The House Housing Committee clears two bills related to landlord-tenant rights and information.
State Rep. Kim Williams (D-Stanton) proposes requiring the Delaware Real Estate Commission to create a statewide rental guide that includes federal, state, county and municipal requirements.
The guide would include information on renters and flood insurance, tenant’s right to legal representation, fair housing laws and school district feeder patterns among other things.
“This is really about information, giving people everything they may need to know. People don’t understand that anyone can get flood insurance. You don’t have to live in a flood zone to get flood insurance, but people don’t understand that. So this is really just providing more information," Williams says.
The Delaware Association of Relators backs the bill, saying both landlords and tenants will benefit from having one consolidated resource.
While the Delaware Apartment Association says they are also in support, they are requesting a website be created where all the required information can be easily accessed and updated.
The bill was voted out of committee with full bipartisan support of the members present.
The second bill heard was from State Rep. Eric Morrison (D-Glasgow), which would require a landlord to provide a lease option to an employee of an apartment complex if they are terminated without cause.
The legislation applies to employees who initially received an apartment as part of their employment compensation, therefore giving them the option to enter a written rental agreement within 5 business days of their termination.
State Rep. Jeff Spiegelman (R-Clayton) raises concerns on discrepancies between determining if an employee is actually terminated for cause or not.
“By that provision, you’re encouraging the landlord to say, ‘I terminated you for cause,’ even if there’s not, because then I can quickly rent the unit because then if it’s determined I didn’t terminate for cause, I got my way around this because now there’s no unit," he says
The legislative attorney who drafted the bill argues there’s a good faith responsibility clause under the Landlord-Tenant Code, so the landlord could be subject to penalties if they lied under that scenario.
While Republican committee members either opted not to vote or voted against the bill, it received seven votes in favor.
Both bills head to the House for consideration.
