KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Community members approached the podium at Knoxville City Council on Tuesday, calling for leaders to act to prevent rent from becoming unaffordable in the city.
Some community members passed fliers around online and posted them in spots across Knoxville, calling for people to approach the city council and call for members to take action and address "the lack of affordable housing in Knox County and surrounding counties."
It also called for people to provide testimonials about people from the Knoxville area choosing to leave because of "predatory cost of living increases."
"I've living in Tanglewood apartments for 12 years, and we just recently found out that they're going to double our rent when our lease is up," said Kathy Weston, who spoke on Tuesday.
Neighbors at that apartment complex said they were facing homelessness after Rand Property Management bought the North Knoxville complex. One woman said before the purchase, her rent was around $850 per month. After the company bought the complex, she said it rose to around $1,600 per month.
The East Tennessee Realtors group also said rent in Knoxville increased by more than four times the national rate. They said the price of rent for Knoxville apartments grew higher by 9.6% compared to the previous year. During the same time period, rent growth was 2.3% nationally.
"I'm not bitter, but I'm very sad that people think of us as numbers and not real people when it comes to money," said Weston.
Emergency rent relief programs are available in Knoxville. Residents could contact the Knoxville-Knox County Community Action Committee for help with rent. However, they said they were no longer taking rental assistance applications and encouraged people to check back for future resources. They also offer housing programs.
Some people who spoke at the city council meeting said they wanted to see policies that prevent rent spikes, such as rent control rules. However, leaders said state law restricts what municipalities can do to prevent higher rental rates.
"It's not allowed in the state of Tennessee for municipalities to impose rent control," said Knoxville Mayor Indya Kincannon.
Some small business owners in the area said they shared the concerns of other residents, and said they were concerned how rent spikes could impact their businesses.
"I know that a lot of small business owners are affected by, if their pay rates can't pay for their employees' rents, you know, it's affecting everyone on every level — from employers to residents, all the way up," said Carly Baskette, a small business owner who spoke on Tuesday.