BRIDGEPORT — It has been six months since the City Council pushed Mayor Joe Ganim's administration to revive the long-dormant fair rent commission to address tenant/landlord disputes and try to prevent court-ordered evictions.
And while that has yet to happen, city officials this week said they have been working behind-the-scenes to get the fair rent group up-and-running again, but it became more complicated than envisioned last fall.
"We're just getting it right," said Councilman Jorge Cruz.
Cruz has been part of a working group of council members and city staff that has met a handful of times to review how fair rent entities in other municipalities operate to update Bridgeport's approach given the years that have passed since a local fair rent body was active.
Thomas Gaudett, a Ganim aide involved in the revival project, said the legal, health and housing code departments have also been participating. He said the focus has been on updating the process for submitting and reviewing complaints, who should serve on the new board, and establishing support staff.
According to the Hartford-based CTData Collaborative, between 2017 and 2021 Bridgeport ranked second in the state in terms of eviction filings.
Looking at Bridgeport's website, Connecticut's largest city still has a fair rent commission to try and mediate those housing disputes before they land in court. But look closer and members' terms expired in 1997, 2004 and 2007. And, unlike all of the other active Bridgeport boards and commissions, there are no records of any meetings readily available without a dive into the municipal archives.
With local real estate prices on the rise in recent years and having fielded more complaints for constituents about housing...
from News https://www.ctpost.com/news/article/bridgeport-aims-revive-fair-rent-board-avoid-17858762.php
No comments:
Post a Comment