After Widespread Flooding, Tenant Resource Center Sees Dramatic Uptick In Calls

September is always a busy month for the Tenant Resource Center, but executive director Brenda Konkel says the Madison-based organization has been inundated with calls following the recent flooding.

Tenants across the state have called with complaints and questions. Konkel said tenants have called and said things are “really bad” or “annoying” when it comes to dealing with landlords or the issues with their rented properties.

With the complaints come questions.

Renters are asking if they can break their lease using what’s called a “constructive eviction.” They are also asking how they should negotiate repairs with a landlord.

Laws have changed in recent years, and Konkel said many tenants just do not understand their rights and responsibilities.

“They don’t understand that they can perhaps get their money back or they can figure out how to have the landlord make their situation better,” she said.

Konkel said she also encourages people to purchase renters insurance. It can help tenants replace damaged belongings and cover hotel costs.

But most people do not sign up, she said.

“Definitely the younger people have never even thought about it,” she said. “Some of the older folks kind of feel foolish because they should have thought about it but they never thought something like this would happen to them.”

Renter’s insurance does not take care of everything, but still, Konkel said it’s worth the money.

“This has been an expensive lesson for quite a few folks,” she said, referring to the flooding throughout Wisconsin in August.

The Tenant Resource Center’s website refers to renter’s insurance as “the best lottery ticket a tenant can buy.” Forgoing it means taking a big gamble that, this summer, some tenants in Wisconsin lost out on.

The Tenant Resource Center offers resources and information on how to deal with flood damage on their website and in this memo.