If you are having a problem with your landlord, there is a new place to turn.

A tenant steering union committee is being organized by Sixth Ward Alderman Jamie Pennington and County Board member Tim Bagby.

Bagby said the committee “will try to get a tenant union off the ground.”

The union is being formed to hear problems from DeKalb area tenants who have grievances against their landlords, Pennington said.

The committee is looking at different sources to fund the union, Bagby said. A student fee, city revenue funds and charity money are different options being considered, Bagby said.

The source of the funding probably will determine who will be part of the tenant union in the future, Bagby said.

The union needs to be community-based instead of being just student-based, Pennington said.

“It (the tenant union) needs to address the needs of both students and non-students if it is to be respected and useful in dealing with landlord-tenant disputes,” Pennington said.

The union will “help people with disputes, such as repair problems or problems with changes in contracts,” Bagby said.

Bagby said a union member will be a mediator with problems that tenants might have.

“It (the union) will serve as a liaison between the tenant and the landlord,” he said.

The steering committee is modeled after a similar committee in the Urbana-Champaign area, he said.

The committee also includes First Ward Alderman Amy Polzin and Seventh Ward Alderman Jeff Monroe as well as DeKalb area landlords, Bagby said.

The next committee meeting will be March 4 at 7 p.m. in the Student Association Conference Room in the Holmes Student Center. The meeting is open to the public.

Anyone wishing to join the steering committee may contact Jamie Pennington at 748-5575.