Wilmington City Councilmember Yolanda McCoy introduced two ordinances to Council over the last few months. McCoy plans to present both to Council for consideration at their October 2 meeting.
McCoy represents Wilmington’s sixth district and first presented the package to Councilmembers in July.
One ordinance would allow tenants to hold funds in escrow through the city if their landlord isn’t addressing serious maintenance or repair issues.
“If the landlord is not responding in an accurate time frame that the tenant feels as though, ‘this is totally out of the ordinary… you should be able to connect with your landlord, make them aware,” McCoy said. “And in a reasonable amount of time, they should be getting back to you. If not, you are capable of withholding rent.”
McCoy added tenants should know they have the power to withhold two-thirds of their rent if there is a neglected emergency like the heat going out in the middle of winter.
Using the city to hold funds in escrow could give folks a reliable option to hold onto money that needs to go toward rent, McCoy said.
“Because at the end of the day, once it gets fixed, you're required to then pay your landlord,” McCoy said. “And if you've messed with the money, or something else has happened to the money, then we don't want… any type of retaliation to happen where you may be evicted.”
The Community Development and Urban Planning Committee heard the second ordinance last week. That would require all landlords to include a full copy of tenants’ rights in their leases.
“There are things that I feel like are sometimes left for the tenants to try to figure out on their own,” McCoy said. “And it would be much easier to make certain that they have that information right away, as soon as they are signing their lease. So that's what this ordinance is about.”
McCoy said she waited to present the first ordinance for a vote so she could present the propositions as a package deal.
