The DeKalb City Council voted unanimously at a Monday night meeting to hold a workshop on Monday concerning the proposed landlord-tenant ordinance. Fifth Ward Ald. Patrick Conboy, who introduced a proposal for the creation of a landlord-tenant ordinance in October 2000, said this decision was made for the benefit of aldermen who weren’t too familiar with the extensive content of the proposed legislation.

A workshop is a great means to educate our local legislators about this pressing issue, which has been boiling over on the backburner since February 2000. However, we may not see significant changes, if any changes at all, until the next leasing term.

With landlords having more money and weight to pull, we are concerned that the end result of the landlord-tenant ordinance will be diluted and pro-landlord, instead of aiming to remedy the continuing struggle between landlords and the people who rent from them.

The committee couldn’t reach an agreement regarding automatic deductions for “routine maintenance” from security deposits. Annual inspections of rental units by the city no longer will be required, but landlords will be required to notify tenants of any code violations that have been documented before a lease signing.

While landlords seesaw between profitability and tenant rights, tenants have been in desperate need of pertinent results, which have dwindled after each fact-finding committee meeting.

Tenants concerned about their security deposits and other rental issues should look at the workshop as an opportunity to offer their input and to learn about the latest developments of this seemingly never-ending process.