ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — Asheville City Council has approved an ordinance giving tenants additional protections when rental homes become unsafe or unfit for people to live in.
The ordinance, approved Sept. 8, makes it unlawful for a landlord to collect rent from a tenant living in a dwelling that has been determined to be unfit for human occupancy, unsafe and a threat to life or property, once the required city enforcement order has been issued.
The ordinance does not change the city’s existing list of unsafe housing conditions or its inspection process. It adds a consequence for landlords after the city determines a property is unsafe or unfit for human habitation.
How the new protection works
Under the city’s existing process, an inspector can investigate a complaint and issue a notice of violation, giving the property owner an opportunity to correct the problem and be heard. If the problem is not resolved and the dwelling is determined to be unsafe or unfit for human habitation, a written order can be issued.
That order triggers the new rent provision.
Mayor Esther Manheimer said the measure sends a message that landlords should not be collecting rent for properties that are essentially uninhabitable.
“I think it’s important that we send a signal that we’re not supportive of any landlord that would require the payment of rent for what are essentially uninhabitable rental properties,” Manheimer said.
Tenants should not interpret the ordinance as permission to immediately stop paying rent simply because they believe their rental home is unsafe.
Manheimer noted that North Carolina law generally prevents tenants from unilaterally withholding rent before a court determines they have the right to do so.
“This is state law,” Manheimer said during the discussion, warning that tenants should not interpret the Asheville ordinance as an automatic authorization to stop paying rent.
The council approved the ordinance after clarifying that the no-rent provision applies upon issuance of the required city order.
Tenants describe unsafe conditions
Tenant advocates who spoke to the council described the ordinance as a way to give renters more leverage when landlords fail to address serious problems.
Claire Ray, a member of the Asheville Area Tenants Union who said she lives at Maple Crest, told council members that tenants currently have to rely on a slow code-enforcement process while landlords continue collecting rent.
“We have to go through a slow code enforcement process while landlords keep collecting rent and no matter how unsafe the unit is,” Ray said.
She pointed to broken elevators, lack of heat or air conditioning and unsafe living conditions as examples of problems tenants have faced.
Ray said the ordinance would give tenants more power to hold landlords accountable.
Other speakers described conditions they said they had experienced in Asheville apartments, including mold, water damage, lack of hot water and problems with elevators and heating and cooling systems.
Rachel Wise, who said she lived at Evergreen Ridge for nine years, told council members that many residents are older, disabled or living on low incomes and have few affordable alternatives.
Wise said she and her neighbors sometimes could not keep their apartments at about 65 degrees in the winter. She also described a summer incident in which the building’s elevators and cooling system were not working, leaving some older and disabled residents on upper floors effectively trapped in apartments that reached more than 90 degrees.
“I think that poor people too have a right to safe housing and dignity in their housing,” Wise said.
Landlords raise concerns
The ordinance also drew support from some landlords and property managers, although they raised concerns about how it would work.
Al Sartorelli, a local property manager, said landlords who knowingly leave tenants in dangerous conditions should be held accountable. But he urged the council to distinguish between negligent landlords and owners who are responding to an unexpected maintenance problem.
“If the heating system fails in January, that’s certainly serious, but heating systems do fail,” Sartorelli said. “The important distinction should be what happens next.”
He suggested requiring notice to landlords and giving responsible owners a reasonable opportunity to make repairs.
Sartorelli also raised questions about conditions that could be caused by tenants, such as blocked exits or damaged smoke detectors.
Matt Allen, director of governmental affairs for the Realtor association, said his organization supported the intent of the ordinance but questioned the timing and process used to bring it before the council.
Council members also discussed whether the ordinance should specifically address mold, an issue speakers connected to housing damaged by flooding and rain intrusion following Tropical Storm Helene.
A speaker asked the council to add mold to the city’s list of conditions that can make a dwelling unsafe.
City attorney Brad Branham said the city does not have a federal or state standard establishing a safe or unsafe level of mold, making it difficult for local inspectors to enforce a specific mold standard.
Council members expressed interest in continuing to discuss the issue.
The council also discussed the timeline for responding to complaints. The existing ordinance requires code enforcement officers to give priority to dwellings covered by the unsafe-housing provisions, but it does not establish a specific number of hours or days for an inspection.
Council members raised the possibility of establishing more specific timelines for inspections and repairs, but no change to that process was made as part of the ordinance approved Sept. 8.
During the discussion, council members also raised broader housing issues, including eviction protections, housing stability and working with the Asheville Area Tenants Union.
Council Member Kim Roney said she was glad the council was discussing policies that affect people currently living in Asheville and said she would like to see more attention paid to keeping people housed and safely housed.
“The overall goal from all of this is the same: that we keep people housed and we keep people safely housed,” Roney said.