|
61~~ Monday/May 29/1995/Star Tribune
<br />n
<br />~~t troubles /Man landlords have horror st
<br />w
<br />C~$liaued from page lA
<br />~'
<br />ti facirrg city landlords who are
<br />~g pressed to screen prospective
<br />landlord,. William McGaughey,
<br />he had once rejected Hughes as a
<br />nt in his building at 1708 GIrn-
<br />i Av. N. -which has since been
<br />~d by health inspectors - be- -
<br />of evictions involving mem-
<br />of her family, including her
<br />per- - .. ... ...
<br />"'this group of people would not be
<br />aloe to find rental property at all if
<br />w ,did what the city of Minneapolis
<br />as us to do," McGaughey said.
<br />S the in City Hall say the current
<br />s}atem of licensing landlords works,
<br />ar~d they cite the case of Bigos as an
<br />example of how officials can take a
<br />hand line when they have to.
<br />Bnt her case strikes at the heart of a
<br />n¢,4v proposal that would make rental
<br />pr,~perty owners responsible - on
<br />paoalty of license revocation -for
<br />th~mrsbehavior of any occupants of
<br />thstr property, even those who don't
<br />refit from them. Tenants who make
<br />li~.unbe~rable for their neighbors are
<br />a ever more frequent occurrence in
<br />a e of rising crime, violence and
<br />dreg abuse.
<br />of the most recent search war-
<br />. ra>)ts conducted in an apartment at
<br />Brgos' building at 2300-2324 Pleasant
<br />Aa~ S. produced what police termed a
<br />"large quantity of heroin." For hap•
<br />lase; neighbors, the drama of the bust .
<br />wa',S punctuated by six gunshots fired
<br />gh the door at police officers.:
<br />came the middle-of-the-day
<br />e-by shooting on Pleasant that
<br />sef~t Banks diving to protect his son.
<br />Bi~us, having been accused of gener-
<br />ally:ignoring neighbors' pleas to clean
<br />upper building, has few defenders,
<br />+ .even within the city's increasingly
<br />i orjfanized community of rental prop-
<br />ert~ owners..
<br />Tips for screening tenants
<br />Companies that specialize in screening potential renters are listed in
<br />the Yellow Pages under credit reporting agencies. If you do your
<br />own screening, you can avoid discrimination complaints by using the
<br />same process for all applicants. lie sure that the process is
<br />explained to each applicaht and that the application is tcompleted in
<br />Writing. ",,
<br />^ Application process/ . .
<br />Ask each tehaM to complete an application form that includes rental
<br />history, financial information, family information and personal refer-
<br />ences. It should also state that giving false or incomplete information
<br />is grounds for rejecting their rental application and will violate the
<br />rental agreement if discovered later.
<br />Compare applicants' identification with their written applications.
<br />If applicants have Veen on your waiting list for more than a month,
<br />have them fill out a new application and compare the new informa-
<br />tion with the old.
<br />Charge a nonrefundable screening fee; you can apply it to the first
<br />month's rent.
<br />Take time to talk with the applicants to learn more about them.
<br />Discuss your written code of conduct, which should clearly state
<br />behavior expectations. Inform applicants that may must sign off on
<br />the code of conduct when they sign a lease.
<br />^ Check rental references/
<br />Drive by the applicant's current and previous addresses to verity the
<br />information on the application. You may also want to talk to the
<br />manager or caretakers, if they are available. You can verify owrter-
<br />ship of propertjr by calling for property tax information at 348-3011 '
<br />or rental licensing at 673-5856.
<br />^ Check applicants for previous incidents of eviction or unlawful
<br />detainer/
<br />These records are available on the eighth floor of the Hennepin
<br />County Government Center or phone 348-5185.
<br />^ Call all personal references/
<br />^ Criminal history checks/
<br />If you choose to do criminal history checks, get signed releases
<br />from the applicants. Check public records by calling 348-3724.
<br />Check Minneapolis arrest records by calling 673-2808 from 8 a.m. to
<br />5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday: Limit your inquiries to three names.
<br />Source: Minneapolis. Community Crime
<br />Prevention -
<br />!, ~ r { .i
<br />~~~ ~ ,
<br />~~ r
<br />-;_-~
<br />~ _
<br />~ ~l ,.
<br />,_r t +.~
<br />!''{ 1
<br />2300.
<br />r~,rdi~ ~u~~~, F~ -~ - - Sr.
<br />~"~.` ~,,.~ ,Fr- 5,.,;:54 "€~ .r_ ~ ~
<br />3' ': e .. i,Fa-
<br />~y .
<br />- ~:;.,
<br />' -. ~~r,
<br />Staff Photo by Charles Bjorgen
<br />City officials say this 60-unit apartment building at 2300 Pleasant
<br />Av., Minneapolis, is a haven for drug dealers.
<br />r.
<br />a •
<br />~~~Drean~n Of A ~
<br />f~~: '~ :mot ~: .,
<br />~ ~ '~~~ ' ~ :•- .Let Us Help You
<br />--~--- ~~ , :,,1a
<br />,~ '"°
<br />"1'[n a landlord myself, and you're a
<br />disgrace to this industry; ' scolded
<br />Council Member Steve Minn at a On the surface, it's a battle over tenants into scattered-site housing.
