St. Pete officially opts out of county tenant protections in favor of adopting its own renter bill of rights

In its final vote on the topic, St. Petersburg City Council unanimously agreed to forgo the county’s tenant bill of rights in lieu of its own. Two weeks ago, administration agreed some of the county’s protections are more extensive than the city’s new ordinance. That includes protections for sources of income, and longer inspection periods for those receiving assistance.

“I think our Board of County Commissioners did a great job with protection for our tenants,” resident and activist Jaleesa Blackshear said. “I also think that the five-day inspection timeline is demoralizing and oppressive, and is not, fine.”

In another 7-1 vote, council passed an amendment to city code concerning source of income discrimination and third-party payments for move-in costs. This means landlords can’t necessarily turn down applicants because their monthly income calculation includes sources of income like a government stipend (think Section 8). Concerning third-party payments, St. Pete’s new amendment means landlords have to allow vouchers or housing stipends in payment for move-in costs. Council member Ed Montanari voted against the measure. Just before it passed, council chair Gina Driscoll asked administrator Amy Foster about third-party moving costs.

“Something that was brought to my attention is that when someone gets assistance with moving costs, there can be a delay in that being received,” Driscoll said.

Foster, the former CEO of Housing Leadership Alliance, stated that most checks for housing were cut to landlords in 24 hours to less.

“I never once had a landlord move someone in without payment being made prior,” Foster said. “I know that Bay Area [Apartments] presented that to you…It’s uncommon in my experience.”

After last week’s discussion, Council member Brother John Muhammad motioned for a new business item to shore up the city’s bill of rights, “including timeframes, inspections and insurance exemptions.”

The motion refers the item to the Housing Land Use and Transportation or HLUT committee in the new year. It passed unanimously.

“We’re happy to see the changes today,” Karla Correa with the St. Pete Tenants Union or SPTU said. “But you know, we definitely need to get moving on the items that Councilmember Muhammad brought up.”

While the city punts the housing crisis into the new year, again, activists aren’t backing down. The SPTU and the Affordable St. Pete Coalition urged council, as they did last year and six months ago, and every week it seems, to act on tenant right to counsel (RTC).

“This is a policy that evens the legal playing field,” resident James Trimarco said. “This is not that cutting edge anymore, because three whole states have the right to counsel. Those cities no longer allow tenants to face their landlord without legal representation in court.”

New York City became the first city nationwide to offer RTC in 2017. In January, Connecticut became the third state with RTC, following Maryland and Washington.

“We’re going to keep educating people, we’re going to keep the pressure on,” William Kilgore with the SPTU said.

Sixteen cities total and three states in total have RTC; St. Petersburg activists want the Sunshine City on that list.

“It can reduce evictions and benefit both renters and good landlords, the kind who care about building communities rather than sucking them dry,” resident and longtime social worker Leslie Baumann said.

For now, RTC still sits in the Youth and Family Services Committee. The next meeting hasn’t yet been announced.

This article appears in Dec 8-14, 2022.