By Gracie Palmer
ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — Asheville City Council unanimously approved an amendment to the city’s housing code Tuesday night that could allow tenants to receive refunds for their rent when serious safety issues in their homes go unresolved.
The vote followed public comments from tenants who described unlivable conditions.
“Many of us also had no air conditioning in the summer,” said Priya Ray, a volunteer with the Asheville Area Tenants’ Union.
The Asheville Area Tenants Union pushed for the amendment, arguing that renters should not be required to continue paying for housing deemed unsafe.
Under the amendment, a city inspector would first have to determine that a rental property has conditions that make it unsafe. Those conditions could include a lack of hot water, the presence of raw sewage or missing smoke detectors.
The landlord would then be notified and given time to correct the problem. If the issue is not resolved, the tenant could receive a refund for their rent while continuing to live in the property.
“Now consider what happens when the person experiencing those conditions is a senior or disabled person living on the fourth floor and the elevator is out of service,” one speaker said during public comment.
Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer said the measure sends a message about what the city expects from rental property owners.
“I think it’s important that we send a signal that we are not supportive of any landlord that would require rent for essentially uninhabitable rental properties,” Manheimer said.