TAMPA, Fla. — The University Area Community Development Corporation will hold a free community meeting to help people who are facing eviction in the Tampa Bay area on Friday, September 17, 2021.
“The moratorium that’s let up now you know people are calling constantly and trying to learn a little bit more about their rights," Sarah Combs, University Area CDC CEO said. “We saw that this was coming about a year ago and we thought it was really important to be able to get in front of it and so we launched our eviction defense program about six months ago. We have really been working on it for the past four months."
The center will hold two meetings on Friday to help educate both tenants and landlords of their rights.
“It’s been challenging because the moratorium has been on and then it has been off and it’s been on, so it’s been really confusing for residents in our community. So, a lot of the phone calls that we have been receiving is just talking to them and helping them understand what that means and what that means for them," Combs said.
The meeting will help educate people on what to do if they can't pay their rent, the financial resources that are available in the Tampa Bay area, and what their rights are as tenants.
Combs said landlords will also be on hand to offer another perspective as well as legal help from Bay Area Legal Services.
"What’s helpful is when you have both the landlord and the tenant in the same room. They are learning about each other's rights which I think is important as well. That helps not only the tenant but the landlord and you know that’s the information that we’re trying to get out," Combs said.
The meetings will be held at the University Area CDC community center located at 14013, N 22nd Street, Tampa FL 33613.
The first meeting will be in English at 2 p.m. The second meeting will be in Spanish at 6 p.m.
