Dennis Norman
I usually try to keep the focus of my posts on this site on topics that, for the most part, apply to the entire real estate industry and shy away from local issues. I’m going to make an exception today however as I feel this is an issue, albeit local at this point, seems to be spreading throughout the country.
What I’m talking about, in general, are local laws and ordinances that are being passed that negatively impact the rights of property owners, particularly those of landlords, which can not only affect your clients, but for those of you that do property management may very well affect you. Specifically what I’m going to talk about today is an ordinance as well as a proposed ordinance in the City of St. Louis that requires the registration of vacant property.
Now, on the surface, “registering vacant property” sounds pretty innocuous, but once you dig into the details you find “the devil is in the details“, literally. Since most readers don’t own property in the city of St. Louis, I am not going to go through all the details of the ordinance here, but I if you want to check it out I suggest you read a post I did on a St. Louis blog – I guarantee you, it’s worth reading and very enlightening as to what some cities have on their minds and in their “play books”.
In a nutshell, here are some of the highlights of the proposed ordinance (which may pass as soon as next week):
- If a property is vacant for 6 months and has as little as one building code violation (I would like someone to find a building without any violations) then the owner must register it with the city.
- The registration process requires the owner to give their name, street address where they live, phone number and email as well as pay a $200 fee every six months while the building is vacant.
- The owner’s personal information (including email and phone) will then be published in an on-line database for the public to see. (Sort of like the national sex-offenders registry…difference is they are convicted felons and in this case the only thing the people are guilty of is owning a vacant property….Oh yeah, sex offender only have to give an address, not a phone number and email address)
- If you fail to give the personal information the penalty is a fine of up to $500 and/or imprisonment of up to 90 days.
- If you fail to “secure” the property within 30 days of it being vacant the penalty is a fine of up to fine of up to $500 and/or imprisonment of up to 90 days for EVERY day you fail to do so (do the math, if you are 30 days late it gets scary)l. This penalty appears to apply to PROPERTY MANAGERS as well as the owner….Look out!
- Fail to pay the fee and after one year the city can foreclose on the property (so basically you lose the property over $400)
There’s more, but that gives you an idea. Before I go further I need to point out I am NOT an advocate of derelict buildings or derelict property owners but I AM an advocate for private property rights and due process…the latter is something I feel is missing in this ordinance.
What I see happening in St. Louis, and in many parts of the country, is that municipalities are looking for new ways to deal with “problem” properties, raise revenue and in some case achieve other agendas. Many times the result are new ordinances and rules which typically apply only to rental property or other property owend by investors. Landords and investors tend to be the target many times. Granted, some landlords are not responsible landlords, but neither are some homeowners.
I would love to hear from others around the country about issues like this. Are you seeing ordinances and laws in your state, city or county that you feel are attacking landlords or investors, or singling them out? Perhaps laws that are making property managers liable for properties they manage? Or, laws that just attack private property rights in general? If so, I would love to hear more about it. Please comment with the details.
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