Landlords voice concern over proposed ordinance
POINT MARION — Several landlords voiced concerns about a proposed ordinance that would require landlords to register and maintain their properties.
Borough officials held a town hall meeting Thursday in part to address the ordinance, which also includes provisions that apply to tenants who are engaged in illegal activities, or who are disruptive.
Ron Huey, who rents apartments above a commercial building in the downtown borough area, objected to the proposed fees and the notion of inside inspections. His comments were met by several “yeas” from the crowd.
Solicitor Gene Grimm explained that under equal protection of the law, the borough was prohibited from singling out any specific landlords to impose inspections upon, but had to inspect all fairly across the board.
Bobby Delansky, who along with his father, Jim, owns multiple commercial and rental properties in the borough, said he was fine with exterior inspections but was opposed to internal inspections.
Borough Manager Art Strimel said, “I can take you to a house right now with receptacles hanging down, and the landlord put a person in there — and there’s no furnace in the house. And if we can’t go inside, we can’t get to it. There are people who will put (tenants) in there just to get a month’s worth of rent or deposit or whatever.”
Mayor Carl Ables said he receives many calls from renters complaining about mold or conditions that may cause the structure to catch on fire and shingles blowing off a roof onto other people’s property “and nothing’s being done about it.”
“It is, for me, an issue,” he stressed.
Jim Watkins, who owns rental properties in Morgantown, W.Va., and is actively seeking to invest in Point Marion, said he has heard horror stories about the disruptive conduct of tenants in the borough and voiced concerns about the eviction process in Pennsylvania.
“In seven days, they’re gone in West Virginia. In Pennsylvania, it takes up to six months,” he said.
Grimm said the proposed ordinance would be a tool with which landlords would be better able to address problem tenants.
Under the new ordinance, landlords would be required to register each rental property and provide each tenant with a disclosure statement containing the requirements of the ordinance, including the provisions relating to disruptive conduct.
Disruptive conduct is defined in the proposed ordinance as any act by an occupant of a residential property unit or by a person present as a residential unit that plays music too loudly or uses or possesses drugs or alcohol.
The ordinance further clarifies that police will determine if there is a violation, regardless of whether or not criminal charges are filed.
Jackie Novacich, a longtime resident of Point Marion who tried renting in Morgantown but moved back to the borough to save money on rent, said she would not be opposed to a $5 monthly rent increase to help offset the cost of fees to the landlord.
She added that she eventually moved from one borough property she was renting after receiving no cooperation from her landlord and ending up with health problems as a result.
“This gives us, the tenants, a leg to stand on. We come to (the borough) and you go to them,” she said, referring to negligent landlords.
The fees proposed in the ordinance are adopted from similar ordinances in surrounding municipalities, Grimm said, with a one-time registration fee of $200 per hotel or multiple family dwellings and $50 per single or double units. Occupancy fees ranging from $25 to $50 per unit would be billed annually. Grimm added that a discount will be offered to landlords “as an incentive to come in and register rental units so we don’t have to run you down.”
Addressing the proposed fees, Huey said, “I don’t want to pay nothing. I pay my taxes in this town and that should be enough. I’ve got all these landlords sitting in here with me and they feel the same way.”
“To make a statement like that is ridiculous — it’s going to cost something” to operate, Council President Alfred DuBois said. “These are problems we live with constantly. This is why we have to have something in force, something with teeth in it.”
When asked by Councilwoman Victoria Evans how the borough’s proposed fees compared to those in Morgantown, Watkins said they are “a lot less” than similar ones imposed in Morgantown and said that the proposed ordinance as a whole will “make the landlords be good landlords or make the tenants move on down the road.”
Addressing complaints about damage to property caused by tenants, Ables said, “This is where the riff raff stops — with background checks and people actually doing them. I love this town, and I want to see it grow.”
The borough’s code compliance officer, Fredrick Henigan, said he will work with anyone in violation who works with him.
“It’s all about making this town look good, not about getting fines,” he said, adding that of the 225 violations he has issued since he was employed at that end of January, 63 percent of those violations had been satisfied.
DuBois assured that no action would be taken anytime soon on the ordinance and suggested having another town hall meeting before any action is taken.
“We are trying our best to get this town up and make it profitable. We are headed in the right direction. We have things turned around,” Strimel said, adding that the ordinance will be a tool not only to cause landlords to raise their standards, but also be a tool to help landlords not have to rebuild their properties every time a renter moves out.
Addressing the landlords in attendance, he added, “We know you don’t want people in your business, but as it’s been pointed out, it’s also going to help you.”