Landlord Tenant Training Provides Best Practices

Photo Courtesy of the Fair Housing Center for Rights and Research

Residents, tenants and landlords alike gathered in mid-December for the Fair Housing Law Seminar. The Fair Housing Center for Rights and Research provided an informative and detailed presentation on how to manage and maintain housing successfully. Michael Russell, from the Legal Aid Society of Cleveland, spoke to attendees about the basics of landlord-tenant law. Topics included landlord and tenant obligations, lease basics, remedies and the eviction process. There are relevant statues both parties must adhere to and also prohibited terms. Landlords in attendance were able to share scenarios from past or potential situations and walk through options of how to address issues. Mr. Russell made aware multiple resources including Cleveland Housing Court and their specialists, community clinics and workshops which are available to the public and at clevelandhousingcourt.org

The second speaker was Darlene English of the Fair Housing Center. Ms. English spoke on the history of fair housing law and how it came to be. Residents were informed of restrictive covenants, the perpetuation of segregation, and discrimination many still face today. Federal, State and Local government levels, including the City of Euclid have worked to protect classes equally and prohibit discrimination when it comes to fair housing. State of Ohio protected classes include race/color, national origin, religion, gender, familial status, disability and military status. In September of 2018, Cuyahoga County became the first in the state to adopt legislation to add protections to the LGBTQ+ community. More information on the Fair Housing Center for Rights and research can be found at www.thehousingcenter.org

The City of Euclid works with the Fair Housing Center for Rights and Research to ensure fair housing protections. Random audits of landlords are conducted to monitor the service provided to protected classes in our community. The City of Euclid is committed to providing fair housing to all residents and works with partners such as the Fair Housing Center to bring awareness to and eliminate these issues.