Landlords in Boise will have new regulations to follow after city council members on Tuesday approved additional protections for renters.
Landlords will no longer be able to retaliate against tenants who request repairs or complain about their living conditions. They’ll also need to direct each renter to a city website outlining their rights under Idaho law.
Council president Jimmy Hallyburton said he routinely saw this discrimination happening with people he knew trying to exit homelessness who had valid housing vouchers.
“These were people who were desperately trying to get back on their feet who were actively employed and just trying to find a place to stay that were facing this additional barrier and I saw how demoralizing it was for them,” Hallyburton said.
Councilmember Luci Willits cast the only no vote, saying the policies only sound good in theory.
“At the end of the day, it could even lower the housing inventory because folks are going to sell if they don’t want to deal with this because of all of the bureaucracy that it can entail,” Willits said.
But something needs to be done to break up concentrated pockets of poverty in Boise, according to Councilmember Colin Nash.
“I am hopeful that this will be successful in alleviating some of that burden so that people are not bound to their zip code and that does not determine their future,” Nash said.
The anti-retaliation policy takes effect immediately, while the anti-discrimination piece will be implemented Jan. 1, 2024.
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