Renters Rights’
A Fair & Balanced Deal
Every community needs to strike a balance between the property rights of landlords and the human rights of their renters. Sadly, Utah law is widely unbalanced in favor of the landlords.
I rented Provo apartments for over seven years. I saw firsthand how little power renters have when my landlord failed to pay the mortgage and my roommates and I were evicted by the bank during the foreclosure—in the middle of a school semester, which made finding a new place to live nearly impossible. We had no choice but to move into another property owned by the same delinquent landlord—who then decided to double the rent when our contracts were up. Stories like mine, or about renters without heat in the winter, are far too common in Provo—but they don’t have to be.
Fair rental reform should include:
A guarantee that renters’ Constitutional and statutory rights be preserved under the terms of lease agreements.
An upper limit on how much rent can increase from year to year without physical property improvements.
A requirement for landlords to prorate and/or refund rent for days in which a unit was not habitable according to law (because you shouldn’t have to pay rent for days when the water was off or the heater was busted).
Requiring landlords to regularly test for radon gas and mitigate unhealthy levels of this carcinogen.
Penalties for landlords whose leases violate state statutes.
Awarding the cost of legal fees to the prevailing party in court, not automatically to the landlord.
Reasonable limits to additional fees landlords can add to lease agreements.
A vote for Daniel Craig Friend is a vote for renters’ rights.
TALES FROM THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL
Everyone who’s rented in Provo for long has heard of (or lived through) a hair-raising renting experience. Here are a few that voters in the district have shared with me this year:
1. A disabled couple in Provo’s Franklin Neighborhood told me that it took their landlord FOUR MONTHS to replace a broken toilet. During that time, they had to walk to 7-eleven every time they had to use the restroom.
2. Their neighbor told me that it took their landlord TWO MONTHS to replace a broken refrigerator–and she’s a diabetic who needs to keep her insulin cold.
3. A woman in Springville told me about her old apartment, where 3 of the rooms had mold and 2 rooms lacked electricity, leaving most of the apartment UNINHABITABLE WHILE SHE WAS PREGNANT.
4. A couple in a newer complex told me that the management took a DNA sample from their dog. According to their contract, dog poop in the grass would be tested, and one missed poop was GROUNDS FOR EVICTION.
Renters need a Friend in the Utah House!
Hey Daniel, it’s Dion Wood in your ward and I must say I’m impressed with at least 80% or more of your issues that you stand for. Are you sure you’re democrat because you’re nothing like the modern democrats of these last 20 to 30 years. I find your views to be pretty conservative, pro freedom pro constitution and much more like the old respectable Democrat Party going back 30 plus years to JFK. I think you’re truly compassionate to the AMERICAN way. I really am impressed. I’m so glad I took the time to read everything.
Is it true that if I re-register as independent that I can vote for you as Democrat and still vote for all other offices Republican? I’ve never voted anything before but Republican. I feel that if you win you will stick to your platform, your goals and issues regardless of your party and what they want or if they try to make you “tow the party line” I don’t think you’ll cave to bullying from anyone higher in the party because I know you have bulletproof integrity and you’re not anyone’s puppet.I think you’re better off as independent but sadly it’s just the R vs D, No one else gets a fair shake! I don’t like today’s Democrats and I hate more than 60 percent Republicans because when they get power, what do most of them do with it? Absolutely nothing! Spineless, hopeless useless jellyfish, all talk, no hope lickspittle‼️ 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇳🇿
Dion, you don’t have to change your registration to vote for whomever you want! You can be registered as a member of any party and vote for candidates of any other party. That’s American freedom!
I was renting from Vision Real Estate in American Fork and did not have power (aka no heat) for 7 days in the winter. It was a legitimately uninhabitable situation which I had to live through. I was shocked at the lack of decency shown by Vision, and the lack of legal rights I had. According to the law, they had up to 10 days to fix the issue (even though it was an emergency), and I had to pay rent the whole time. Coming from another state, I had no idea this type of situation was even conceivable. It is a huge issue in Utah and you have my vote.