University of Virginia Library

Landlord-Tenant Committee
Discourages New Guidelines

The recommendations of
the Landlord-Tenant Relation
Committee were presented to
Charlottesville City Council
Monday night for
consideration.

Committee chairman Frank
Buck outlined the findings of
the committee in three parts.
The committee found there
was a shortage of
low-to-middle-income housing.
The solution, he said, was to
provide more such housing.

The committee also
recommended that certain
areas of the present housing
ordinance should be improved.
However, they turned down
provisions for rent escrow and
retaliatory eviction proposed
by Attorney John Lowe in a
proposal requested by City
Council.

They found that most of
the landlords and tenants are
trying to obey the laws and
that new provisions were not
needed..

The committee of four
landlords and four tenants,
however, divided on the
question of escrow and
retaliatory eviction. "There is a
certain group of landlords who
deliberately deny tenants the
standards of a home as the law
now stands," tenant Gerald
Baker, one of the dissenting
committee members, said.

University Student Council
President Larry Sabato also
added that, "Student Legal
Services could provide
extensive documentation of
the need for rent escrow and
retaliatory eviction. The
creation of an informal
arbitration board would be a
real and valuable service,
especially for students."

Mayor Francis Fife found
the housing situation dismal.
"We come to the stark reality
that we do not have enough
substandard units . . .

What we need are more
standard units," Mr. Fife said.

Mr. Buck, in presenting the
committee's report,
emphasized this need and said,
"The major problem is a
shortage of housing in the
lower and middle income range
which is aggravated by the
student influx. City Council
should make construction of
new housing the highest
p for me, at least,