RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — Fair housing advocates met at the Virginia State Capitol on Friday to urge Governor Glenn Youngkin to sign bills they say will improve tenants’ rights and make housing more affordable.
The group, called Virginia Organizing, wants Youngkin to sign several bills, including one to allow localities to sue landlords if they don’t fix serious problems that could endanger a tenant’s health or safety. Some examples include a rodent infestation, a lack of heat, water, no electricity, of a lack of adequate sewage disposal facilities.
“We have heard too many stories of tenants suffering with broken plumbing and appliances, faulty wiring, water damage, unresponsive property managers and rapid evictions,” Paul Fleischer, a Richmond landlord, told the crowd.
Plus, the group is also pushing a bill that would increase the waiting period from five days to 14 days before a landlord can start the eviction process for non-payment of rent.
“If you sit a couple of blocks away at the John Marshall Courthouse and you watch case after case of evictions, you see how terrible the deck is stacked against tenants,” Tom Fitzpatrick, CEO of Housing Opportunities Made Equal, said.
Fleischer says that bill, along with with several others, will help curb a rise in evictions and keep families in their homes.
“Both of these changes to the Residential Landlord and Tenant Act offer modest additional protection to vulnerable renters and they can make building management tasks easier by enabling valued tenants to remain in place,” Fleischer said.
When asked about Youngkin’s intentions on these bills, a spokesperson said, “The Governor is closely reviewing the legislation and budget language sent to his desk.”
