Duluth tenants want faster repairs. City officials instead call for more tenants’ rights education.

DULUTH – It took about a month for the landlord of Duluthian Mikaela Williams’ historic downtown building to address a run of 54-degree days in her apartment last January.

And that was after she filed a complaint with the city, the 25-year-old said.

Williams is part of the Duluth Tenants Union, a group that has been canvassing the city for months to collect enough signatures to qualify for a “right-to-repair” ballot measure this November. But some city councilors have recently proposed their own renter protection, which would require existing tenants’ rights be posted prominently in rental buildings. The council will vote on that next month.

What the union has pitched is “systemically flawed,” Councilor Roz Randorf said at a recent meeting.

The tenant group’s right-to-repair ordinance would require renters to provide written notice to a landlord that a “common” repair is needed, with the cost deducted from rent if it’s not scheduled or corrected within two weeks. After that, the tenant can hire a licensed contractor.

The ordinance would say the cost can’t exceed a half-month’s rent or $500, whichever is greater, and would prohibit landlords from retaliating.

The group cites common repairs as fixing leaky faucets and clogged drains, broken doors and holes in ceilings or walls.

Renters want safe and stable housing, and don’t want to wait weeks or deal with the court system over common housing issues, said DyAnna Grondahl of progressive nonprofit TakeAction Minnesota, which is organizing the effort.

“It’s really clear to us that existing tools aren’t enough to make sure renters get timely repairs,” she said. “Our housing is old, and 50 percent was built before 1940. We really want to take seriously our role in preserving that history and that housing.”

The former head of a local landlord association told the council Tuesday that it’s hard to find qualified contractors to make small, timely repairs.

“So the relationship between the owner, property manager and the tenant is going to be hurt by this [tenant union] ordinance,” Barbara Montee said.

Duluth Area Chamber of Commerce President Matt Baumgartner said the tenant group’s proposal will reduce rental supply and result in more large-scale landlords, driving up prices.

Beyond that, he said, the ballot measure “circumvents representative democracy and moves back to populism where you’re able to go around elected officials.”

The City Council instead will vote on an ordinance that would require landlords to post rental tenants’ rights and resources in prominent spaces.

Council President Terese Tomanek said many renters and landlords aren’t aware of city and state protections already in place.

“This ordinance will help bridge that gap,” she said in a news release.

City officials Tuesday night cited court programs like rent escrow, the One Roof Tenant Landlord Connection program and their own enforcement as options for renters with problems.

The Fire Department handles rental complaints and 47 were filed since 2023, said Jonathan Otis, its deputy chief of life safety.

The city has nearly 18,000 rental units, about 40% of residences.

“Our data is showing that this isn’t the problem that this is made out to be,” he said, and if the number of complaints isn’t reflective of renters with issues, then more education is necessary.

City administration expects to recommend another rental ordinance that might include a landlord education requirement and higher fines. Otis said his department also plans to deal with noncompliant landlords more aggressively than it has in the past.

The Fire Department’s inspection staff has increased to five and the three-year backlog amassed owing to pandemic layoffs has decreased to eight months, he said.

The tenant group still plans to push ahead with its work.

With more than 5,000 signatures, it has met city charter requirements to get its measure on the ballot, provided the City Council doesn’t adopt it before that.

“I’m excited that City Council is talking about renters’ issues,” Williams said. “But we need something right now. More education is not the solution.”