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Riverwest landlord cuts rents for his tenants to help with coronavirus pandemic

Posted at 9:57 PM, Mar 19, 2020
and last updated 2020-03-19 23:20:46-04

MILWAUKEE — A Milwaukee landlord cuts the rent for his tenants to help them during the coronavirus pandemic. John Zutz told his renters they are getting a rent-break, but he had one simple request.

"I gave an option. The option was if you are in financial problems, use it for yourself. If you aren't in financial problems, spend it in the neighborhood," said Zutz.

He saw people in the Riverwest neighborhood losing work hours and some getting laid off, and he wanted to help.

"I realized that the bottom of the economy was really taking the beating and I know my tenants, I have two tenants that live upstairs, so I offered them a break on their rent," said Zutz.

He is only asking for a hundred bucks for April. A welcomed gift for one of his renters Ryan Kuehn.

"Totally took me by surprise. Really great, unexpected surprise," said Kuehn.

He says so far he is still going to work, but Kuehn doesn't know if that will be the case for long.

"It's just a day by day kind of thing," said Kuehn. "If that were to shut down, it would be really nice to have."

Zutz hopes he becomes one of many landlords who offer this help.

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