Welcome to the Arizona Tenants Advocates blog.
First, a bit of introduction. I, Ken Volk, started working for Arizona tenants’ rights in 1993, with the defeat of landlord-proposed legislation. Then came the formation of a non-profit tenants’ group, since dissolved, which I ran for seven years. Beginning in 2001 I have been operating Arizona Tenants Advocates, which grew from a home based business to our office in downtown Tempe. Every year the business has expanded, including legislative lobbying efforts for two years. We have a free telephone hotline service, and have helped thousands of tenants terminate their leases.
The website has grown, too. We have an apartment and managment ranking system. New articles on specific subjects have been added. Success stories periodically updated. Expanded links & resources section. Now, this blog.
In this venue I will periodically address specific subject matter that has come to our attention through the phone hotline or our member client cases. An attempt will be made to cover varying topical issues, and your related comments and experiences will be welcomed.
Please understand that our resources are limited, as we do not receive government or private funding. (We are solely dependent on income from tenants who use our Break Lease services.) On top of all of this, our operational expenses are significant and consistent; plus there are always numerous challenges that drain us — it’s the nature of the beasts. So do not expect for Arizona Tenants Advocates to take on your personal situation or crusade, although it is my hope you will find guidance and other assistance through the postings.
Finally, to set this show on the road, I would suggest people review the HB 2733 information linked from our home page. Check out the proposals on:
* foreclosures
* landlords being compelled to provide receipts to tenants
* landlords being compelled to accept rent payments
* landlords conning tenants to pay off judgements with rents and then evicting anyway, and
* prohibitions on landlords marring tenant credit reports without first securing court judgment.
These are important landlord-tenant abuses, and we need to expand renters rights in these regards. Feel free to post your experiences.
It is an honor to offer this blog service to the community, and I hope many useful ideas will be aired to help the tenant community.
Ken
Ken Volk
founder of Arizona Tenants Advocates & Association and a well-known tenants' rights advocate.
