Coalition organizes for tenant rights

Cynthia Ackers calls the police and blocks West River Housing Coalition members from leaving while canvasing in Countryside Estates. (Photo courtesy Sarah Stout)

RAPID CITY – When a problem arises the best way to solve it is to take it head on.
One Rapid City advocacy group hosted a listening session on housing issues in January of 2019, and eventually, with numerous repeated issues being brought forth, the West River Housing Coalition was formed shortly after in April.
The intention of the West River Housing Coalition is to organize tenants against consistent patterns of abuse such as fraudulent charges or unsafe housing said Karissa Loewen, volunteer coordinator of One Rapid City.
A primary landlord that the housing coalition focuses its efforts towards is Cynthia Akers, owner of Countryside Estates and many other properties in Rapid City. Marina Allison, a resident of Countryside Estates, joined the coalition in January of this year after she was presented a $6,000 bill for late fees dating back to 2017. The late fees were unknown to Allison until the bill was created after three years of accumulation. Looking back at her bank statements, Allison saw that Countryside Estates had attempted to withdraw payment for the bill numerous times, including six times in one day.
Allison was alarmed and began talking to other tenants, coalition members, and a city attorney. She found that others were being charged over $9,000, and some residents of other Aker-owned properties were living without electricity and/or water.
Sarah Stout, a volunteer organizer for One Rapid City, has been involved in the coalition since its beginning. Stout’s brother previously lived on a property owned by Akers in Box Elder. It was not uncommon to have water services shut off to the property due to non-payment, but tenants were paying their water bills directly to Akers. And then the property was sold by Akers and Stout’s brother was forced to move, she said “I really wish we had the outlet of the Housing Coalition when this was happening, we felt powerless. My brother and his family lost everything and had to start over.”
Stout went on saying “With Ms. Akers, we’ve seen her give eviction notices but not follow the proper legal proceedings, and then harass tenants until they leave. We’ve also seen charges for things that are legally the responsibility of the land lord.”
There is a canvasing schedule for the West River Housing Coalition to knock on doors of homes in communities that have had issues brought forth. One of the volunteers that does this is Dillan Wessels, a 24 year old Rapid City resident who has been involved in the coalition since last summer. “Sometimes there is hesitation for people to talk with us, I think people are afraid of being retaliated against by the landlords” he said, but overall increase of support for the coalition is rising.
Retaliation from landlords is a very real concern, especially for Section 8 housing voucher tenants. A Section 8 tenant must receive a signature from the property manager if they wish to move. If the signature is not received then the voucher does not follow them, and they are forced to either stay or pay at-rate housing prices. Refusal of permission to leave seems to be a common tactic used in the Rapid City area for land lords to continue to receive section 8 housing monies. In one particular case in Rapid City, a Section 8 tenant has not been allowed to leave for over 2 years.
On January 8, 2020, when West River Housing Coalition members were canvasing in Countryside Estates, Cynthia Akers blocked their vehicles from leaving, demanded them to leave, and called the Rapid City Police Department. Coalition members were invited onto the property and therefore had legal right to be there, but police officers still asked that they leave immediately. Documented during their visit was mold in housing units, among other things.
“Landlord offenses vary” said Wessels, “some can be minor issues that are just a pain to deal with but others can be thousands of dollars of late fees that cannot be explained. Tenants will get a late fee but not find out about it for months or even years. And the landlords of these tenants charge $5 per-day of late payment.”
“But our model” Wessels continued, “is to become involved when a particular landlord or management company has complaints brought forth and help the tenants organize.”
Now the Coalition hosts meetings on the second Sunday of each month at the Rapid City Public Library, the next meeting slated for March 8th, and there are property-specific tenant meetings held on alternating Thursdays, but are scheduled by the tenants and subject to change.

(Contact Travis at travisldewes@gmail.com)

Visit Original Source