December 16, 2005
The Birmingham News

Only two states do not have landlord-tenant laws requiring that rental housing be at least habitable. They are Arkansas and, yes, Alabama.

It isn't for lack of trying by groups which advocate for poor renters that Alabama doesn't have such a law. It's just that groups which don't want protections for renters have more clout in the Legislature.

Each year, bills modeled after landlord-tenant laws in other states are introduced in the Legislature, pushed by organizations such as Alabama Arise and the Appleseed Center for Law & Justice. Each year, they die in the face of opposition from groups such as the Alabama Association of Realtors, which represents landlords.

Of course, it doesn't help that many of the 140 legislators are landlords themselves. According to the Center for Public Integrity, in 2002, 42 percent of legislators reported they owned or had interest in rental property.

So when Realtors say a landlord-tenant law would increase the cost of business, they get more than just a sympathetic ear from lawmakers.

But supporters of the legislation haven't given up. Arise, the Appleseed Center as well as Legal Services of Alabama and the Southern Poverty Law Center are ready to make another push for a landlord-tenant law when the Legislature goes back to work next month.

For good reason. Alabama has many housing units in unfit condition. Often, poor tenants are at the mercy of landlords, who aren't required by state law to maintain their rental property in habitable condition, with working electrical, heating and plumbing systems and roofs that don't leak.

The landlord-tenant bill proposed for Alabama would define the rights and responsibilities of both tenants and landlords. For example, it would give landlords reasonable time to make needed repairs. But if landlords don't make the repairs, tenants would have options, such as making the repairs themselves and deducting the cost of the repairs from their rent.

According to The Associated Press, the lack of a state landlord-tenant law has led the city of Montgomery to consider adopting one for the city.

It's shameful the Legislature has repeatedly failed to approve this needed protection, which 48 other states provide for their residents. It can fix that next year.