BRATTLEBORO — In a split decision, the town selectboard has voted to pursue a proposal to become the third Vermont municipality to limit the amount of money landlords can charge for renters to move in.
“I believe the numbers speak for themselves — 50% of Brattleboro people are tenants and 55% of tenants are considered cost-burdened or severely cost-burdened,” selectboard member Ian Goodnow said Tuesday before a 3-2 vote to proceed. “And we all know, based on this pandemic, having those safety nets is critical.”
A new Tenants Union of Brattleboro wants the town government to adopt an ordinance similar to one in Burlington, the state’s largest city, and a second that was recently rescinded but temporarily remains on the books in Barre.
“The enormous costs of securing a new place to live is an ever-rising hurdle to housing people in our town,” the advocacy group has written in a request to the selectboard. “There is no reason to require more than the first month’s rent and a security deposit equal to that amount before allowing a tenant to move in.”
About half of Brattleboro residents are renters, local statistics show, with many challenged financially because of Covid-19. But members of the self-described “anti-capitalist, democratic collective” tenants union say they couldn’t afford to pay first and last month’s rent and a large security deposit in one lump sum pre- or post-pandemic.
“These deposit costs inevitably punish the most vulnerable segments of our society,” the union says in its request. “Though the coronavirus pandemic has catalyzed many pre-existing issues, we need to treat these issues as longstanding and, without mitigation, persistent. Limiting the cost of required deposits is a simple, immediate and effective step in this direction.”
Under the proposal, local landlords could ask only for the first month’s rent and up to an equal amount for a security deposit. In response, several told the selectboard at an online meeting Tuesday that the idea could hurt more than help, especially during the coronavirus crisis.
“One of the things that tenants have gotten out of the CARES Act is there is now money available to help pay all of their back rent and to get first, last and security to move into new places,” property manager Jason Cooper said. “What landlords got out of the pandemic is we are now prohibited from taking any action in court to evict a tenant for any reason. To institute something like this makes no sense.”
Selectboard Chair Tim Wessel and colleague Elizabeth McLoughlin questioned if an ordinance is the answer.
“I have been a renter in Brattleboro and now I’m a landlord in Brattleboro,” Wessel said. “I definitely see both sides. But is this the right tool to solve this problem? Why isn’t it a better tool for us to at least first try housing assistance programs?”
However, Goodnow and fellow board members Daniel Quipp and Brandie Starr voted to pursue an ordinance.
“Reducing the amount of money required to move into a property won’t magically create more units in town and it won’t necessarily mean that it’s more affordable once you get past that first month,” Quipp said. “But I think that it is a small gesture that we can make towards improving affordability.”
Before the plan can become law, it needs approval at two separate future meetings of the selectboard. The next session on the idea is set for Oct. 20.
