Update on tenants serving on boards and commissions
In October 15th’s General Government and Planning (GGP) Committee, Commissioner of Housing Advocacy and Community Development Charlie Lanter presented an update on the Landlord Advisory Group and Tenant Advisory Group.
These groups were created in 2023 in response to advocacy from KY Tenants, an organization that advocates for tenants and renters in Lexington and across the state. In 2022 and 2023, they pushed the Council to adopt a Tenants Bill of Rights, which had four policy proposals that they felt would protect Lexington renters.
One proposal was to have dedicated seats on Lexington boards and commissions that deal with housing issues. These include the Planning Commission, Vacant Property Review Commission, Affordable Housing Governing Board, and others.
Dedicated seats for tenants on boards and commissions have not been adopted. Instead, the Tenant Advisory Group and Landlord Advisory Group were created to give feedback and ideas to policies and programs in Lexington’s Office of Housing Advocacy and Community Development.
The Landlord Advisory Group has met six times since May of 2023, with their most recent meeting being August 14th, 2024.
The Tenant Advisory Group first met on September 6th, 2023, but was disbanded after two canceled meetings due to low attendance. The Office of Housing Advocacy and Community Development brought on new members to rebuild the group, and the first meeting with new members was held on September 11th, 2024.
Councilmembers had few questions for Lanter related to the presentation. The ones that were asked focused on ways to engage and recruit tenants to serve on the Tenant Advisory Group, which has been a struggle.
Commissioner Lanter shared that one strategy they may incorporate is to select a topic for the meeting well in advance, and advertise that topic to give tenants a better idea of what to expect at the meetings.
You can view the full presentation slides starting on page 74 of this packet.
