Akron residents will find two housing-related measures on the Nov. 3 ballot — both intended to make it easier for renters to access housing. Each would change the city’s charter, or its governing document.
One of them, Issue 11, seeks to eliminate application fees or other charges for potential renters. It would also allow tenants to spread security deposits out over three or six months. And it would criminalize both collecting application fees and failing to tell renters or prospective renters about their options when it comes to paying a security deposit over time.
The other, Issue 12, seeks to make it easier for formerly incarcerated people to find housing. It would add anti-discrimination protections related to housing to Akron’s charter, which governs how the city operates, treating people who have been arrested for or convicted of crimes as a protected class. Discriminating against them in terms of housing would be illegal, as is discriminating against people for their race, gender or sexual orientation.
The protection has two exceptions: sex offenders and arson offenders. Imokhai Okolo, a community organizer and lawyer with Freedom BLOC, which pushed the measures, said sex offender registry rules and the risks to property tied to arson are the reasons for the exceptions…