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New Law Will Stick It To Landlords

By
Commercial Real Estate Agent with American Apartment Owners Association

So much for property rights.  

A councilman in Prince George's County, Maryland has come up with a way to stick it to landlords, by making them responsible for law enforcement against their tenants.   

The proposed law is part of the county's new crime reduction program.  Under the rules, landlords, not police, are responsible for dispensing justice on unruly tenants. Law includes Forced Evictions, Tenant Blacklist.  Read more...

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Comments (5)

Wallace S. Gibson, CPM
Gibson Management Group, Ltd. - Charlottesville, VA
LandlordWhisperer

....another exhibit of knee-jerk reaction using a mallet and not a soft-hand to solve a problem.....black lists are unlawful and many states have tenant confidentiality statutes that do NOT ALLOW landlords to provide information on their tenants to third parties WITHOUT their applicant's permission.

I frequently have to write to HOAs, etc. who want copies of my tenants' leases and provide copy of the VA landlord tenant statute that prevents that....

There are numerous FREE websites for tracking criminal convictions and sex offenders - landlords need to have them bookmarked OR CHARGE an application fee and use the proceeds to enroll in a commercial service to screen tenants.

Oct 15, 2009 06:55 AM
Leslie Prest
Leslie Prest, Prest Realty, Sales and Rentals in Payson, AZ - Payson, AZ
Owner, Assoc. Broker, Prest Realty, Payson,

Good lord! Hopefully it won't pass. Our town tried to get one through that would have made it the Landlord's responsibility to make sure that all of their tenants are LEGAL redidents of the USA. Thankfully, there was so much outrage that it never got off the ground.

Oct 15, 2009 06:58 AM
American Apartment Owners Association
American Apartment Owners Association - Denver, CO

Last year, there was a landlord who was prosecuted criminally for having tenants who turned out to be illegal aliens, but then, in California, a landlord got nailed for not renting to an applicant who didn't have a SSN -- the state said that was discrimination.  Talk about a rock and hard place! 

Oct 15, 2009 07:14 AM
Diane Rice
Rice Prprty Mgmnt & Rlty, LLC, South Holland, IL - Lansing, IL
SFR, SRES, CNC

In our local towns, many of the governments have passed "Crime-Free Housing ordinances"  This does not give a license for the owners to do anything but conduct a criminal background check to prevent those with records from moving into neighborhoods....

Personally, i like the idea of doing my own ousting without having to go to the law... it would save money and give me a reason to strap my holster on!!!

Oct 17, 2009 05:05 AM
Tracy Lee Parker
RE/MAX DFW Associates - Royse City, TX
Buy*Sell*Rent

Besides all the background checks , watch for "red flags" such as long letters of "please rent to us, we will take care of the property" ...these people are desperate and have been turned down elsewhere.

Oct 21, 2009 10:05 AM