Fourth in a series
Re “Why Not Be Creative About Paying Off Rent Increases?”
[img]1307|right|Meghan Sahli-Wells||no_popup[/img]If she is to convince a majority of colleagues that rulings by the Landlord Tenant Mediation Board should be binding, for the sake of rent stability, Mayor Meghan Sahli-Wells said “meetings with the community are necessary.
“We have to do it together.
“We have to work with all sides so that one group or another is not being penalized.
“Here is an example,” said Ms. Sahli-Wells. “If a landlord is going to raise the rent 40 percent, the tenant should have six months, a year, some proportionate amount of time for the rent to go up incrementally.
“Otherwise, the renters would just be at the mercy of the landlord.”
The mayor said that such a gigantic rent increase would severely jolt an average family.
Sounding exasperated, Ms. Sahli-Wells paused and exhaled. “I know so many families who feel they are at the mercy of their landlord,” she said.
“Some will say ‘Thank goodness, my landlord is really nice.’ But what if that (landlord) is elderly or passes away? What will happen when the kids inherit the property?
“We saw what happened a year ago this summer when two apartments had their rents raised a hundred percent, and not long after, one person in each building died.”
Ms. Sahli-Wells said she does not know anyone who would raise the rent “merely because the person believes the market will bear it.”
Huge rent increases “are not something I want happening in our city,” the mayor said.
In about 60 days, rent stabilization is expected to be at the top of a City Council agenda.
(To be continued)
