Boise to Consider Tenant Protections Package

Writing in BoiseDev, Margaret Carmel outlines new tenant protection regulations proposed by the city and evaluated by the public in a series of meetings.

According to Carmel, “Reaction to the proposal garnered support from renters but also frustration that the proposed changes didn’t go far enough to address rents. And on the other hand, landlord groups expressed concern that some of the new rules would be an unnecessary bureaucratic burden on their operations and protect tenants who weren’t paying their rent from eviction.”

Although Idaho state law prohibits local rent control, the city’s proposed rules revolve around landlord retaliation, tenant notices, relocation assistance for displaced residents, and a ban on source of income discrimination. “The new version of the ordinance would require landlords to give tenants their full security deposit back in the event they are forced to leave a building due to demolition, redevelopment, or change of use of the building,” a more politically palatable option than cash relocation assistance.