Dan Coons: fair housing expert on renters' rights

Today’s episode is a little bit different.  I held an Alaska house district 20 constituent town hall on Zoom regarding renters' rights. According to Alaska Economic Trends magazine, the average rent in Anchorage went up by 14.2% from 2021 to 2022, and then rose an additional 5% on top of that this year. The median rent in Anchorage is $1,532 a month. Folks fear they may lose their apartments due to inability to pay. In response to those concerns, I invited today’s guest attorney Dan Coons to speak; Dan is a fair housing expert who has been working at Alaska Legal Services Corporation since 2010. He specializes in illegal housing discrimination and eviction prevention, as well as a broad range of other civil legal issues. Although I geared this event toward my constituents – and you will hear some unmute to ask questions – I actually needed this town hall for me. I was not aware just how free Alaska landlords are, when their tenants are on month-to-month leases, to increase rents by any amount multiple times. At the end of the episode, we offer some resources to help folks struggling with rent or facing eviction; here are those links:

1. Alaska Legal Services Corporation
2. State of Alaska Eviction Diversion Program
3. Basic Housing Assistance Program
4. Call Center for Homeless Veterans: 877-424-3838