WFHB Bloomington Community Radio
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In Bloomington, growing concerns over lack of representation for renters have led housing advocacy group Neighbors United to begin the formation of a new ‘Renters’ Neighborhood Association.’
Intended to be an alternative to the current homeowner-dominated neighborhood associations that can be found around Bloomington, the Renters’ Association will provide renter-specific support in the protection of their rights and representation in city-wide decisions.
WFHB met with Andrew Guenther, a local renter involved with Neighbors United, who shared his thoughts on how he would like to see the renters’ association take shape.
“If I were to have my dream come true it would be a multi-layered, multi-tiered system that seeks to, firstly educate renters on things such as renter’s rights, how to read your lease, how to report landlords that aren’t doing what they’re supposed to under the law… to provide those types of resources to renters… to provide that information in a location easy to find for renters, as well as organize renters to advocate for policies that will benefit all people in Bloomington, but specifically renters… policies that focus on housing affordability, housing quantity, housing quality, that focus on how we use our land and how we use our resources are definitely important and have a vast impact on everyone in Bloomington, but particularly renters who are some of the most prone to the influxes and sways of the housing market… even though [renters] make up 65% of Bloomington we are not represented that way in our local government… I’m not saying that the association will necessarily advocate for people to be elected who rent but I think that we will be looking for people in city government to take a more renter friendly approach when voting on issues that affect us.”
Neighbors United hosted a public event this past Sunday afternoon to hear from other community members and initiate the creation of the renters’ association. Guenther, who was present for the event, touched on his initial takeaways from attendance.
“When I went to the event I was impressed by the variety of ideas that came forward. There was an activity where people went around and talked about or wrote down their own ideas for how housing can be improved and how we can improve renters’ experiences in Bloomington and a lot of them were things I just said… It was very cool to gather with like-minded individuals and be on the same page. There wasn’t really any disagreement, every time someone mentioned something everyone else went, ‘oh yeah, I was thinking about that too,”… so I think that there are a lot of core issues that renters can agree on and organize around and it was cool to see that in practice.”
Though the renters’ association is still in the early stages, it hopes to organize as quickly and efficiently as possible to meet the immediate needs of Bloomington renters. The call-out meeting on Sunday was the first step in the establishment of the renters’ association.
Neighbors United organizer Vauhxx Booker spoke to WFHB about organizational goals for the renters’ association as well as the potential services this group aims to provide to Bloomington residents.
“First, I think it might be important to say why a renters’ neighborhood association; because the city already has the groundwork laid for neighborhood associations, so it’s best to kind of piggyback off that existing infrastructure that the city has… I would like to see us eventually create a tenants union with the mission of creating an organization that can give voice to tenants’ concerns. Right now, tenants and renters make up 65% percent of the city while we see a very well developed structure that the neighborhood associations have to communicate with the city and communicate with each other that does not exist for renters… So I think that’s the goal, just to give voice to those who have been voiceless in the city.”
“I’m fortunate enough, or have been fortunate enough for the last two years, that I was chair of the county’s affordable housing commission. I’m still a member of the affordable housing commission, but one of the questions I received most as chair, and even as a case manager in this community, is where to find housing if someone is on section 8 or if someone has a limited budget, you know where can they live in the city. I think a neighborhood association can provide that information; who are the landlords that take section eight, who are some of the best ranked communities as far as landlord-tenant interaction, and creating a unified voice to engage the city when we have contentious matters such as the issues with the UDO and duplexes… I think that having the renters’ association would be a way to also ensure that the city is communicating in a more equitable manner and a more ethical manner as well.”
For many this renters’ association will provide Bloomington locals access to resources and information not previously available. Those associated with the renters’ association stressed its inclusivity and encouraged anyone interested to get involved.
“I would recommend that anyone who rents in Bloomington within the city limits and wants to get involved, and I would even encourage people who rent in any of the proposed annexation zones to come get involved with Neighbors United. They can go to the website neighborsunited.info and sign up with their email to be put on an email list to receive information that has to do with the renters’ association. Neighbors United is acting as an incubator for the renters’ association, so they’re seeking to give their expertise to get us started and then we will be our own independent organization. We are hoping to get people involved through Neighbors United, which shares a lot of goals in common with the renters’ association, trying to get people involved in both as best we can. Even people who are homeowners are welcome to lend any of their expertise or volunteer hours as they see fit to the renters’ association but the renters’ association is obviously a renter-centric organization, meaning that leadership opportunities or speaking opportunities will primarily go towards members that are renters.”
As renters themselves, both Guenther and Booker say they have first-hand experience that allows them to accurately diagnose many of the most significant problems renters in Bloomington are facing today.
“The renters’ association provides a great opportunity for renters to have an organization that really puts their interests first. There is a lot going on day-to-day in the city that renters might not be aware of that really impacts them. For example, this week on Wednesday, the city council is set to vote on an amendment to city ordinance that would require the familial relationships of renters to be written down in an affidavit and signed, which I personally think violates the privacy rights of renters. Speaking as someone who is openly gay, I know plenty of people who are not openly gay but are gay, who do not necessarily want it to be public record that they are living with someone of the same gender. I also know that people who live in recovery centers, for example, don’t want their names on a list of people who live in recovery centers. I think that it violates the rights of renters and I think that’s something that would fly under the radar for most people, had Neighbors United not organized around it to try to get it voted down. I anticipate that the renters’ association will keep an even closer eye on issues relating to renters in Bloomington and I anticipate that we will be one of the main, if not only, sources of information pushing to notify people when their rights or their livelihoods are in danger.”
“The overwhelming issue is going to be affordability, or lack of affordability. The next issue, I would say, is that we see that renters are treated as a substandard group in our city. There are a lot of regulations right now, the city council is debating affidavits for renters to enforce the UDO requirement that you can only have four unrelated occupants in a renter unit. There are no types of restrictions on how many people can live in a house if they own a house, so I don’t really see the justification the city has to engage renters differently. There are also some issues of just who do you complain too, understanding your rights as a tenant, how to interact with your landlord… if there was a renters’ neighborhood association we would be eligible for the money that the city sets aside for neighborhood associations, so we could get a grant from HAND to put lights on bus stops for communities that are renter heavy, because what we see is a lot of communities that have bus stops near single family are all well lit… but other neighborhoods aren’t equipped.”
Local renters interested in getting involved with Neighbors United or the renters’ neighborhood association may visit the Neighbors United website for more information. Updates on the development of the renters’ association are expected to follow in the coming weeks.
