3/31/2023 0 Comments Add money on just cause 2 pc![]() ![]() The amendment also calls for a 12% cap on rent increases and has a provision excluding from “just cause” the “expiration of a rental agreement as sole grounds for termination of tenancy.” And I’m supposed to offer them the opportunity to come back? And do that again?” “I have to literally spend about $15,000 to fix it up. “Now, I just asked three people to move out of one unit that I own because it was so disgusting,” Fegley said. “And also, there’s also the provision when you put that unit back on the market, you’re supposed to offer it to the same tenant,” she continued. And if you have unit available in your building or in your inventory, just make it available to them.” “If you want to do an upgrade to the property, and you need to remove someone in order to do that, they want you to pay a penalty to relocate the tenant to another unit. “This is more than just a little onerous,” said property manager Sally Fegley. The amendment would still allow a landlord to evict a tenant in order to upgrade the building - but with many restrictions. Proponents of the charter change here contend that it is not “just cause” when landlords are throwing tenants out because they want to gentrify their buildings and either turn apartments into high-paying short-term rentals (such as Airbnb) or into luxury apartments that can rent for over $2,000 a month in Brattleboro’s overheated housing market. “Just cause” eviction reform has been passed in California, Washington, and Oregon. This year, Brattleboro is joining Essex and Winooski in proposing similar changes to their respective town charters, and Burlington will reintroduce the amendment that failed last year. The push to override his veto failed by one vote. The amendment is similar to one passed in Burlington last year it came out of the Legislature, only to be vetoed by Scott. If the amendment passes, it will have to go to the Legislature, where some of the wording might be changed, and then go on to Gov. Voters will have a chance to weigh in on the controversy by Australian ballot at the Annual Town Election on Tuesday, March 7.Įssentially, the charter amendment question will ask the town to “provide protections for residential tenants from evictions without ‘just cause,’” where “just cause” includes: “a tenant’s material breach of a written rental agreement a tenant’s violation of state statutes regulating tenant obligations in residential rental agreements non-payment of rent and a tenant’s failure to accept written, reasonable, good faith renewal terms.” There does not seem to be a middle ground. ![]() “This takes away landlord rights,” said landlord and property manager Susan Bellville. ![]() Meanwhile, landlords say the proposed charter change would remove the leverage they need for removing drug dealers and tenants who create problems on their property - and their control over who can live on their turf. “A rental housing market is typically considered healthy when its vacancy rates are between 4% and 6%,” Planning Director Sue Fillion wrote in a memo to the Selectboard in 2020.Įconomically vulnerable tenants are looking to the proposed charter change as a way to add some stability to their lives and ensure that they can keep a roof over their heads. ![]() That boils down to a vacancy rate between 0.5% and 2.8%, according to three separate surveys looked at by the town. The tightness of the housing market means that an eviction, for cause or no cause, can lead to homelessness.īrattleboro currently has a shortfall of 500 housing units, according to the town planning office. 8, 2023.īRATTLEBORO-There is uncertainty brewing in the town’s complex landlord-tenant relationship as voters prepare to decide on an amendment to the town charter.Īs proposed, landlords - with some exceptions, including owners who live in their duplexes and triplexes and who rent accessory units on their property - would be prevented from evicting tenants without cause. This article by Joyce Marcel was first published in The Commons on Feb. Westgate Court on Marlboro Road in West Brattleboro. ![]()
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