HomeMy WebLinkAbout12-01-25 Public Comment - M. Belting - Support the Right to Counsel OrdinanceFrom:Mia Belting
To:Bozeman Public Comment
Subject:[EXTERNAL]Support the Right to Counsel Ordinance
Date:Sunday, November 30, 2025 10:17:40 PM
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Dear Bozeman City Commission,
I’m a member of Bozeman Tenants United and am writing to encourage you to pass a
strong Right to Counsel ordinance and keep tenants in their homes.
I’ve lived in Bozeman on and off for years, but started renting here a little over a year ago.
The home I live in now is the first stable home I’ve ever rented. I have good relationships
with my landlords and get to live securely in a community I love with my family close by.
Before moving here I lived in Seattle and dealt with big city landlords for years. My renting
experience in Seattle was full of repeat maintenance requests, haggling over unreasonable
lease terms and dealing with unsafe living conditions. I was constantly frustrated but
worked with my landlord to get the housing I was promised when I signed my lease. Seattle
passed its own right to counsel law in 2021 and with this as the backdrop in all my
communications with my landlord, I knew I had a modecom of power in a dynamic designed
to make me feel powerless. This was why I was comfortable enough to ask for safe living
conditions and why my landlord was willing to work with me to make my home safe.
At my old apartment in Bozeman, I was afraid to do anything that would result in any kind of
attention from my property manager. I was scared to submit maintenance requests or ask
why my rent was being raised. I was scared that things we agreed to over the phone would
be void if they ever wanted a reason to evict me. In Bozeman it is more than just a landlord-
tenant dynamic that makes us feel small. The system that allows tenants to be represented
only 6% of the time in eviction courts is legitimately creating a power chasm between
tenants and landlords. My landlord in Seattle knew that the power imbalance wasn’t big
enough for her to ignore my living conditions. I can’t say the same about landlords in
Bozeman.
I’m a member of Bozeman Tenants United and fighting for Right to Counsel because I
know what it can do for tenants. It has been incredible to watch the commission listen to
tenants and support us in this cause. It gives me so much hope to think about my
community having such an important safety net. I’m so grateful to the city commissioners
for the support on Right to Counsel.
Please pass a strong Right to Counsel ordinance and keep tenants in their homes.
Sincerely,
Mia Belting