Pay-to-Stay is back on the chopping block in City Council

Athens City Council moved to reconsider an ordinance that would preserve Pay-To-Stay in the city code at its Monday evening meeting.

The ordinance protects renters facing eviction if they are able to pay back what is owed which includes past due rent, late fees and court costs, as previously reported by The New Political. 

On the heels of the ordinance’s recent passing on Sept. 6, council moved to reconsider the ordinance to hear from more community members. 

The legal fees owed is capped at $125, which according to Robert “Rusty” Rittenhouse, associate attorney for Lavell and Associates, is unreasonable due to the costs of an eviction usually exceeding the capped amount. 

Rittenhouse also mentioned that since most landlords operate under a LLC or trust partnerships and require an attorney to act on their behalf, there is no way of avoiding incurring legal fees. Rittenhouse proposed the cap be removed and replaced with verbiage that would better cover the legal costs and “a more equitable outcome for both parties.”

Rittenhouse also posed concern for the enforcement of the Pay-to-Stay ordinance, he noted the rent pauses during the COVID pandemic causing confusion for renters which led to eviction cases.  

Councilmember Solveig Spjeldnes read a statement from Lucy Schwallie, managing attorney of the Southeastern Ohio Legal Services at the Athens office, that included a list of rental assistance options in Southeast Ohio. According to Spjeldnes, the release containing these options will not be issued until the ordinance is in effect to prevent any confusion. 

Spjeldnes also mentioned that from her own conversations with local landlords the ordinance will not affect them, “because it so rarely even comes up because they make a practice of working with their tenants to make sure that they stay housed.”

Councilmember Alan Swank motioned to table debate because of two missing perspectives: judges and landlords. 

Swank hoped for the input from a judge to get more insight on the eviction process and to better assess the potential legal fees. He wished to hear from landlords concerning the frequency of the problem and how it is currently being dealt with. 

Although the council cannot compel a judge to come to council, Spjeldnes mentioned there was “someone in the court system who specializes in this who could talk about it if so desired.”

The council moved to table the ordinance in the interest of allowing more time for deliberation.

In other business, the council passed four ordinances: one concerning Athens Community Improvement Corporation for economic development and one accepting a sewer easement from Ohio University. Council also discussed an ordinance to increase vendor license prices, which according to Spjeldnes, has not been changed since 2017. An ordinance was proposed to purchase the land, about 10 acres, that will house a new fire station and public greenspace from Ohio U on Stimson Avenue.