Meridian told her she couldn’t stay in her tiny home. She sued. What just happened
As the Treasure Valley faces an affordable housing crisis and a rising homeless population, Meridian challenged a lawsuit a woman filed against the city to let her keep living in her 252-square foot home, which is her only source of housing.
The city asked a court to throw out the lawsuit in court this month from Chasidy Decker, the tiny home owner, who said the city violated her private property rights and retaliated against her after the Idaho Statesman published a story about her plight. Decker was effectively evicted from her tiny home by the city in August, when she was told that she could park the home in the city but not live in it.
On Monday, Decker received some good news and some bad.
District Judge Jason D. Scott in Boise said Decker’s lawsuit against the city could continue. But Scott denied Decker’s motion for emergency relief, which would have allowed her to move back into her home while the lawsuit continued.
Decker, who was couch surfing with friends and family when the Statesman spoke with her after she was forced to leave her home, said she just wants to be able to live in the home she purchased for herself.
The Institute for Justice, a nonprofit law firm that says it opposes government overreach, elected to represent Decker. The lawsuit contends Meridian city code violates Idaho code that protects private property rights by allowing a tiny home to be parked in city limits but not allowing people to live in it.
Erica Smith Ewing, an attorney with the law firm, told the Statesman in an email that Scott wanted to hear more evidence and argument before allowing Decker to move back into her home.
The lawsuit also says a Meridian code enforcement officer retaliated against Decker and property owner Robert Calacal after the June 14 story. It says the officer cited them for parking and vehicle registration violations and allegedly told Decker he was angry about the story.
Decker said she was disappointed in the decision to keep her out of her home.
“But I have high hopes that in the end, something good will happen,” she said in a news release from the law firm. “And I appreciate that the judge is so engaged with the case, because this is something that affects a lot of people in the housing crisis.”
Decker was born and raised in Idaho and decided a few years ago to buy a tiny home from local company, TinyIdahomes. She moved it to Calacal’s property in May. She had his permission and paid him rent.
Less than a month later, Decker was cited by a Meridian code enforcement officer. The city gave her two months to leave. With skyrocketing rents and RV parks full of others priced out of the area’s rental market, Decker was left to rely on friends for housing.
“I own a home and I am homeless,” Decker told the Statesman in August by phone.
