend, and respond to policies, practices, or laws that affect renters in the City, including, but not limited to: housing affordability, transportation access, land use, public health and safety, and economic development;” and, Whereas, The Renters Commission should strive to represent “perspectives in the City, such as student, youth, low-income, LGBTQ, immigrant, persons with criminal records, persons receiving rental subsidies, cooperative or group housing, tenant advocacy groups, persons who have experienced homelessness, or historically underrepresented groups;” and, Whereas, Evictions are currently rising in the wake of the termination of the national eviction moratorium; and, Whereas, In the United States, 17% of LGBTQ+ people experience homelessness at some point in their lives. This is more than twice the rate found in the general populace. This number is significantly higher for transgender people. and, Whereas, According to a 2020 paper by Hepburn et al., which accessed millions of recorded court eviction cases between 2012 and 2016 in 39 states, “[b]lack renters received a disproportionate share of eviction filings and experienced the highest rates of eviction filing and eviction judgment;” and, Whereas, in the City of Ann Arbor, tenants are not guaranteed the opportunity to renew their current lease unless expressly stated in their leasing contract. The result of this is instability in the lives of many of our city’s tenants; and, Whereas, A coalition of local organizations including the Graduate Employees’ Organization, The Lecturers’ Employee Organization, the House Officers Association of the University of Michigan, the Ann Arbor Tenants Union, the Washtenaw Housing Alliance, the Huron ValleyArea Labor Federation AFL-CIO, Rackham Student City of Ann Arbor Page 5 Renters Commission Formal Minutes August 10, 2022 Government, and the Huron Valley Democratic Socialists of America has endorsed the adoption of the language found in Appendix A (hereafter referred to as Right to Renew) as a city ordinance; and, Whereas, The purpose of Right to Renew is to prevent unjust and unnecessary evictions and to increase the stability of tenants’ lives by providing an enumerated list of circumstances under which a tenancy may be ended by a landlord with good cause; and, Whereas, As of Aug 10, 2022, the aforementioned coalition had collected over 700 petition signatures in support of Right to Renew; Whereas, The American Bar Association urges all local governments to implement Right to Renew laws and has provided the following explanation as its justification in doing so: “Forcing a household to relocate imposes significant disruption and potential hardship on the tenant, and should not be allowed without a legitimate reason. Allowing eviction without cause invites abuse, enabling a discriminatory, retaliatory, or otherwise illegitimate motive for ending a tenancy to be easily concealed behind a ‘no cause’ eviction” RESOLVED, The Renters Commission recommends that City Council adopt Right to Renew as amended in Appendix B as soon as possible; and, RESOLVED, The Renters Commission requests that if members of City Council draft alternative language to what is proposed in this resolution, that they do so in consultation with the Renters Commission and community advocates of the Right to Renew language. Appendix A: Applicability. This article shall apply to all housing accommodations except premises otherwise subject to regulation of rents or evictions pursuant to state or federal law, to the extent that such state or federal law requires “good cause” for termination or non-renewal of such tenancies. This article shall not apply to fraternity houses, sorority houses, or student cooperative housing. Renewal of Lease City of Ann Arbor Page 6 Renters Commission Formal Minutes August 10, 2022 If a landlord does not make a good-faith offer to renew a written lease for each tenant at least 180 days before the end of the current lease period, the landlord shall pay relocation assistance as set forth below, unless the landlord has “good cause” to not offer renewal. Relocation Assistance The Relocation Assistance payment should be equal to two month’s rent calculated using average rental rates and adjusted for number of bedrooms on the lease: Based on available data, the payments for 2022 are as follows: Studio: $2,198 1 Bedroom: $2,388 2 Bedrooms: $3,630 3 Bedrooms: $5,300 4+ Bedrooms: $7,000 The payments shall be adjusted annually for inflation, on January 1 of each year commencing 2023, using the national Consumer Price Index as a standard. Good Cause A landlord is exempted from paying relocation assistance in any of the following circumstances: A. The tenant has not indicated unequivocal acceptance of the offer of renewal within 30 days. B. The landlord can demonstrate a justification for not offering renewal that would permit a termination of tenancy under the Summary Proceedings Act, MCL 600.5714,. C. The owner seeks possession so that the owner or a member of the owner's immediate family may occupy the unit as that person's principal residence and no substantially equivalent unit is vacant and