One worth reading: the hidden costs of renting when you're poor
This weekend's story about the hidden costs of poverty includes some icky details about what housing is like when you're poor.
- Some people sleep with the lights on because they don't want cockroaches crawling into their children's ears (yes, those are roaches in the picture).
- About 65% of properties in the Lowell neighborhood have code violations visible from the street.
- And 21,000 people in Fresno County are on a waiting list of for financial help with decent housing through Section 8.
Photo: Mark Crosse/The Fresno Bee
Comments:
There are laws in the State of California that require landlords to keep buildings free of rodents and vermin otherwise the tenant can consider the unit to be uninhabitable. The landlord is required by law to keep the building and grounds "clean and sanitary". http://www.dca.ca.gov/publications/landlordbook/problems.shtml
This is not a hidden cost of poverty. We all have the same rights.
Posted by: D E Weiser at September 22, 2009 10:54 AM
I'm sure those laws were designed to protect tenants. The story brings up some issues, however, about tenants who are afraid to complain about bugs and other problems for fear of rent increases, eviction or visits from Border Patrol. I'm not sure what the answer to those problems is. Do you have any insight on the solution to those issues?
Posted by: Bethany Clough at September 22, 2009 11:03 AM
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