Tenants, landlords rights discussed in Lexington workshop

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WTVQ) — It is a tale as old as time: landlords vs. tenants — but it doesn’t always have to be that way.

To help clarify laws and remind both sides of their rights, a Tenants’ & Landlords Rights & Responsibilities Workshop was held at the Eastside Branch Lexington Public Library.

One lawyer in attendance says he’s now dealing with more cases than ever of residents being evicted after 20-plus years of living in their homes.

That’s due to higher rent prices, among other factors.

“One of the things we never saw before is, we have tenants who have been in their home for 20 years who all of a sudden their landlord is just not wanting to rent to them anymore, just because they think the market’s changed or they want to do something else with the property. We never saw that before,” said Fair Housing Council Executive Director Arthur Crosby.

There was also discussion on landlords discriminating against applicants and what the law prohibits vs. what it allows.

“It’s not legal to retaliate against someone because they’ve contacted code enforcement or contacted based on health and safety concerns, but we do see all the time. Just tenants very concerned about, should I contact my landlord, should I even mention this or is this gonna wind up me losing my home?” he added.

There will be a second session of the Tenants’ & Landlords Rights & Responsibilities Workshop at the library from 4 to 7 p.m. Thursday if you’d like to learn more.

The workshop will consist of short presentations by the Kentucky Fair Housing Council, Legal Aid of the Bluegrass, LFUCG Code Enforcement and U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development, followed by a panel discussion and Q&A with representatives from the partnering agencies.