Just over half of Lexington residents are renters, and after a challenging three years, city leaders are facing more pressure to address the unique tensions that can arise between tenants and landlords.
Enter a tenants' rights workshop at the Lexington Public Library on Wednesday. It's one of what's expected to be a number of such events -- aimed at bringing both renters and landlords together and making sure everyone understands their rights.
Groups like Kentucky Tenants have been pressing the city codify more renters' rights into law. One activist with that group, Emma Anderson, recently said the winding down of pandemic-related housing aid doesn't mean the problem is going away.
"That's not our reality at all. We can never stop thinking about it," Anderson said. "Every tenant in Lexington is struggling right now... It's really hard to be a renter in Lexington."
The group hopes to offer more educational forums for renters, including a Spanish workshop, in the coming months.
CORRECTION (5/22): A previous version of this story indicated the library itself was offering the meetings. The library is only providing the space.
