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REJournals.com - Rental ordinances put landlords in a tough position Page 4 of 7 <br />-ll- <br />Tighter ordinances <br />The city of Shoreview just adopted a rental licensing program that <br />will take effect this fall, says Tom Simonson, assistant city <br />manager and community development director. <br />Multihousing property owners will pay $100 per building per year <br />for the license, plus $7.50 per unit. The per unit fee will be <br />reduced to $5 for landlords who participate in the Ramsey County <br />Sheriff's crime -free program, which is designed to help property <br />owners and managers prevent criminal activity on their properties. <br />"In the past few years, as we've gotten more aggressive with code <br />enforcement, we've noticed that a lot of these neighborhood <br />issues are coming from rental housing," Simonson says. <br />He acknowledges that property owners do not have control over <br />tenants, but says the licensing program is designed to maintain <br />standards at rental properties, which are subject to an inspection <br />before a license is issued. <br />"Renting property in Shoreview should be considered a privilege," <br />Simonson says. <br />Ordinances such as the one in Shoreview are not the solution to <br />bad renters, says Steve Schachtman, principal of Steven Scott <br />Management in Minneapolis. <br />"The cities need more funding for police protection, and more <br />advocates to deal with people who have problems," he says. "I <br />understand the plight of the cities. Who wants to have bad <br />neighbors? But society is the core of the problem. <br />"How can I be a social worker and policeman and still try to <br />manage and maintain my property ?" he asks. <br />He praises the city of Minneapolis, which he says has cooperated <br />with landlords to establish a conduct -on- premises ordinance that <br />works. Clint Blaiser, president of Halverson and Blaiser Group Ltd. <br />in Bloomington, says St. Paul's system also is fair to landlords. <br />"St. Paul inspectors go through our building twice a year, and the <br />fire inspectors approach it from a life- safety standpoint," says <br />Blaiser, who manages between 2,600 and 2,700 units in the Twin <br />Cities. "I think that is where the focus should be, on the quality of <br />housing." <br />http: / /www.mrej.com/story.cfin ?Market= MN &StoryID =12080 10 /1 5/2003 <br />