Comment Detail
Date: 07/12/23 First Name: Ben Last Name: Iness Email: ben@nvhousingjustice.org Organization Type: other Organization: Nevada Housing Justice Alliance Comment
As a community organizer and advocate on housing justice & tenant protections in Nevada, I can speak firsthand to the disparate conditions working Nevadans experience compared to the power & privilege landlords possess. For multiple years on end, starting well before the devastating impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic that only exacerbated these conditions, Nevada has been in one of the worst housing crises in the nation. Nevada has had the LOWEST quantity of affordable and available housing, as annually reported by the National Low Income Housing Coalition. Meanwhile, rents have dramatically risen year after year. For every $100 increase in rent, there is a 9% increase in the chance of eviction. As Nevadans receive hundred (or hundreds) dollar rent increases spread over multiple years or even compacted within a single year, they are priced out of their stability and dignity. This destabilization impacts Nevadans' income, health, education, and more. What's more, Nevada uses the swift and punitive summary evictions process. This is unique to Nevada, the only state in the nation where a tenant given an eviction notice (a process already confusing, intimidating, and often interpreted to not be legitimate because it is not required to go through the courts first) has to RESPOND and INITIATE this process with AN ANSWER. Legally, this is backwards and illogical. In terms of power, this worsens the imbalance between hardworking, struggling tenants and landlords. There are no restrictions on the quantity and fees of applications, as landlords/property managers will collect these fees from dozens of tenants with intent to only rent to one. Tenants experience surprise, hidden, "junk" fees that are not clearly labeled or expressed in their lease. Source of Income is not a protected class, and tenants who receive rental assistance, disability, or social security can be denied housing because of the source of their income. This deepens the disproportionalities & disparities that women, BIPOC, and other identities experience. The power, influence, and resources of industry (landlords, property managers, developers, apartment associations, and all of their lobbyists) makes local, county, and state change to implement meaningful, lasting policy solutions incredibly difficult if not impossible. This opportunity for national action at the federal action has created an opportunity for overdue change. Thank you.