available in the same building. "Immediate family" includes the owner's domestic partner or spouse, parents, grandparents, children, siblings, as well as the siblings of the owner's domestic partner or spouse. D. The owner will not be seeking to rent the premises for the succeeding term. Remedies A violation of this section constitutes a civil infraction punishable by a fine of not less than $500.00 for the first offense, not less than $500.00 and up to $1,000.00 for each additional or subsequent offense. A court may issue any judgment, writ, or order necessary to enforce this section. To the extent allowed by law, a tenant who has City of Ann Arbor Page 7 Renters Commission Formal Minutes August 10, 2022 been aggrieved by a violation of the section may bring a civil action for damages, plus costs and reasonable attorney fees, against the landlord. Private actions and remedies under this section shall be in addition to any actions for violations which the city may take. Appendix B: Applicability. This article shall apply to all housing accommodations except premises otherwise subject to regulation of rents or evictions pursuant to state or federal law, to the extent that such state or federal law requires “good cause” for termination or non-renewal of such tenancies. This article shall not apply to fraternity houses, sorority houses, student cooperative housing, subleases, or leases of less than 210 days duration. Renewal of Lease Within 180 days before the end of the current lease period, a landlord must notify each tenant, in writing, whether the lease will be renewed, and must do one of the following: • If the landlord offers renewal, the landlord must present a written lease renewal to the tenants for signature with the offer. • If the landlord claims good cause, the landlord shall notify each tenant in writing of the grounds for the good cause. If a landlord does not make a good-faith offer to renew a written lease for each tenant at least 180 days before the end of the current lease period, the landlord shall pay relocation assistance as set forth below, unless the landlord has “good cause” to not offer renewal. Relocation Assistance The Relocation Assistance payment shall be equal to two month’s rent based upon the current lease. Good Cause A landlord is exempted from paying relocation assistance in any of the following circumstances: A. The tenant has not returned a signed renewal to the landlord within 30 days of the landlord’s presentation of that renewal. Tenants may offer replacements B. If fewer than all current tenants sign a renewal, named replacement tenants must be acceptable to the landlord in the landlord’s usual screening process. C. The landlord can demonstrate a justification for not offering renewal that would permit a termination of tenancy under the Summary Proceedings Act, MCL 600.5714 (1) (a), (b), (d), (e), (f), (g), City of Ann Arbor Page 8 Renters Commission Formal Minutes August 10, 2022 or (h). D. The owner seeks possession so that the owner or a member of the owner's immediate family may occupy the unit as that person's principal residence and no substantially equivalent unit is vacant and available in the same building. "Immediate family" includes the owner's domestic partner or spouse, parents, grandparents, children, siblings, as well as the siblings of the owner's domestic partner or spouse. E. The owner will not be seeking to rent the premises for the succeeding term. Remedies A violation of this section constitutes a civil infraction punishable by a fine of not less than $500.00 for the first offense, not less than $500.00 and up to $1,000.00 for each additional or subsequent offense, in addition to an order requiring relocation assistance. A court may issue enforce any judgment, writ, or order necessary to enforce this section. To the extent allowed by law, a tenant who has been aggrieved by a violation of the section may bring a civil action for damages, plus costs and reasonable attorney fees, against the landlord. A court shall order two times the withheld relocation assistance for willful violations. Private actions and remedies under this section shall be in addition to any actions for violations which the city may take. Yeas: 8- P Kelly, Mukerjee, J Redmond, Farah, Chen, Peterson, Nelson, and Roumel Nays: 0 Absent: 4- Cohen Smith, Cato, A Welch, and Radina Council Member Nelson offered have the resolution added to the next City Council Agenda. The Commission expressed support for Nelson adding the resolution to the City Council Agenda. 7 COMMUNICATIONS Received and Filed 8 ADJOURNMENT City of Ann Arbor Page 9 Renters Commission Formal Minutes August 10, 2022 Unanimously adjourned. All persons are encouraged to participate in public meetings. Citizens requiring translation or sign language services or other reasonable accommodations may contact the City Clerk's office at 734.794.6140; via e-mail to: cityclerk@a2gov.org; or by written request addressed and mailed or delivered to: City Clerk's Office 301 E. Huron St. Ann Arbor, MI 48104 Requests made with less than two business days' notice may not be able to be accommodated City of Ann Arbor Page 10