New River Community Action is hosting a free Renter Education Workshops on May 22 at 11 a.m. and May 29 at 3 p.m. at the NRCA office (1093 E Main St.) in Radford.
“It’s a fun, interactive workshop,” Homeless and Housing Program Coordinator Sharon Edwards said. “Our goal is to help everyone be successful.”
The workshops are for tenants, landlords, friends, anyone considering renting, and the variety of days and times New River Valley locations make the workshops accessible to busy people.
Designed to help anyone learn the key elements and skills to be a good tenant and a good landlord, Edwards asks interested attendees to call 540-633-5133, ext. 440 or email sedwards@nrcaa.org at least 2 days prior to date.
Topics covered will include leases, deposits, and payments; repairs and other common disputes, Fair Housing laws and eviction in Virginia – aspects of being a tenant that may seem mysterious until you learn about them.
The two-hour workshop discusses the expectations of landlords and helps attendees learn their rights, responsibilities and good practices such as how to check their credit and how to improve it.
“We do a budget in our class and scenarios about how to make tough choices in tight months,” Edwards said. “ We help people learn where their money goes and make sure that rent is a top priority. We help them understand their lease agreements, evictions and fair housing.”
Applicable to anyone, in addition to learning about renting, the workshop also covers good home management practices energy saving tips.
“We teach people how to save money on their utilities by things like remembering to turn off the lights, hanging clothes on the line, and little things like cleaning the coils on the refrigerator,” Edwards said. “We just encourage anyone to participate. It’s for anyone who’s thinking about renting or would like to be more knowledgeable,” she said. ”And there will be refreshments!”
