Economic Growth United States Project #18952

Preserve Strong Communities with Housing Mediation

Project Report | Jun 19, 2019
Co-Workers Working It Out

By Rae Kyritsi | Programs Director

Aricela and Marisol have worked at the same company for several years. They are in the same department, see each other every day, and get along well. Several months ago, Aricela needed to go to California to be with her mother, who was ill. She was looking for someone to watch over her home while she was gone. As it happened, Marisol’s lease was up, and she was looking for somewhere to stay. They agreed that Marisol would move into Aricela’s home and pay $500 per month. Since Aricela’s mother’s health was unstable, the two did not discuss timing or make a specific agreement about how long the arrangement would last. When Aricela filed an eviction action against Marisol after claiming unpaid rent, the two ended up in court and were referred to mediation.

The arrangement had worked out well for the first several months. When Marisol sent Aricela the rent money, Aricela would send back a written receipt. Aricela kept a record of the money that came in, which was usually in the form of a cashier’s check, although occasionally Marisol paid in cash. Aricela brought an eviction action claiming she had not been paid for April rent; Marisol said she gave Aricela the payment in cash, but had forgotten to get a receipt.

There was an additional issue; after several months, Aricela’s mother seemed to be doing a lot better. She did not need Aricela’s assistance anymore, so Aricela decided to move back to Chicago. Both parties agreed that since there were multiple bedrooms, Marisol would continue to stay in the home. However, once Aricela moved back in, Aricela discovered that Marisol was hosting more people in the home than she had expected. Marisol’s new boyfriend had moved in, and some of Marisol’s nieces and nephews sometimes stayed over.

Aricela explained that having new people in her home, who she didn’t know, made her uncomfortable. Marisol said that while she was paying rent, she felt she should have the freedom of allowing her boyfriend and family members to stay with her. She said that the nieces and nephews only stayed every once in a while, and that they were not disruptive. In fact, they helped her with the dishes, daily household chores, and were very respectful.

After talking the issue through, Aricela identified that her primary interest was feeling comfortable in her own home. She also wanted to make sure that she was not being taken advantage of by Marisol. Marisol needed a stable living situation until she found a new place to live. Both parties valued their ongoing relationship, since they still work together. To preserve their relationship, the parties agreed that Marisol would move out, but would have two months to find housing. Aricela agreed to forgive April’s rent as long as Marisol paid for the current month of May in full during the mediation, and also agreed to pay for June and July on specified dates. Aricela agreed to give Marisol written receipts for payment.

With the help of the mediator, the parties crafted an agreement that allowed them to avoid court and preserve their relationship.

Permalink

Mar 22, 2019
Art Not Eviction

By Rae Kyritsi | Programs Director

Mike is the landlord of a small apartment building. Ben signed a lease with Mike in the Spring of 2018. When they signed the lease, Ben was a client of a social services program which payed his rent. Ben has fibromyalgia, which leaves him in constant pain and is unable to work. Six months after they signed the lease, Ben was notified that the agency would no longer be providing rental assistance and that his placement in the program would be discontinued. Ben did not know there was a limit to how long he would be served by the program and was very surprised by the news. Ben was unable to pay his rent for three months. After the third month, Mike filed a case in eviction court.

In court, the judge referred Mike and Ben to mediation with CCR. During the mediation, Mike said he had no problems with Ben as a tenant, adding that this was business, not personal. He mentioned as a single parent he was dependent on the income he made from the rent to care for his children. He stated he had given Ben many extensions to pay his rent to no avail. Finally, about three months ago, Ben told Mike that he would move out, but the date for him to leave the apartment came and Ben did not move. Mike felt he was completely stuck and had no choice but to file the court case.

Ben explained he knew that he was behind in rent, and it was not his intention to take advantage of Mike situation and live rent free. He explained his financial situation and said he had been looking for additional assistance after the first program ended, but had been unable to find any help.

