Giving Compass' Take:

• Jill Rosen draws connections between high water bills and ordinances, with a study showing how it can lead to landlords mistreating low-income tenants.

• The study seems aimed at municipal policies, rather than landlord malpractice. How can we offer tenants more protections, especially those who face unstable housing situations?

• Learn why creating more affordable housing opportunities means talking equity.

Spiking water bills and nuisance fees can so unsettle landlords in disadvantaged communities that they screen potential tenants more rigorously, threatening housing security for those who need it most, according to a new study.

The research, which followed nearly 60 owners of smaller properties in Cleveland for more than two years, shows that city policies that sanction landlords for tenant activity really wind up sanctioning the renters.

Tenants end up subject to tougher rental screenings, stereotyping, and harassment from landlords, and even eviction.

“These policies inadvertently penalize the most vulnerable tenants and communities,” says author Meredith Greif, a sociologist at Johns Hopkins University. “Some landlords’ tizzy over water bills and nuisance ordinances lead them to pursue business practices that burden the most marginalized tenants, making it harder for them to find and keep affordable housing.”

Between 2010 and 2015, cities on average raised the cost of water by 41 percent. Water utility costs have continued to go up, and landlords are responsible to pay city water bills for their property if tenants don’t.

Fines for “nuisances” like noise, overgrown lawns, and repeated calls for police assistance — which landlords are responsible for — have also been on the rise since the 1980s. Meanwhile, affordable housing has never been harder to find.

Read the full article about landlords penalizing tenants for "killer" water bills by Jill Rosen at Futurity.