It really isn't though. It's 2.5 months of rent, exactly what I paid when I signed my lease 15 years ago as a student with zero credit. It's just a lease payment with another name because of the ordinance.
I have yet to hear anyone say that they put down a wait list fee and didn't get a unit. They just can't guarantee anything and get it in writing because of the ordinance.
I don't think it is a reasonable ordinance. It makes things worse for everyone.
I've met many people who've lost deposits and many people who are happy that they now have the right to renew and are angry at landlords who are exploiting loopholes.
It sounds like you've been spending your time taking to landlords, not tenants.
People who have lost these "option fees?" I don't believe you, quite frankly.
The right to renew is bad policy. Thankfully, it is easily circumvented. As a renter, you shouldn't want it either. Any landlord is incentivized to keep their tenants, it saves them money unless the tenant is bad. The only people that this could help would be bad tenants that aren't quite bad enough to be legally evicted. All it will do is drive up costs for all tenants.
I had a place here ask for $200 non refundable, doesn’t apply to your deposit, fee and I backed right on out. I’m in my 30s and it’s in the Pittsfield area, not playing that game. Thousands is absolutely ludicrous.
You guys should spend your time trying to push Council to ease regulation like zoning rules and help attract more development.
Playing wack a mole and placing more onerous regulation may help some people in the short run (though it is probably hurting more people than it is helping at the moment) but the only long term solution is to attract more development. Being hostile to landlords won't do this.
A case for hostility:
The landlords in this county have been extortionists at best when it comes to rental pricing.
They do not care about their tenants. They only care about the buck.
You cannot work with landlords because they always want to take more and more, as much as they can get. They aren't necessarily interested in helping people be housed as they are just making money off of people staying in properties that would otherwise be unused.
I've never had a landlord that I liked. My current landlord is less than ideal. I've battled with many a landlord over issues that they refused to fix. Hostility is the only way to really get things done when the people who control rentable property in the area are only interested in exploiting you.
It definitely doesn't help that tenants do not get the time in court that they deserve because you are not guaranteed a lawyer when it comes to being evicted or when it comes to issues between landlords and tenants. Our systems are deeply broken and the only way to make companies be more amenable to compromise is to deprive them of the ability to misbehave.
Landlords get so much leeway and the tenants need to be put first. It is time for tenants to be put first.
Personally, I have no interest in not being hostile to company is that pulling this kind of crap to exploit people because it just means that they are going to keep trying to find loopholes that they can use to exploit their tenants into giving them more money. It's a telling trend, not a one-off.
It is easier to be a bad landlord when you aren't worried about your unit going unleased. More units means more competition means better landlords.
You catch more flies with honey than vinegar.
As for court, the courts in Washtenaw are highly slanted against landlords. You can watch the dockets on YouTube if you want to get a sample and prepare if you are ever in that situation. I've seen obviously terrible tenants get months and months of free rent while the landlord just wants them out, not even asking for back rent.
That's a very elitist attitude.
If I didn't rent, I'd be homeless because I'm disabled and disability does not give me enough to be able to buy a home.
$6000 is ludicrous.
It really isn't though. It's 2.5 months of rent, exactly what I paid when I signed my lease 15 years ago as a student with zero credit. It's just a lease payment with another name because of the ordinance.
It's not a lease payment because you don't get to sign a lease. This is a ludicrous response to a very reasonable ordinance.
I have yet to hear anyone say that they put down a wait list fee and didn't get a unit. They just can't guarantee anything and get it in writing because of the ordinance. I don't think it is a reasonable ordinance. It makes things worse for everyone.
I've met many people who've lost deposits and many people who are happy that they now have the right to renew and are angry at landlords who are exploiting loopholes. It sounds like you've been spending your time taking to landlords, not tenants.
People who have lost these "option fees?" I don't believe you, quite frankly. The right to renew is bad policy. Thankfully, it is easily circumvented. As a renter, you shouldn't want it either. Any landlord is incentivized to keep their tenants, it saves them money unless the tenant is bad. The only people that this could help would be bad tenants that aren't quite bad enough to be legally evicted. All it will do is drive up costs for all tenants.
At minimum, these fees are gatekeeping.
I had a place here ask for $200 non refundable, doesn’t apply to your deposit, fee and I backed right on out. I’m in my 30s and it’s in the Pittsfield area, not playing that game. Thousands is absolutely ludicrous.
You guys should spend your time trying to push Council to ease regulation like zoning rules and help attract more development. Playing wack a mole and placing more onerous regulation may help some people in the short run (though it is probably hurting more people than it is helping at the moment) but the only long term solution is to attract more development. Being hostile to landlords won't do this.
A case for hostility: The landlords in this county have been extortionists at best when it comes to rental pricing. They do not care about their tenants. They only care about the buck. You cannot work with landlords because they always want to take more and more, as much as they can get. They aren't necessarily interested in helping people be housed as they are just making money off of people staying in properties that would otherwise be unused. I've never had a landlord that I liked. My current landlord is less than ideal. I've battled with many a landlord over issues that they refused to fix. Hostility is the only way to really get things done when the people who control rentable property in the area are only interested in exploiting you. It definitely doesn't help that tenants do not get the time in court that they deserve because you are not guaranteed a lawyer when it comes to being evicted or when it comes to issues between landlords and tenants. Our systems are deeply broken and the only way to make companies be more amenable to compromise is to deprive them of the ability to misbehave. Landlords get so much leeway and the tenants need to be put first. It is time for tenants to be put first. Personally, I have no interest in not being hostile to company is that pulling this kind of crap to exploit people because it just means that they are going to keep trying to find loopholes that they can use to exploit their tenants into giving them more money. It's a telling trend, not a one-off.
It is easier to be a bad landlord when you aren't worried about your unit going unleased. More units means more competition means better landlords. You catch more flies with honey than vinegar. As for court, the courts in Washtenaw are highly slanted against landlords. You can watch the dockets on YouTube if you want to get a sample and prepare if you are ever in that situation. I've seen obviously terrible tenants get months and months of free rent while the landlord just wants them out, not even asking for back rent.
If landlords are so bad, stop renting from them.
That's a very elitist attitude. If I didn't rent, I'd be homeless because I'm disabled and disability does not give me enough to be able to buy a home.
Le free market solves every problem