Landlords, renters’ advocates debate Quincy’s rental dilemma

The consensus from Wednesday’s Residential Rental Property Registration Committee meeting was the majority of Quincy’s landlords are good, the majority of renters are good, and bad actors on both sides are creating a problem.

Landlords who attended the meeting said the discussion didn’t get to the problem. Advocates for renters seemed to believe the city still isn’t doing enough.

No renters themselves spoke at the meeting. The advocates said many renters are too scared to come forward.

City officials are holding these meetings to piece together a policy to improve living conditions for renters. Each of the meetings has a different focus of the overall issue. Wednesday’s meeting was about the mental health impact on rental housing, evictions and how other communities address rental housing and registration.

Mayor Mike Troup wanted to clarify the city couldn’t pursue felony charges against landlords if they didn’t follow new guidelines. He added no fees would be charged for registration, but fees and fines could occur if landlords violated guidelines if they are implemented.

Mark Schmitz of Transitions spoke about how mental health affects many renters. He said approximately 3,000 people have mental health issues, and most of them are renters. He said they shouldn’t expect special treatment but should expect fair treatment.

Pastor Tony Metz said the committee was doing “life-saving work” and many renters are “powerless” because of their circumstances. Committee member Conlon Carabine asked why they were powerless when they could leave and find new housing if they didn’t like where they were living. Metz said they were living where they could afford, and they probably couldn’t afford to move. Metz said he had toured some substandard housing, saying the conditions were “shocking.”

“Many of them have no car. They can’t afford the double payment for a new place,” committee member Lee Lindsay said.

Landlords overwhelmingly said if there are problems, they aren’t hearing them. City officials said only four complaints have been made by tenants so far this year.

Tanner Freiburg, a landlord, said many of the problems discussed at the meeting were more about tenants who destroy property and parental issues.

Scott Koontz, a landlord, said the COVID eviction moratorium has also had an impact, saying property owners’ rights were being taken away without recourse.