Many problems people encounter while renting could be resolved with effective communication. Of course, there are other options if a conversation isn't successful, but sometimes trying it is a good place to start. Many enforcement agencies (such as building inspection departments and DATCP) ask if you have attempted to resolve the situation amongst yourselves and it is helpful to have documents to demonstrate the negotiations you have attempted.

Best Beloveds. We are on the third, and last, part of my Section 8 series (exposé? dissertation? riveting journalistic foray? you decide). 

Even though the process for learning all this has been engaging and eye-opening for me, I understand that reading it may not have the page-turning quality that, say, a Harry Potter book might. But, despite the law references and dry subject matter, there's a heart in here. And, at the risk of becoming sentimental, that's exactly why we do this. 

Today, I'm diving into terminations from the Section 8 program - when someone receives a notice that their Section 8 voucher will be taken away from them. Inside every Section 8 termination is someone who is terrified that they are going lose their housing. Most likely (because they are low-enough-income to qualify for Section 8 in the first place), they are about to become homeless, if they are not able to successfully dispute the termination. 

So, for every quibbly sentence about definitions of criminal activity, and references to what, exactly, is good cause, there's someone whose stable housing lies in that balance; who may need an advocate to tell them: "I've read about this! It's worth fighting! Try to overturn this!" Many, many clients get their termination notices and think, "this is it. It's already decided. It's over." BUT IT'S NOT OVER. There's so many more questions to be asked, so many more possible outcomes.

I hope that when you read this, you see as I do, all the ways that we can work together to protect those who hold these vouchers, the tired, the poor, the wretched refuse, the huddled masses yearning to breathe free. 

One of the best tools that people can use to resolve their tenant-landlord problems is simple verbal communication. Talk it out. (Dancing it out not proven effective).  You can do it yourself (strategies are on our Negotiation 101 post), but sometimes that's really, really hard.

Another solution can be to ask for help from a mediator.

A tenant recently contacted us, saying that every time she asked her landlord to do a repair on the property that she was renting, the landlord raised the rent. All of those raises in rent were theoretically legal, since it was around the time for the lease to be renewed, but it seemed in direct consequence of her asking for repairs to be done. If you look at the laws on retaliation, they say that if a tenant makes "a good faith complaint about a defect in the premises," then a landlord "may not increase rent" (see Wis. Stat. 704.45 for the full set of rules). However, in order to show the timeline, and that the acts of the landlord would not have occurred "but for" the acts of the tenant, that tenant will be in the best possible position if she has her repair complaints in writing. (Then, if she's not able to work it out with the landlord, she can make a complaint to DATCP or sue in small claims court).

In this example, and in so many others, we see that one of the most important tools in tenant-landlord disputes is writing, on a piece of paper.  And even though it's so important, it can be wildly overwhelming for tenants and landlords to put together a letter that makes sense to the other party, much less gets results.  

Writing a letter is a process, and it doesn't have to be a stressful one!  Here are some steps to take:

At the beginning of each tenant-landlord relationship, the landlord and tenant are in the honeymoon phase. The tenant is eager to move in from wherever they’ve been, and the landlord is happy to have the home filled with someone who will regularly be paying rent. Early on, it’s easy to work things out, and it’s hard to see how that could possibly go wrong.

Here at the TRC, we see it go wrong. Tenants and landlords come to us saying that they had a spoken agreement with the other person, but now, that person isn’t doing what he/she said he/she would do. Tenants have concerns about landlords not making repairs; landlords have concerns about tenants not following a payment agreement… Everyone has concerns about roommates. Before things go sideways, it’s important to protect yourself, just in case.

Like Hansel and Gretel, the best way to protect yourself in these situations is to have a trail. Only for tenants and landlords, it should be a paper trail, not stones or crumbs. Make sure to have something in writing about all the agreements that you make. And it doesn’t have to be confrontational! Here’s how: