Ahead of the upcoming November elections, Bridgeport renters are calling for greater protections against predatory landlords.
Local renters and housing advocates rallied in Bridgeport last week, hoping the city council will approve a Tenants Bill of Rights, focused on 14 proposed solutions to housing inequity.
The Bill of Rights’ goals range from more housing documents translated for Spanish speakers to increasing the number of housing inspectors, Giselle Chavez, an organizer with Make the Road Connecticut said.
Make the Road Connecticut is a state chapter of the nationwide organization Center for Popular Democracy, and organized the rally.
“For the 148,000 residents, we only have four housing code inspectors, so we want an increasement of at least another 15 inspectors,” Chavez said.
The Bill of Rights also calls for more equity in housing documentation and legal processing.
“We also want some documents, from the court processing and Section Eight paperwork, to be translated in their native languages, especially Spanish,” Chavez said. “When they have to renew their contracts, everything comes in English, so they're not quite sure what they're signing.”
Existing laws are harsh against tenants late with rent, but easy on landlords asked to improve housing, Chavez said.
“It's not fair that we get to live in these bad conditions, and they are still collecting rent. They are still not penalized, or they don't get charged a fine or anything like that,” Chavez said. “[Landlords] get started with the process of an eviction because they are late on their rent. But there is no penalties towards landlords, if they don't do not complete their responsibilities of maintaining their home clean, of maintaining a safe and healthy environment.”
The Tenants Bill of Rights rally coincided with National Action Day, which was held to raise awareness about properties being taken over by corporate landlords, raising rent and not improving living conditions, Chavez said.
Part of the National Action Day movement involves requests for an Office of Social Housing to be formed within the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, and a designation of $1 trillion over a decade to create 10 million units of affordable housing, Chavez said.
Center for Popular Democracy chapters across about 10 states gathered to call for more permanent affordable housing, under public ownership, as opposed to large companies buying up local apartment buildings.
“Working people are done picking and choosing between keeping a roof over their heads, putting dinner on the table, and paying for lifesaving healthcare,” Co-Executive Directors of Popular Democracy Analilia Mejia and DaMareo Cooper said in a statement. “We are continuing to push the campaign to run on an agenda that includes bold investments in permanently affordable social housing.”
