Lila Wohlwend’s Proponent Testimony: Why Ohio Needs House Bill 93

Can Ohio’s Housing Providers Keep Supporting Affordable Housing? 🏡

In this straightforward testimony for House Bill 93, Lila Wohlwend—a property manager with over 20 years of experience managing nearly 500 homes—takes a stand for housing providers and tenants alike. Lila addresses the critical flaws in Ohio’s current municipal utility policies, which allow unchecked water bills to become the housing provider's burden, despite tenants being responsible for their own usage.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐒𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦

Municipalities across Ohio are placing liens on properties for unpaid water bills, even when housing providers have no control over the tenants' usage or payment habits. Examples include:

𝙎𝙚𝙗𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜: Over $1,500 in unpaid bills despite requests to shut off service.

𝘼𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚: Similar costs incurred, with no accountability for tenants or the water department.

Municipal utility departments are incentivized to ignore their own policies, leaving housing providers to foot the bill while tenants face no repercussions.

𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞

The current system not only penalizes housing providers but also negatively affects tenants

Good tenants pay the price through higher rents as landlords account for these added risks.

Municipalities lose money, increasing the burden on taxpayers.

The system enables irresponsible tenant behavior by removing consequences for unpaid utility bills.

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐇𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐁𝐢𝐥𝐥 93 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐬

House Bill 93 aims to introduce accountability and fairness by:

- Limiting the charges housing providers can incur from tenants' unpaid bills.
- Encouraging municipalities to enforce their shut-off policies to prompt tenants to pay.
- Helping reduce costs for housing providers, tenants, and municipalities alike.

𝐀𝐝𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐌𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬

During the testimony, concerns were raised about landlords incorporating water charges into leases and evicting tenants for nonpayment. Lila clarifies:

- Many housing providers already do address water bills in leases when possible.
- Evictions take time—often months—while unpaid bills continue to mount.
- House Bill 93 doesn’t eliminate responsibilities; it simply limits damages to encourage better practices.

𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐈𝐭 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐰𝐢𝐝𝐞

Though Lila's examples were drawn from Stark County, this issue impacts housing providers across Ohio.

Municipalities statewide need policies that balance utility service responsibilities without unfairly penalizing landlords or taxpayers.

🅲🅰🅻🅻 🆃🅾 🅰🅲🆃🅸🅾🅽:
🏛️ Stand with Ohio’s housing providers and tenants! Contact your Senators to support House Bill 93 and bring fairness back to utility billing. Share this video to raise awareness and encourage responsible legislation that benefits everyone.

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