Despite coming in third during the municipal primary for City Council, the 25-year-old Brigham Young University student is now starting the Renters Advocacy Network aimed at advocating for and educating Provo residents on tenant rights.

“Ultimately, the aim of the organization is to fix the situations that we have in Provo that are primarily in three areas, which is a lack of supply and lack of quality and a lack of education,” Bennett said.

So far, Bennett has largely used social media, where he has gained hundreds of thousands of views, to raise awareness of local housing issues and allow renters to tell their stories. Comments on his social media posts are filled with stories of renters discussing high rent prices and poorly managed properties.

Maria Olivia, a former Provo resident, said she found out about Bennett through Instagram and wished there had been someone advocating for renter’s rights when she and her husband lived in Provo.

Olivia, who lived in Provo for three years while working as a teacher, said housing costs in Provo and across the state forced her and her husband to move to Texas.

During her three years in Provo, she and her husband lived in three different apartments and described not just high rental costs but also poor management and poor housing quality. She said her “worst” experience was while living in a two-bedroom apartment managed by Redstone Residential.

Olivia said problems began before moving in when the newly constructed building was months behind schedule, leaving them to find housing elsewhere. Despite being the first tenants in the apartment, she and her husband soon discovered mold growing on their living room floor.

After only living there for six months, the couple received notice from the apartment that rent was being raised from $1,500 to $1,800.

“And so that’s kind of when we started to really think, like, ‘You know what? I don’t know if we can even really afford to live here,'” she said. Comparatively, the couple now pays $1,000 a month for a two-bedroom in Dallas.

Over the last two years, rent prices in Utah County have gone up more than 25%, according to a recent study from the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute.

Olivia said after they chose to move out due to the price increase, it took about two months to receive their refundable deposit back after repeatedly contacting the property management company. Utah state law requires landlords to refund deposits within 30 days.

“I mean, for us it was an inconvenience, of course. But for college students, it could be shattering for them,” Olivia said.

According to recent U.S. Census data, nearly 62% of Provo residents are renters. Provo’s population also skews young due to being home to Brigham Young University, which enrolls nearly 35,000 students.

Just under 25% of people in Provo fall below the poverty line, according to Census Bureau data, while the overall poverty rate in Utah is only 8%.

While Renters Advocacy Network, or R.A.N, is still getting on its feet, Bennett said the first step is deciding which City Council candidate to endorse. Bennett said he will meet with both Citywide II candidates to discuss housing issues and determine the best fit for his endorsement.

Bennett, who secured 17% of the vote during the City Council primary election, said he feels the current attitude from city leaders toward students is that they are a “transient population” leading to their voices not being heard.

“I feel like our City Council is not focused on trying to relieve the pressures that we have in the housing market, at least in a substantial way,” he said.

One thing Bennett wants to address, and any endorsement of a council candidate is contingent on, is better housing code and zoning enforcement.

Specific changes Bennett said he would like to see are requirements for landlords to respond to issues within 72 hours or 24 hours in urgent cases. And if landlords fail to remedy a problem, fees should be assessed after 30 days.

Bennett said he will continue to use social media to educate people in Provo about their tenant rights and how they can get involved.

“It just takes us utilizing the privileges that we have of living in a democracy, going out and voting for people, doing our due diligence,” he said. “We can complain as much as we want. But until … we start participating in the conversation in a meaningful way like we are now and doing it the larger scale, nothing’s gonna change.”