The mediator helped the men have a focused conversation about their situation, helping them identify that they had a number of common interests. They both agreed that Ben needed to leave the apartment and that they respected one another. Ben said he had arranged to move in with friends, but had been unable to do so because he could not afford the costs associated with moving, like a truck and movers. After further discussion, Mike asked, “If I can get a truck and a couple of guys, can you move out today?” Ben said he could, so Mike made a few calls on his cell phone and arranged to have his brother and a friend come to the apartment and move Ben that evening.

It seemed like the parties had a clear plan, so the mediator began drafting an agreement. While the mediator was completing the paperwork, Mike expressed a bit of ambivalence. When questioned by the mediator, he stated dissatisfaction with the terms of the agreement, asking “I’m doing all of this for him, but what am I getting?” The agreement did not require Ben to pay any of the past due rent, but was simply a plan for Ben to move out with Mike’s support. Mike pointed out that he thought he had been very generous and that he was insulted that Ben had not offered to give him anything. Ben agreed that Mike was very generous, but pointed out that he could not pay. “You could have offered me a painting,” Mike said. The mediator had not heard about paintings before and asked Mike to clarify. Mike replied, “His paintings. He paints. I saw a lot of paintings in his apartment, and they’re beautiful!” Ben responded that he does paint, and has many of his paintings in his apartment. He was flattered that Mike was interested in his paintings and grateful to be able to offer something in exchange for forgiving the past due rent. Ben said, “You can have 10 paintings! Any ones you want.”

The mediator helped the parties discuss the paintings in more detail and they came to an agreement about the specific pieces Mike would take. After the mediation the parties presented their agreement to the judge and left court together - a plan in place that would benefit both of them.

Permalink

Dec 26, 2018
Back Rent and Bedbugs - Preserving a Landlord-Tenant Relationship

By Rae Kyritsi | Programs Director

Back Rent and Bedbugs

Henry and Michael had an amicable landlord-tenant relationship for five years, and after the judge in eviction court referred them to mediation, they both expressed a desire to preserve that relationship. They ended up in court primarily due to lack of communication. Michael failed to pay a couple of months’ rent and when Henry tried to reach out to him, Michael ceased all communication. Henry, frustrated about his money and inability to speak with his tenant, sued for eviction.

During the mediation, both parties were friendly with each other. Michael admitted he failed to make the payment and acknowledged that he cut off all communication with the landlord. Henry was kind and told Michael that he understood, but that he needed to get paid in order to run the building, and his finances had been stressed by some recent necessary repairs.

Over the past five years, there had been a couple of other times when Michael could not pay the rent and would communicate his inability to pay to Henry, and the two would come up with a payment plan. These payments ranged from week-to-week or even day-by-day. Henry was surprised Michael did not inform him about his financial hardships like he had in the past. Michael said that he was embarrassed and for that reason decided to not answer Henry’s efforts to speak with him.

Michael also mentioned that he recently heard from another tenant that there was an issue with bedbugs in her unit. This was news to Henry, and he was alarmed, and glad that Michael had mentioned it. Michael was concerned the infestation would spread to other units, and offered to help Henry look into companies to evaluate the situation.

During the mediation, communication was the main issue. The landlord informed the tenant that the only reason he sued him was because he couldn’t think of any other way to get him to respond. Since both were interested in continuing their relationship, they were able to come to an agreement. Michael told Henry that his work hours had picked up over the past couple of weeks and that he could pay him in cash for the past due rent the next day. He also promised Henry that the next time he thought he might have difficulty paying on time that he would contact him and be transparent about his financial situation. Henry promised to immediately look into and correct the potential bedbug infestation.

When the mediation ended, both parties shook hands over their agreement. Mediation gave them a chance to problem-solve together and provided a venue for them to exchange important information.

Permalink

‹ 1 ... 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 ... 14 ›

About Project Reports

Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.

If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can receive an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.