Issues surrounding housing were the focal point of discussion for ten Lansing City Council candidates at a forum held Wednesday at The Fledge.
The forum put together by The Rent is Too Damn High Tenant Union sought to answer how Lansing’s leaders can advocate for those renting properties in in the city.
A majority of candidates running for seats on the council attended the event.
Candidates answered questions on how they would make housing more affordable, provide fair opportunities for the formerly incarcerated and protect tenants from wrongful evictions or their right to organize.
“I have been renting for the better part of my life, whether it was with my family or with my current partner,” resident Keeley Robinson said.
“I think a lot of people stayed on topic and brought things back to specifically Lansing, and what Lansing can do, separate from what the state and the federal government can do,” she said.
As a landlord, attendee Liano Sharon says he has seen how awful property managers can treat their tenants.
“[It] creates a feedback loop where the tenant population ends up being bad to the landlord population and so and it's a fight back and forth,” Sharon said. “I want to see that end. I want to see us be able to provide good housing to people at an affordable price.”
Sharon says holding landlords more accountable will put tenants in a better situation.
Lansing’s city primary will be held on August 5.