Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Commission Updates Handbook Enforcement topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Renters Commission hears council updates: tenant handbook, vacancy on commission, pre-tenancy fee feedback and Courthouse Square complaints
Summary
Council liaisons and commissioners updated the Renters Commission on administrative and enforcement matters including potential charter changes to the tenants’ handbook, challenges filling an attorney-designated seat, feedback on pre-tenancy fees and an active complaint about Courthouse Square Apartments.
Council members and commissioners used the Feb. 20 meeting to provide administrative updates and to flag enforcement and outreach items affecting renters in Ann Arbor.
Council member Regina (City Council member and commission liaison) said the city clerk’s office has identified a structural issue with the tenants’ Rights and Responsibilities handbook: the book’s details are currently embedded in the city charter, which limits the city’s ability to revise the handbook quickly as laws change. Regina said city staff are considering whether to update the handbook and move its procedural details into ordinance language that the council can amend more easily; any charter change would still require a public vote.
Regina also said the commission has struggled to fill a seat intended for an attorney with tenant-advocacy experience because candidates’ employers raised conflict-of-interest concerns. She said city attorneys interpret the current language as advisory (preferred but not strictly required), and the commission may recommend a non-attorney applicant if vacancies persist.
On code enforcement and fee issues, commissioners reported mixed feedback about the city’s recently implemented pre-tenancy application fees. A landlord wrote to the commission to say vetting applicants requires significant work, while student-advocates and tenant services reported complaints about improper fee retention and other disputes. Gail Rose (Attorney, Student Legal Services) said her office is working with a tenant on a bed-bug addendum the tenant believes allows eviction regardless of fault.
Commissioners flagged a forwarded complaint from residents at Courthouse Square Apartments describing rapid rent increases, a management company that plaintiffs said was unresponsive, and concerns about whether the owner or manager met local requirements to maintain an in-area office. Council member Regina said the correspondence has been forwarded to appropriate city staff for follow-up and reported that a physical inspection for the property is not due until 2026 under the current inspection schedule.
Separately, commissioners were informed that the Washtenaw County Health and Human Services Advisory Board (HHSAB) voted to dissolve its body earlier in the month; that dissolution had not yet been accepted by the city council at the time of the meeting.
What commissioners can expect: staff follow-up on Courthouse Square and pre-tenancy fee complaints, a plan to review the tenants’ handbook and possible charter amendment discussions, and continued outreach to recruit a commissioner with legal expertise or an acceptable alternative to fill the seat.
