Ann Arbor City Council meeting, members of the Ann Arbor Tenants Union (AATU) spoke in favor (starting at timestamp 1:11:00) of a proposed amendment to strengthen the Early Leasing Ordinance and Right to Renew Ordinance which was passed unanimously. AATU members also raised the alarm about local landlords charging enormous non-refundable fees to prospective tenants to join rental unit waitlists.
MI State Rep. Carrie Rheingans spoke in favor of the amendment. “The stability we need as families is really important and the loopholes you are closing with your amendments are going to help families like mine.” Rheingans continued, “Ensuring the rights of renters through Right to Renew and the Early Leasing ordinance and closing the loopholes is very important.”
“This amendment will strengthen these important ordinances and should be passed,” said Zackariah Farah, member of the AATU and Chair of the Ann Arbor Renters Commission. “However, there are other pressing rental problems that are not addressed in this amendment. In particular, bad landlords who have been charging prospective tenants waitlist deposits for occupied units.”
Farah pointed to Campus Management Inc. (CMI), a prominent Ann Arbor landlord that owns 275 houses and apartments. According to documents obtained by the AATU, Campus Management charges tenants a $6,745 fee to join a waitlist for a 2 Br apartment. The waitlist contract, termed an “options contract” is in effect an agreement to join a waitlist and doesn’t guarantee a lease to the prospective tenant. The owner of Campus Management, Chris Heaton, is the former president of the Washtenaw Area Apartment Association.
Tenants on these waitlists have no guarantee that they will receive a lease. The Ann Arbor Tenants Union (AATU) demands that landlords with paid waitlists roll back these harmful policies and return all fees to prospective tenants. The AATU also calls for a city and statewide ban on these exploitative waitlist junk fees and encourages tenants to file consumer complaints against any landlords charging them with the Michigan Attorney General.
“This amendment to the Right to Renew ordinance is a great victory for tenants,” said Shreya Chowdhary, who is a UofM Grad Student and AATU member. “This change strengthens leasing protections for tenants and closes loopholes, but we still need to address the myriad other ways landlords exploit tenants in our city. For example, landlords shouldn’t be able to charge tenants thousands of dollars in waitlist fees or other junk fees. We tenants deserve better and are glad that City Council agrees.”