A course in tenant rights?

It’s guaranteed to upset property investors, but a course focused on helping tenants protect themselves against landlords is winning praise.

“We're training … tenants," Marty Blaustein, with the non-profit Utah Legal Services, told KUTV.ca. "This is not invitation for landlords."

Indeed.

The lawyer is now leading a new lecture series focused on appraising tenants of their rights in a market he describes as almost entirely slanted in favour of landlords.

In fact, Blaustein tells KUTV, "If you're renting in Utah, be prepared to get screwed."

His course aims to hope tenant grappling with deferred maintenance issues, fending off rental increases and attempting to cancel eviction proceedings.

Bloustein argues that his lectures will hopefully reduce renter frustrations and keep families from losing their homes.

"Part of the reason we have so many homeless people is the eviction laws in the state of Utah," he said.

Landlords across North America are already bristling at the very premise of the class, concerned it sets up an adversarial relationship between their tenants and themselves.

It also has the potential to stymie eviction efforts where and when they are warranted.
Still, Bloustein says that the dearth of tenant-protecting laws in his market often penalize renters unfairly.

CREW