After two tenant forums, it's local landlords' turn to share their side of the story.
Callaway County Central Missouri Community Action - located at 610 Collier Lane, Fulton - will host a landlord forum Wednesday from 5-6:30 p.m.
"We're hoping they'll educate the (Safe and Affordable Housing) task force about the issues they face," said Kellie Pontius, who heads that task force at CMCA.
Previously, two forums for tenants have taken place at CMCA.
During the first, in May, tenants talked about their experiences renting in the county. Among the individual stories, three common concerns emerged: availability, affordability and accessibility for those with troubled records. People talked about how a long-past misdemeanor conviction could make it difficult to pass background checks to rent and access rent assistance programs. Another tenant shared how her landlord waited months to fix a collapsed part of her building's floor.
At the second forum in August, attorney Eric Qualls presented about tenant rights and responsibilities.
"A landlord actually attended that one to make sure she knew about those rights and responsibilities and was doing her job," Pontius said. "That ended up enhancing the relationship between her and her tenant."
Enhancing landlord-tenant relationships - not just airing gripes and grievances - is part of the forum series' ultimate goal, Pontius said.
"We're going to brainstorm solutions," she said.
Among the potential solutions being floated is creating a centralized guide to all the landlords in Callaway County that could be updated to show when landlords have units available. The guide could also include information about restrictions landlords have, such as whether they allow pets or rent to people with past convictions.
"We're also tasking (forum participants) with helping create an inspection list, so both the tenant and landlord can be responsibility for assessing the safety of a property before move-in," Pontius added.
To register for the forum and ensure there are enough refreshments to go around, contact Pontius at [email protected] or 573-642-3316 by Monday.