A steering committee is forging ahead in its efforts to form a tenants’ union in DeKalb.

The DeKalb Community Tenant Union met for the second time this year on Monday night to further discuss forming an organization.

The union has to process paperwork to file as a non-profit organization in DeKalb, said 6th Ward Alderman Jamie Pennington, one of the group’s organizers. It hopes to be receiving funds within the next six months, he said.

However, the union doesn’t have any place designated to donate funds yet.

In a mission statement, the union said it plans to be a “non-profit service and advocacy organization which … works to aid cooperation among landlords and tenants.”

The members discussed the need for a tenants’ union, citing the results of a survey handed out at the housing bazaar. The survey stated 90 percent of the respondents wanted a tenants’ union and 60 percent are willing to pay for it.

First Ward Alderman Amy Polzin said a union would “keep landlords on their toes.”

“The majority of landlords seemed interested in what we were trying to do,” Pennington said.

One of the housing issues the union discussed was its support for the Repair and Deduct Ordinance. The ordinance would allow tenants to deduct from their rent the cost of repairing damages neglected by the landlord.

Pennington said the city failed to adopt the ordinance in February because of a shortage of city staff to deal with the tenants.

The next DeKalb Community Tenant Union meeting will be on April 3 at 7 p.m. in the conference room at the DeKalb Municipal Building, 223 S. 4th St.