<br />recent council meeting. Minn, who everyday nuisances such as broken
<br />owns about 200 units of rental hous- screens, litter and graffiti. But the Still, while tenants' groups and land-
<br />ing,;in the city, told Bigos: "The woes subtext of the debate often comes lords often disagree over who is to
<br />you; describe are the woes of every down to differences over values, life- blame for their problems, they have
<br />Iarijllord imthis city. You're not fit to styles, personal responsibility and, to found wmmonground in thefi`'o~po-
<br />rut`rXhat building." some extent, race and class. sition to t e cuy s propo new li-
<br />g
<br />F Bur; Bigos and some other rental Everylandlord who rents in the inner censin e.
<br />property owners say they .are being city has a horror story or two to tell. Added liability for landlords means
<br />unfpirly blamed for a growing Hain- more stringent tenant screening,
<br />t, berpof disruptive, sometimes crimi- Johnston describes one case: a wom- which in turn is likely to squeeze out
<br />nal~enants who hrde behind a host of an on a Section 8 federal rental subsi- those with troubled lives and trou-
<br />legal protections erected by the dy who moved out without notifying bled pasts.
<br />courts, legislators, city inspectors and him or anyone else. She apparentl
<br />k tenant advocates. left the apartment to her 18-year-old The logical result of tenant screening
<br />son, who turned the unit into atrash- is homelessness, Hill said.
<br />f ' I' a been shot at, I've been chased strewn party house.
<br />wrt~l kitchen knives and baseball At the same time, landlord groups
<br />I bath" said Ed Johnston,' a Whittier Johnston, checking in to find out .warn that more stringent licensing
<br />` pro~erty owner who has had many why the woman was not paying her provisions are apt to drive out prop-
<br />apartment units trashed by problem part of the rent, soon found that the arty owners who already are feeling
<br />tenants. "We have a serious behavior utility bills were not being paid ei- overly taxed and regulated -and,
<br />problem here." that. The electricity had been cut off increasingly, frightened of their own
<br />and maggots were in the meat in the customers.
<br />For*aandlords such as Johnston, who refrigerator.
<br />hintself has been hit with the "slum- "You will see an exodus of rental
<br />lord;' tag by the Minnesota Tenants "It's incredible some of the stuff housing from the city," said Steven
<br />U ` n, the proposal to make rental that's going on," he said. Schachtman, president of Steven
<br />y owners responsible for mis- Scott Management Inc., which owns
<br />or of any occupants on their But Kirk Hill, who heads the Minna- or manages about 4,750 apartments
<br />p: rty comes as a particularly bit- sofa Tenants Union, said that for in the Twin Cities area. "The key is,
<br />ter pill. every war story about a bad tenant, where are you going to put all these
<br />k, there's one to match it about abusive people who are going to be pushed
<br />"It's: unconstitutional;' said Charlie management, repairs not done or out?"
<br />INsney, the leader of a newly formed damage deposits withheld for no
<br />landlord group called the Minneapo- good reason. As it is, landlords in Minneapolis are
<br />lie Property Owners Action League, under increasing pressure from city
<br />whi~+h is contemplating legal action "It's easy to scapegoat tenants," Hill officials, neighborhood groups and
<br />agary~st the city. said. Moreover, he said, much of the their own professional organizations,
<br />' landlords' scoro_is directed at low- chiefly the Minnesota Multi-Housing
<br />., "We`re getting hit from all sides," income and minority tenants. Race, Association, to screen prospective
<br />Disney said. `Tenants break things he said, "is a huge aspect of it" tenants and screen them well.
<br />' or don't want to pay the rent, and the
<br />coups are skewed in their favor. Those tensions are apt to intensify as' Instructions provided by city crime-
<br />They have a-lot more rights and no the city moves to tear down some of prevention officers even offer land-
<br />, ccn~quences for their behavior." its oldest public housing projects and
<br />disperse thousands of low-income Rent troubles continued on page 7A
<br />
<br />,,~•
<br />iCanf
<br />a~
<br />,,,, - _~
<br />a,
<br />~~°'~._
<br />.. -.mss:. .._-_ ~~
<br />Long Distance Minneapolis St. Pe
<br />~~ ,1~, Dau Douect 525-1494 221-0
<br />Visit Our Showroom: 5120 cedar Lake Road • St Louis Park, MN • Showroom 0
<br />Incredible
<br />Inventory
<br />Clearance! 1
<br />
<br />^ 5 pc. Cushion Sets ..197 ''
<br />888
<br />^ Patio Chairs srartbrg ar .. ~
<br />. ~
<br />^ Chaise Lounges ..... ~S 7
<br />^ Umbrellas ........ X47 ..
<br />^ Hammock & Stand ~ ~~ 47 ~ ~ ~ "
<br />^ Replacement Cushions.. CLEAktANCE PR1CEQi
<br />
|