Group pushes Lexington council for Tenants’ Bill of Rights. Some landlords say it won’t work

A group who has pushed the city for more protections for renters, including enacting a landlord registry, returned to the Lexington council Tuesday to implore representatives to act.

In October, Ky Tenants held a similar rally and demonstration, demanding the city clamp down on landlords, ban discrimination on sources of income and allow renters access to lawyers during eviction proceedings.

At a rally on Tuesday afternoon in front of the Robert F. Stephens Courthouse square prior to the council meeting, the group said it was past time for the council to address “The Tenants’ Bill of Rights.”

Too many renters in Lexington face unsafe housing conditions, they said.

Stephanie Hensley moved to Lexington in 2021 from Corbin looking for more opportunities for her family. She stayed an apartment complex with persistent mold. After less than a year there, health officials told Hensley and her family to move.

Now, they live in an apartment for $850 a month. She said it has holes in the floor of a closet and exposed wiring. She has a two-month old baby and a toddler.

“Things went from worse to bad,” Hensley said at the rally and during testimony before the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council.

Asan Gatewood, 15, said his family was evicted from their long-time home after the landlord decided he wanted to sell it.

“My mom is now paying double what we paid before,” Gatewood. Every part of the Tenants’ Bill of Rights could have helped his family, he said.

Lukas Bullock, who is a longtime Lexington resident and also a staffer at the University of Kentucky, said he has rented in various areas throughout the city. In 2016, Bullock said, he lost heating in November and the landlord did not fix it until February even though he had paid his rent on time. Bullock later learned the landlord had a history of failing to fix problems at his properties.

“If I had access to a rental registry, back in 2016, I would have been able to make an informed decision on whom I am renting from,” Bullock said.

Some of the protections the tenants’ group said they want include:

• Banning discrimination based on source of income, including using Housing Choice Vouchers, commonly known as Section 8 vouchers. The anti-discrimination ban would also apply to past criminal histories, eviction history or immigration status.

• Allowing tenants access to lawyers in eviction court and implementing a full-time eviction prevention program.

• Seats for tenants on city boards and commissions.

• Creating a city-wide registry of landlords and/or rental properties.

Landlords push back

Meanwhile, some landlords told the council the Tenants’ Bill of Rights goes too far.

Joe Marcum, of Caden Properties, said he has been a provider of rental properties for 22 years.

“I’m not a landlord,” Marcum said. “I provide safe, affordable renting throughout Lexington.”

“Housing will be less affordable for most of Lexington,” Marcum said of the Tenants’ Bill of Rights. “This will force landlords to do business with government agencies that have a long history of (payment) delays.”

Marcum was speaking about a provision that would ban landlords from not taking vouchers.

Marcum said landlords should know if someone who wants to rent from them has been convicted of sex crimes. Marcum said landlords should also know about eviction history.

“Past performance is the best prediction of future performance,” Marcum said. Marcum said a landlord registry does not make sense. There are already city departments that oversee code violations, he said.

Miranda Hinchman said she cares about her tenants and wants them to be safe.

“If I can’t screen tenants, what I am supposed to say to a young family in one of my duplexes,” Hinchman said. “If it’s too high risk, I may sell my properties.”

The future of Tenants’ Bill of Rights

In October, two council members, David Kloiber and Richard Moloney, had agreed to put parts of the Tenants Bill of Rights into council committees.

Kloiber, who ran for mayor and lost to incumbent Mayor Linda Gorton on Nov. 8, will no longer be on council came January. Moloney also lost his re-election bid in the at-large race and also will no longer be on council.

It’s not clear if other council members will sponsor the legislation.

Other cities, including Louisville, have an ordinance that bans landlords from discriminating against source of income, including Section 8 vouchers. That ordinance, however, is tricky to enforce, some Louisville fair housing leaders have said.