Government & Housing Legalities

CINCINNATI’S PROPOSED BUDGET INCLUDES FUNDING FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING, MORE INSPECTIONS, ACCESS TO COUNSEL

By Pat Crowley, Vice President of Governmental Affairs

Two members of Cincinnati City Council have filed a motion directing the city’s administration to draft a report on the long-awaited Tenants Bill of Rights.

may act in bad faith and pass on potential auxiliary fees or other costs onto their renters, and recommend ways in which this can be counteracted through city incentives,” the motion reads.

Pat Crowley

In the motion, council members Meeka Owens and Seth Walsh said seeking the report - which the administration has 90 days to deliver - is “part of the ongoing effort to expand renter protections through the Cincinnati Tenants Bill of Rights.”

According to the June 13 motion, the administration is to “provide a report that assesses the administrative feasibility of implementing additional renter protections through the city’s available development incentives, including the Residential and/or Property Tax Abatement Program.”

The motion indicates that the following protections will be addressed in the report:

• Limiting rent increases for residential real property over a 12-month period.

• Just/good cause for eviction.

• Relocation services and fees.

• Fee limitations, including for pets, late rent, renter applications and other fees associated with renting.

• Increase the time for notice for a rent increase.

• Full compliance with the city’s rental registry requirements.

• Regulate the term of a lease to require an offer of a yearlong lease unless the tenant requests otherwise.

“We further move that the report consider whether landlords

The GCNKAA is continuing meetings and conversations with members of council to offer suggestions, input and concerns over the proposed ordinance.

Council members Owens and Walsh also issued the following statement in introducing their motion:

“The benefits and incentives that the city provides for development are pivotal to increasing and preserving the available housing supply at all levels. However, we should also be considering ways that these incentives can be leveraged to offer the maximum possible protections for the tenants who live within those developments.”

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