State Rep. Jimmy Gazaway said that his bill seeking minimum habitability standards for rental properties – such as exterior locks and smoke detectors – has had to overcome misconceptions. | Facebook
State Rep. Jimmy Gazaway said that his bill seeking minimum habitability standards for rental properties – such as exterior locks and smoke detectors – has had to overcome misconceptions. | Facebook
A piece of legislation before the Arkansas House of Representatives would seek to ensure a simple eviction procedure providing hearing of both renters and landlords, as well as addressing concerns over minimum habitability standards in housing.
State Rep. Jimmy Gazaway (R-Paragould), who is the lead sponsor on House Bill 1563, recently spoke with Roby Brock of Talk Business and Politics about what he hopes to accomplish with the legislation. While the bill had strong bipartisan support in committee, he said that there is still a lot of negotiation to be done before it goes for a vote before the House.
“You know, one of the challenges is, is that even if we get it through the House – which, I think, we can do – we still have to get it through the Senate,” he said. “And so, there’s some negotiations going on right now, between the House and the Senate, because it would be fruitless if we passed it through the House and then ultimately couldn’t get it through the Senate.”
Gazaway said that one of the biggest challenges has been in dispelling misconceptions that have contributed to opposition to this or similar legislation. He said that ideas have built up about worst-case-scenario tenants that have held back effort to help the real people who make up the majority of cases.
“Every other state in the country has seen fit that we should have some very basic minimum standards of habitability for rental property,” he said. “And, again, we’re talking about things like hot and cold running water, safe electrical wiring, plumbing that works, locks on exterior doors, smoke alarms – things that are important and that materially affect health and safety.”
Once lawmakers understand what the bill is actually dealing with, they see that it is reasonable, Gazaway said. However, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t small changes to the language of the bill that need to be made in order to get enough legislators onboard.
“The language is always important, but I think the bigger challenge has been just overcoming those misconceptions,” Gazaway said.
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