Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
- A new Utah coalition aims to improve landlord-tenant relations and housing stability.
- The Landlord and Community Partners Coalition connects people with resources like rent relief.
- The initiative addresses challenges amid failed state bills and uncertain federal housing funding.
SALT LAKE CITY — A new effort in Utah aims to keep more renters in their homes.
Advocates are set to announce the launch of the Landlord and Community Partners Coalition, a new group focused on connecting people in the housing space with resources available to help tenants in trouble.
"We're very excited about it," said Zoë Newmann, project manager at the nonprofit Utah Housing Coalition, which is helping spearhead the new group.
Newmann said the effort is designed to "relieve some of the stress that landlords and community-based organizations face" when helping tenants obtain stable housing. She said housing vouchers, case management, and rent relief are some of the resources that are available for renters.
The new coalition will work to connect everyone and communicate what's out there, Newmann added.
"This is basically a place where landlords, community-based organizations, (and) tenants alike can come to answer some of those questions," Newmann said.
Kristin Matulonis, a landlord and owner of Equity Property Management in Sandy, said she's a fan of the idea.
"The more communication, the better," said Matulonis, whose company manages about 2,500 units.
When renters are in trouble, Matulonis said, they often don't speak up until it's too late.
"Most of them are afraid, ashamed maybe," she said, "and so they don't reach out."
Organizers of the Landlord and Community Partners Coalition are expected to formally launch it later this week. It comes as multiple bills aimed at helping Utah's renters have failed on Capitol Hill over the last few years.
It also comes amid uncertainty about the future of federal housing assistance as the Trump administration cuts spending. Last week, analysts at the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute at the University of Utah warned that housing programs "face a serious threat of reduced federal funding."
Jim Wood, who has studied the housing market since the 1970s, pointed out that the programs "provide an economic lifeline for thousands of low-income Utah renters and are the most effective programs preventing homelessness."
Advocates said the new coalition is something they can do absent any new legislation, and as they wait to see what happens on the federal level.
"With the laws in our state and what we're given, this is kind of that tool to make sure that we're keeping people stable in their housing," Newmann said.
Speaking for herself, Matulonis called the new coalition a "great idea" that could help those in need.
"Anything that promotes collaboration and communication to help tenants in these situations is great," she said.
The Landlord and Community Partners Coalition is looking for landlords, property managers, case managers, and leaders of tenant organizations to be part of it. Those interested can sign up through the group's application portal.
